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Double-decker car park plans
London Midland intends to build a second tier at Berkhamsted train station's car park.
It could take just a few days to build and would make space for 98 spaces, taking the total on both tiers to 488.
The controversial proposal has been fiercely contested by Berkhamsted residents.
Here is what they have to say:
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Catherine Archer: I have just read your article about the proposed development of the station car park at Berkhamsted. Surely there is no need to waste money building an extension which would blight the look of the station and castle area. The existing car park is more than big enough, the only reason it is not used and the surrounding areas are used instead is the cost of parking which is ridiculously high. I am confident, if as an experiment, London Midland reduced the fees for a few weeks they would soon see the car park fill, their revenue would not suffer and the surrounding roads would be used less. A solution to please all?!
In a letter to London Midland Dr Garth Hill, of 20 Bridgewater Road, wrote:
I am writing to object to the two-tier car parking structure that you propose to erect in Berkhamsted station car park. From personal observation I can confirm that the present park is normally only 2/3 full. The plans suggest that the structure would be aesthetically an eyesore and might well attract undesirable elements to the car park at night. From an economic point of view I cannot see how the money expended could possibly be recouped: to encourage drivers to fill the additional spaces the weekly charge would have to be reduced to such an extent that the whole exercise would inevitably make a loss, which in these hard times is an unacceptable use of what is, ultimately, public money.
Tony Armstrong, of Bridgewater Road: So now we know - it's not about Berkhamsted station car parking - it's about the rail franchise! Last Thursday at Berkhamsted Town Council annual meeting, Gerard Burgess of London Midland Trains announced that as a condition of the rail franchise London Midland have a commitment to provide 1000 extra car parking spaces across the region. He frankly acknowledged that current parking occupancy at Berkhamsted station was well below full capacity (with local reports suggesting 70%).He also informed us that the 2 tier parking at Leighton Buzzard was erected in 2 days, and that planning for Berkhamsted allowed 5 days. He told us that the additional parking was needed to cater for projected customer growth. Well, if it takes a week to build the extra car parking capacity - then why not wait until it is needed? The answer is that this is not about railway car parking - it's about London Midland meeting their franchise requirements.
Berkhamsted station isn't short of car parking - but just in case of projected demand sometime in the future, those residents backing onto the station car park are going to have a 2 storey steel white elephant built now - at the bottom of their gardens interrupting their privacy, peace and security.
No doubt London Midland bear no animosity towards these good neighbours of theirs - indeed they ask them to put up with disruption already - with maintenance work and not to mention the West Coast mainline infrastructure upgrade completed recently. No, they are probably resigned to accept these residents as necessary collateral damage for the sake of simply following orders and ticking off another box in the franchise agreement.
Let us see London Midland put their efforts into improving rail services, not providing empty parking lots - that will be a more convincing endorsement of their merit to run the franchise.
Mr & Mrs Evans,Bridgewater Road:: We are appalled at London Midland's plans to construct a second parking level at Berkhamsted Station. The car park is rarely more than 70% full, so there is simply no demand for additional spaces. Local residents will lose privacy, be subjected to more noise and light pollution and homes will fall in value. Furthermore, a second tier will create a new covered area, which will act as a magnet for youngsters looking for somewhere to "hang out". The scheme is socially, environmentally and aesthetically flawed. Please join us in opposing it by emailing: youssef.cockbaine@londonmidland.com
Danny Bonnet, leader of the Berkhamsted Transition Town movement: I have been following the discussion on car parking at the station with interest. We need to remember that this is not an isolated issue, and should be considered together with other aspects of travel and transport in the town:
In general:
more people using the trains is a good thing
people getting to the station by bike, bus or walking is better than by car from the point of view of carbon, resilience and congestion etc
parking at the station is linked to parking in local roads, traffic to and from the station, and overall journey expense (and so how likely people are to go by car instead)
the town needs an overall plan for transport, even if a formal plan from DBC will not be forthcoming for at least 2 years.
Such a transport plan should include:
1. a (comfortable and safe) commuter bus running from the more distant parts of the town to bring commuters to the station (and possibly to the town centre)
2. the bus service could also run through the day to allow people to leave cars at home
3. an extension of the 20mph zone on the High Street (as requested by Tring and Berkhamsted Cycle Campaign), from Billet Lane to Swing Gate Lane
4. Provision of either cycle lanes through the 20 mph zone, or removal of central white lines to make the road feel narrower and reduce traffic speeds
5. Increase cycle parking at the station
6. Provision of new street side parking for local shops in the town, such as Cooks Delight, the shops at Kitsbury parade, the shops opposite Swing Gate School, etc, in a re-working of the streetscape like was done in the main part of the High Street some years back
7. Improvement of the pedestrian priority at the traffic lights to improve the shopping experience, and to improve the space for the market.
The aims of all this would be, to reduce congestion in the town, to provide more parking spaces for the local businesses (both cycle and car spaces), to improve the environment for pedestrian and cycles, to encourage shoppers and to give them an alternative to the car, to improve the town for children and parents on the trip to school, to reduce noise, to reduce car volumes, to reduce traffic speeds, and to negate the need for another deck at the car park.
Transition Town Berkhamsted are currently campaigning along with other groups in the town, on many of these issues, but it is clear that an holistic approach is needed. TTB would welcome the opportunity of working with the various stakeholders within the town to come up with a strategy that will improve the town for good.
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Weather for Hemel Hempstead
Sunday 12 February 2012
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