SIR: Like other residents I have received a letter from Hampshire County Council regarding an online survey on Winchester Movement Strategy proposals. This arrived on Saturday when the city centre was once again gridlocked with the usual pre-Christmas traffic affecting buses, emergency vehicles and cars alike.
Before we start planning cycle and walking networks, which will not happen for several years, why is nothing being done now to try and reduce the volume of pre-Christmas Saturday traffic which happens every year? On Saturday I saw a road sign in Eastgate Street which said the city centre car parks were full but that there were spaces at Park & Ride - but by the time drivers saw the sign it was already too late!
I don’t think there is sufficient financial incentive for drivers to consider Park & Ride at busy times. The differential between the daily charge of £3.50 and parking for between two and three hours in a city centre car park is less than £1. Drivers need a larger financial incentive to use Park & Ride as well as being told well in advance that the city centre is congested.
Perhaps the Park & Ride charge on pre-Christmas Saturdays could be reduced to £1 or even made free, with the revenue loss being made up by higher charges in the city centre. This reduced or free charge and the fact that the city centre is congested would need to be advertised well ahead on the major routes into Winchester including the M3.
Andrew Beadle,
Milesdown Place,
St Giles Hill,
Winchester
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