Probably inspired by Richmond Council's 
never ending quest to extract more taxes from motorists, the Royal Parks has launched a consultation on whether it should charge for parking.
After free parking on Sunday being removed, the steep increases for Kew Gardens concessions, it's another blow for our purchasing power.
The detailed documents are on Royal Parks' web site:
I'm not sure what the real intent is, apart from the stated goal of "encouraging people to travel by public transportation" (which is daft as no busses go to Richmond Park). What is true is that the car parks are full at week ends, especially since they made the one at Pen Ponds about half the size (and tarmac'ed) as before.
The impact of charges, apart from the obvious bite in people's wallet (especially for OAP's), would be:
Read also:
never ending quest to extract more taxes from motorists, the Royal Parks has launched a consultation on whether it should charge for parking.After free parking on Sunday being removed, the steep increases for Kew Gardens concessions, it's another blow for our purchasing power.
The detailed documents are on Royal Parks' web site:
I'm not sure what the real intent is, apart from the stated goal of "encouraging people to travel by public transportation" (which is daft as no busses go to Richmond Park). What is true is that the car parks are full at week ends, especially since they made the one at Pen Ponds about half the size (and tarmac'ed) as before.
The impact of charges, apart from the obvious bite in people's wallet (especially for OAP's), would be:
- Parking congestion around East Sheen, Ham and Roehampton gates, where there's currently no CPZ (of course, this would be a great excuse for Richmond Council to tax us more with a CPZ extension)
- Parents with young children would also find it difficult to travel to the park by public transport
- Remove the snack food outlets in Pen Ponds, Kingston gate and Broomfield parkings: those vans with German licence plates, complete with their Polish employees, do nothing for the public health, especially as they're powered by noisy and smelly diesel generators.
Read also:
- Richmond Park Parking Charges Could Cause Chaos For Local (LibDems)
- Drivers' anger at charge for using Richmond Park (Evening Standard)
3 comments:
Here are the questions I email Royal Parks today:
Sirs,
Here's a blog post I wrote today expressing what I think about introducing parking fees.
Specifically, I would like an answer to the following questions:
- Will you consider removing the food outlets in the park that drive in traffic?
- Are you planning to introduce segragated bicycle paths, as pedestrians have taken over the Tasmin trail?
- What will you do to improve public transport in and around the park?
- The closure of Robin Hood gate has worsened the congestion around the park, especially on the A205. Can you explain why you have little consideration for the impact of your measures on your neighbours?
Best,
L. Windsor
Small point...the 371 bus serves Richmond Park at Richmond Gate. Buses also pass Robin Hood Gate.
Chuckeroon,
You're right, but it does not do much good to people with young children or older citizens.
Also, the Royal Parks aren't clear on what issue they're trying to tackle: is that car traffic or parking congestion?
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