‘Car park usage is up, it’s business much as usual’

Executive Member for Transport, Cllr Chris Bowring, disagrees with our campaign. He explains why

IREAD with interest the suggestion in last week’s Wokingham Paper that car parking charges in Wokingham town should be suspended while the regeneration is going on.

I am very mindful that the regeneration is causing a degree of disruption to pedestrians and motorists alike and that any ideas which would improve the life of the town should be carefully considered.

Unfortunately in your report there was only anecdotal evidence of a fall in the number of people using the town.

I have myself spoken to various people including retailers and have got a rather different picture of a town going about its business much as usual. We also have some concrete evidence which you briefly touched on in your report concerning car park usage.

You say that ‘car park usage remains high’. In fact, it’s rather better than that. The number of tickets sold in August this year when Denmark Street was shut to traffic is 18% higher than the same month last year when the street was open.

I find it very difficult to believe from those figures that the town is, as you put it, ‘deserted’. Against the arguments you have presented, I also have to consider the potential loss in car park ticket revenue. This would have to be made up by residents throughout the borough including those in the wards of Cllrs Ferris and Croy who were so keen on your idea.

My conclusion is inevitably that at the present time, the car parks should continue to charge.

I think we can all be pleased by the way the regeneration of Wokingham town has gone so far. To manage such a major project in a small town with largely narrow roads and avoiding disruption is a difficult enterprise.

It’s certainly true that the closing of Denmark Street has had an affect on the flow of traffic. The closing of Broad Street later this month will also cause some disruption and longer journey times.

But outside the peak travel hours, the town appears to be coping well with the reduced road network.

However, it is important not to be complacent. My colleagues and I will continue to monitor our car park ticket sales and respond to genuine concerns whatever they might be when they are raised.

I believe that we all need to be a little more optimistic.

Our political opponents and others have taunted us saying that the regeneration would never happen. Over the next few years they are going to be proved wrong. Of course there will be some pain as the building works continue. But I believe that when the regeneration is complete, Wokingham will become one of the best market towns in the country of which we can all be proud.

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