The Full Entry
Finally, ECDC See Sense With Ely Car Park Plan
Published Thursday, March 2nd, 2006 by Karl Bedingfield
Finally ECDC have seen sense and taken heed to the outcry caused by their aborted attemps to charge fo all parking in Ely. This week ECDC voted overwhemingly to provide funds of £900,00 for a 150-space pay-and-display car park in Angel Drove that would primarily serve the rail users whose cars currently clutter up the streets close to Ely Rail Station and hopefully ease traffic congestion and free spaces in the city centre car parks (as our illustration above shows, Ely can get congested!).
Some seven months ago Ely Online suggested that instead of charging for city centre parking the council would be better served introducing a park & ride scheme:
‘Why not have a Park & Ride Scheme built on the Angel Drove area of Ely expressly targeted to the commuters who use the Railway Station, people who work in Ely but need to drive in and of course daytrippers.‘
Not quite what we suggested but a positive move all the same, a point echoed by Ely Traders’ Association chairman, Elaine Griffin-Singh, who said: ‘We are extremely pleased that the council has listened to our suggestion to build a new car park for Ely as long as the rest of Ely remains free then everybody wins’.
As long as the rest of Ely remains free then everybody wins.
Charges are likely to be £2 a day with concessions for season ticket holders and at weekends shoppers to Ely will be able to benefit from long stay parking at a reduced rate to encourage shoppers outside the city to visit Ely.
Update March 8th 2006
It would appear ECDC really are listening to Ely Online, we suggested Ely (in particular High Street) would benefit from a greater presense of traffic wardens. Its a crime that the council employs just two traffic wardens to monitor the 11 council car parks in the city and issue penalty tickets for violations. Coun Ashton said: ‘At the moment motorists often obstruct the pavements on the High Street by parking at an angle, forcing those in wheelchairs or pedestrians with prams out into the road.’ Yes Counciller, this is something the majority of Ely’s residents have cited for a very long time.
Its no surprise that the revenue collected from penalty tickets (£17,925) didn’t cover the traffic wardens wages, we never see any traffic wardens!
Now if you would also pedestrianise High Street …
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