Civic chiefs plan to improve car parks in Winchester district (From Hampshire Chronicle)
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Civic chiefs plan to improve car parks in Winchester district
5:54pm Tuesday 14th February 2012 in News By Emma Streatfield
Civic chiefs plan to improve car parks in Winchester district
IMPROVEMENTS to Winchester’s car parks have been backed by city council chiefs.
The car parks major works programme, which updates on the programme approved in March last year, will include refurbishing and replacing equipment, resurfacing, lighting improvements and health and safety issues.
It is proposed that the council spend £283,000 for 2012/2013, which incorporates both capital and revenue costs.
Winchester City Council is responsible for inspecting, maintaining and repairing 32 car parks across the district.
Planned projects include refurbishing the 25-year-old lifts at Chesil multi storey car park, which have become increasingly unreliable according to the report.
The council also plans to accelerate a scheme to replace all pay machines and extend to more machines a system that reports via the internet if it is not working properly so it can be fixed quicker.
Last year, improvements included replacing six payment machines, in Alresford, Bishop’s Waltham and central Winchester, safety surveys, re-marking of lines in The Brooks multi-storey car park, a new digital radio system and upgrading and replacing car park signs to make them clearer.
Ongoing works in progress during 2012 include installation of a new pay on foot payment and barrier system for the Middle Brook Street and The Brooks car parks.
Cabinet members backed the programme and approved the report recommendation to reduce the car parks work programme from the previous year by a total £127,000 because some projects had not gone ahead leading to an expected underspend.
This will go towards a wider programme for 2012/2013.
The decision will now go to full council.
Sotonians_lets_pull_together says...
12:16pm Wed 15 Feb 12
1) Please make it clear on the website and on signage when car parks are not open all day, and when you promote the car parks for events
2) Please keep park and ride car parks and bus services going during the evening, and at weekends, otherwise how do you expect to attract trade, and tourism, whether to shops, theatres, the cathedral, events, cinemas, pubs, restaurants.
3) Make it clear where visitors should park at evebing and weekends if park and ride is not available.
The council need to look at their parking provision as if they dont know Winchester, see it through the eyes of someone who wants to come and park in Winchester for the day, lets say at a weekend, go shopping, go to the cinema, and to a restaurant in the evening.
You dont want to find at 10pm that there is no way to get back to the car park or that the car park is locked!
Report card? Could do better!