Residents demand parking action (From Basingstoke Gazette)
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Residents demand parking action
5:00pm Monday 8th October 2012 in Local By Adam Richards
(From left) Popley East councillors David Potter and Vivien Washbourne with Tasmania Close residents Andy French, Lez Fairbanks, Sharon Cheasley, Barbara Fairbanks, Mark Cheasley, and Michael Portlock
PEOPLE in Popley’s Tasmania Close are among those who want to see more action from the borough council to help alleviate heavily congested streets.
Residents say that their lives have become a misery because of overcrowding and they want to see more parking bays built.
Tasmania Close is currently listed 78th on the borough council’s 385-strong priority-ranked list of roads earmarked for improvement, and residents fear that they will be forced to wait more than 20 years for improvements .
Michael Portlock, 70, said: “It is quite simple. There are too many cars and not enough spaces for residents. They can’t take the cars off the road so they need to think of something different.”
Dad-of-four, 51-year-old Andy French, who has lived in Tasmania Close for 26 years, said: “There are just too many cars for the number of spaces. There are days when we I have to park streets away just to get a place.”
Barbara Fairbanks, 68, and husband Lez, 70, said the parking situation is a “nightmare”. “At the weekends, it is really bad,” said Barbara. “People can’t park in the parking bays so they just leave cars on the roads. I would want to see some of the small green spaces around here made into parking.”
Labour Popley East ward councillor David Potter added that congested streets are an “accident waiting to happen” if cars block the path of emergency vehicles.
“There is no way a fire engine could get up some of the cul-de-sacs in Basingstoke, and there is a clearly an added danger in that,” said Cllr Potter. “There is a real danger in limited access to homes because of congested streets.”
His views were echoed by Sharon Cheasley, 48, who has lived in neighbouring Montserrat Road for 18 years. She said: “If there was a need for a fire engine to get through, it could not get up here – and that is a real worry.”
Dave Graham, station commander at Basingstoke fire station, said the parking congestion issue has been a problem for a number of years, and stretches beyond Basingstoke.
“We have had for a number of years issues with people parking inconsiderately,” said Mr Graham. “But that is across Hampshire. I would urge anyone to to park leaving enough room for emergency vehicles.”
Comments(6)
LesFrèresCrucy
says...
8:52pm Mon 8 Oct 12
Best_Name_Ever
says...
9:55pm Mon 8 Oct 12
Buster Preciation
says...
8:56am Tue 9 Oct 12
robertspet8
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2:12pm Tue 9 Oct 12
It is in the power of the council to solve this particular problem - use double yellow lines to insure adequate space for emergency vehicles. Of course this would add to the parking problem, but I see that as an advantage - the more inconvenient it is to use a car the more likely we are to consider alternative forms of transport.
Another solution is to have residents parking bays - how many of us would prefer to walk a couple of streets rathr than pay to park outside our own home. Whatever the solution, please do not dig up more green space.
jonone
says...
12:09pm Wed 10 Oct 12
Buster Preciation wrote:Quite right, we bought a new house and selected the plot on the basis that it has 2 parking spaces. However, we were lucky as the majority of houses come with just one space (unless they are social housing, which have 2!!)
The residents are outraged at a problem caused by the residents. Why didn't they do their homework before they moved in and decide to live somewhere else? Incoming!
Best_Name_Ever says...
8:01pm Mon 8 Oct 12