We need more park and rides

Like local residents quoted in the Gazette, I am dismayed at plans to ‘mothball’ the Sturry Road park and ride [‘Anger at ‘illogical’ Park and Ride plan’, Gazette, February 17]. This raises a number of issues.

It is unsurprising usage was low during the pandemic, but with the government set to remove all

restrictions, I agree that it seems ‘illogical’ to take this action now. The council signed a seven year park and ride contract with Stagecoach in November 2020. This was during the pandemic, when user numbers were already severely affected. Surely this was the time to include measures to ensure the service was viable if changes in working behaviour affected user numbers, and to address the cost to the council resulting from shortfalls in usage. Why is the current situation resulting in “a horrendous waste of public money”, as Ben Fitterharding said? This situation was foreseeable when the contract was signed.

There is also an equality aspect to this. Over 50% of the 57 Sturry Road users responding to the survey on the two days in October 2021 were using the service for education or work. Anyone needing to spend eight or more hours in Canterbury, like these residents, would face a city centre parking bill of around £20 per day. Someone in a minimum wage job – of the type that keeps our shops, cafes and services up-and-running - would have to work for 2-3 hours just to pay for their parking.

The Green Party advocates alternative modes of transport to cars - buses, cycling or walking where possible, with buses being the most widely accessible. However, as Ben Fitter-harding notes, there is severe congestion

on the A28 and no priority bus lane. Action is needed to address this urgently. Priority for buses on this stretch of road would dramatically increase journey times, making bus travel in from the east, and the park and ride option, much more appealing for residents. Closing the park-andride will add to this congestion as drivers head to city centre parking or drive across the city to other park-and-rides.

A new by-pass isn’t the answer to the city’s congestion problems. The problem is the number of people who want to get into the city, with not enough done to facilitate travelling in by other means than car.

To help ease city centre congestion and air pollution levels, the council needs to be proactive in measures to change people’s travel habits. We need more park-and-rides, not to start cutting them out.

If they are underused, why is that? What can be done to promote them? What would increase usage? Similarly, how can bus travel be made more appealing to more people? How can cycle routes into the city, such as the Crab and Winkle and the Great Stour Way, be improved to encourage more cyclists to use them for their commute?

We need creative, forwardlooking and much less car-centric approaches to solving the city’s transport issues.

Cllr Clare Turnbull

Green city councillor, Gorrell ward