Wilmslow has a thriving business sector with greater levels of employment plus a very busy railway station that attracts people from out of the immediate area.
Unfortunately, inconsiderate parking by incoming workers and rail commuters is causing difficulties for other motorists and proving a nuisance in residential areas. The lack of sufficient off-street space for all day parking is evident.
It is obvious to all of us who have been attempting to provide solutions – particularly those that reduce nuisance parking in residential areas – that measures have simply moved the problem elsewhere. Those residents who over the years have requested and secured restrictions in their areas are content but not so the residents in the newer on-street parking areas.
Adequate levels of all day parking in Wilmslow can be provided only by a multi-storey car park. This cannot address the immediate term so we are actively pursuing other options.
We are looking for a tract or tracts of land within walking distance of the town centre. The obvious ones are owned by Cheshire East and the request is already in to see if there are any legal reasons against using the sites for temporary car parking of say 200/300 vehicles. Candidate sites are the Carnival Fields, the land south of the Prestbury Link Road near the High School and the land adjacent to the A34 south of the High School. Residents will have their own views on the suitability of such sites and there would have to be temporary hard standing so there must be a public survey on any favoured option. Sites for a potential 'park and ride' are the Jim Everson playing fields car park and the Handforth East site.
The Wilmslow parking survey of both on-street and off-street activity will start mid-September. We are pressing for the results and report this Autumn and then want action as soon as the traffic regulation order legal process allows. This is frustrating for everyone involved.
After protracted discussions with the police, a motorist advice and enforcement exercise will be conducted this month. The Police will be making their own announcement of the timing of this exercise. In addition, we have contacted the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and we await a date when he will be visiting Wilmslow. We can then demonstrate the difficulties of obstruction on the highway on the one hand and the inconvenience to residents in a wider area. We will give top priority to the pressing problem we all want resolved namely the parking in Alderley Road that most reasonable people would describe as obstructive.
When it comes to the implementation of the measures agreed it will need a concerted effort by all agencies to get the on-street parkers to use the off-street facilities. Currently they have free parking and no incentive to change their behaviour.
This is a guest post by Councillor Rod Menlove.
Comments
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The council and planners have created the problem by failing to insist on adequate parking for new office developments. The sustainable public transport option is anothe unfulfilled promise from our inept and out of touch representatives.
Cllr Menlove must be must have run out of ideas by suggesting the Carnival Field or Jim Everton parking area, the first beloved of WILMSLOW residents who would die before they saw it concreted over (including me!) whilst the Jim Everton fields car park is too small - for heaven's sake we've only just got rid of the travellers, this would be open doors - literally!
Park-and-ride sites either side of the by-pass near the High School would be ideal whilst firm limits on on-street parking would focus minds. That old chestnut-public transport might suddenly be affordable!
While a "park and ride" is a potential solution, another would be the "Park and Stride" idea suggested by the charity Living Streets. This would involve a car park or car parks situated within walking distance of the town centre, linked by well lit, wheelchair friendly and safe walkways to the station and to schools. It would reduce congestion in the town, reduce air pollution from standing traffic, and encourage everyone to walk a bit further and improve health at the same time. Land adjacent to the A34 would seem ideal for this purpose but there would need to be investment in walkways to ensure people (including school students) feel safe walking to and from the car park, whatever the time of day.
a) use public transport
b) cycle to work
c) pay to park
A multi-story or any other type of car park too far to the outskirts of our town will become a white elephant.
Please don’t concrete over our playing fields.
The trouble is that people don’t want/ can’t afford to pay for all day parking so, unless Cheshire East radically drop parking charges (unlikely given their budget deficit in the coming years), people will still seek free on-road parking and we’ll be chasing the problem around the town until the whole of wilmslow is yellow lined!
At which point, a multi-storey on Broadway meadows won't be enough!
What’s needed is a different approach. RoW and I looked at this idea (https://bit.ly/2O9wZzD) in 2015 but decided not to pursue it.
Maybe it’s time we (as a town) revisit it, tweak it or come up with something else to take control of the situation as clearly CEC needs helps if a costly park and ride (which no one will use because it inconvenient) or parking on the carnival field or Jim Evison fields are the best solutions it can come up with.
Oh by the way did the Comittee not ask the "expert" planning officers when they approved all the offices, where are these people going to park? Oh wait was he on the Comittee?
CEC are ruining Wilmslow with this ‘frantic’ building programme.
As you are well aware, ever since Daveylands (off Macclesfield Road) and later the Thorngrove Estate received part-time parking restrictions certain roads around the area, particularly Leaside Way off the Mottram New Road and near to the A34 Wilmslow High School Entrance, have been littered with 'out of area' parked cars.
Multiple efforts had been made by neighbourhood groups to restrict parking in these and other areas but after one or two suggested proposals by Cheshire East Roads Highways / Planning Department nothing progressed beyond the initial drawings and if it did, not all of the local neighbours were informed of it. These 'unrestricted' roads have been blighted with cars left all day by Sixth Form Drivers from the High School, Office Workers in Wilmslow and commuters travelling to both Manchester and even London!
It was found that one company had even provided their staff members with maps hi-lighting roads where they could park in Wilmslow without being ticketed!
On occasions, due to poor parking, Refuse Lorries and Delivery Vans have not been able to gain access to their required destinations. It's perhaps only a matter of time before emergency crews have similar difficulties. It seems parking in Wilmslow has been an issue for decades yet little has been done to improve the situation.
A park and ride would certainly help matters but as others, here, have suggested; please consider utilising some of the Brown Field Sites within a three mile radius (though we fully appreciate that much of the land is owned by major developers, we also realise that those who reap the most benefit should be made to take their share of the burden).
If we continue the way we are, businesses won't want to invest in Wilmslow (and judging by the number of empty shops and offices this is already happening). Rents are killing the High Street and traffic is choking the town but those who are hardest hit are the residents who pay their council tax!
Alderley Road? Yellow lines right now - give me a brush and the paint and I'll do it for you.
Parking? There are ALWAYS parking spaces available in the Wilmslow Library / Sainsbury's carpark- the only reason folk don't park there is because it costs a few quid. Answer? Lower the parking charges. Same with the multi-storey off Water Lane.
There is absolutely no point in using fabulous green spaces to resolve this issue, temporarily or otherwise. We don't need to. Just get folk off the roads and using the parking facilities provided. Lower the parking charges.
I've lived in Wilmslow most of my life and watched its roads slowly becoming one big carpark.
Plan ahead Mr Menlove, plan ahead.
Why not simply put out some cones as a temporary measure? After all, cones seem to be available once a month for the Artisan Market (possibly stored in the Rectory Stables?!)
You , personally, had little trouble in getting yellow lines painted all around the estate where you used to live, so you know the process- just get Barton to do the same.
Can you tell us how many dangerous parkers were persuaded to take up the stunning ten-day solution to park at the High School, pay a pound and walk a round trip of nearly a mile? Can you tell us if the money collected covered the cost; I’m sure that scrupulous records were kept.
Cllr Barton’s father posted here that this solution was a splendid initiative; unfortunately nobody else seemed to think so.
When I kicked off this debate I asked if a cyclist had to die, or be seriously injured before some POSITIVE action was taken. Apparently that is the case.
How many threads on these pages tell the same story...Say one thing do another, cant balance the books, so put the taxes up !
What does Harrry Westbill , who replaces the deselected author of this meaningless diotribe of a thread suggest ?
CEC needs to get its fingers out and come up with a real solution by increasing long term spaces. These need to be within viable walking distance of the centre. Suggesting temporary parking on green spaces is not a solution - CECs normal inaction to Wilmslows needs would just mean it became permanent.
Perhaps something like a multi-storey at the old police station site, which would also potentially help reduce transits through the bank square pinch point by having a decent volume of parking to both the east and west?
The comment that all day Parker’s are being selfish is not fair. There are very few spaces in Wilmslow where you can park for more than 3 hours -even if you are willing to pay. What we need is 12 hour parking - this is park and ride!
It may seem radical but it’s not impossible even if it means a new cost model that recoups some of the lost revenue from the businesses that will benefit.
The current main road parking on Alderley Road through the town centre is a no brainer - it creates dangerous congestion and it should be double yellow lines along the whole town centre stretch of road. The centre already has limited time parking for shoppers on the parallel access road in front of the shops - which is more than most town centres can offer.
Finally look to increase capacity where car parks already exist - the obvious one being the Broadway Meadow car park - develop this by adding at least a second level there. There are plenty of examples online of businesses and public buildings which have expanded their car park capacity in this way.
Decades of conservative failures to look after us. All talk and no action with more and more consultation and reports. Obfuscation. Do something!
“In terms of local open space requirements the conclusion from the open space assessment is: Generally open space provision is poorer in the south-west and in some eastern and northern areas of Wilmslow and there are specific shortages for some types of open space as listed.”
Great so CEC understand the lack of green space, the same green space that Menlove wants to turn to a car Park! Yer go local councillor who doesn’t understand the needs of the area or read the local plan!
You say that 'candidate sites' for parking include the Carnival Fields...
Or are you just plucking green fields out of the air I wonder that you can plonk a Pay -n- Display on ?
Sticking cars in a field way up Altrincham Road is not the solution be it Carnival or Everson.
It's the prohibitively expensive town centre car parks that are the driving visitors to park on the road where it costs zilch.
But please Clr Menlove, waste no more of our hard earned money on surveys, public consultations (that CE pay little credence to) costly PR exercises, reviews or buzzspeak.
Resident, be they Summerfields Village or not, are now all increasingly suspicious of much that CE do. Reduce the town centre car park charges and be done with it !
Whatever happens regarding car parks or park and rides, Wilmslow could employ many full time traffic wardens who would undoubtedly pay for themselves.
They could even come round the residential roads and get all those inconsiderate drivers who think it’s ok to park on pavements, blocking the way for pushchairs and wheelchairs. I know it’s not illegal to park on the pavement but it is illegal to drive on pavements. And surely they can receive a ticket for that!
I could go on....
Several of them have been out of action for several weeks now!
Not good if you are elderly or infirm.
As already stated we need parking restrictions and a block on all new office developments because Wilmslow has reached capacity. Any more will complete the destruction. Time to vote for educated and realistic councillors - not those with inflated egos creating unsuccessful spinoff companies and allowing planners to approve unsustainable development.
We have recently seen a brand spanking new resurface of the entrance to the site, copious road markings and incidentally removal of some quite mature trees.
Why? If the field retains its use, ie Round Table Fireworks/ Wilmslow Show, access to a local nursery and Weekend League Football, why would this site demand such an expensive spend??
I watch children play on it, community coming together to meet on it and older hikers/ramblers walk through it. My understanding is, it was left to the people of Wilmslow as open space, NOT for commercial parking.
Once there, it would never go (we fill what we have) and then there would be a premise for, I'm sure, "a bespoke "top end" small housing development"
My suspicion is only matched by my cynicism.
I ask why the town should provide spaces for commuters over local residents and shoppers?
Park and Ride is a good idea but not a solution that should be implemented on its own - it has to be implemented with other ranges of measures because commuters will just maintain their existing habits and avoid the Park and Ride.
The best way to deal with this issue is to have a review of parking availability; times; charges and locations throughout the town. In particular more allowances should be made for parking which increases the economic viability of the town centre which may mean more short stay balance than there is currently - the exact opposite of what most of you are asking for! This should be coupled with lining restriction and narrowing of main road spaces, making quiet cycle streets etc. to minimise the ease of use of the private car within the town - increased private car use will arise by making more spaces available so restricting private car use is the prime objective to reduce demand. Enforcement has to be more reliable and effective.
Furthermore technology can help with parking such as real-time parking space availability systems which once installed can make parking more effective and reduce congestion because there will be less driving around looking for a space.
It may be a good idea for CEC to consider imposing a workplace parking levy or other financial measures on employers to reduce car parking and increase sustainable transport options.
Knowing where car-based commuters come from would be useful because this will assist understanding where travel demand is coming from and CEC can work with those neighbouring local authorities and organisations to provide sustatinable transport options.
If the parking is free (at a suitable Park & Ride brownfield site), people will use it. If I apply for a job I assume that the company would have some sort of parking provision as the town planners surely wouldn't allow that?
The proposal to use Carnival Fields as a car park is insane, is CEC so out of touch with reality? CEC's short term measures have failed, they have failed Wilmslow, time for a change come May.
Residents of Wilmslow, in addition to pleas prior to the LPS being approved with the Wilmslow Conservative's votes, has made numerous suggestions to CE to alleviate the 'on- street' parking problem. Again, no one there wanted to know.
RoW believes residential roads must be returned to the over charged council tax home dwellers as a first. One of our suggestions is via Residents Only parking permits (officers say it is council policy to not award residents permits if there are driveways in a road - RoW solution: change the policy, other boroughs do). Other thoughts: Strict short stay on-street parking (an hour or two max); we know of at least two(2) near to town centre sites (from under a mile to approx 1.5 miles out of town - no problem for the young, fit & able commuters- supplemented by a park & ride scheme, with a small combined daily charge for the parking & bus. RoW suggested this solution three years or so ago,with no positive response (we are not talking about the small Everson fields or destroying the Carnival Fields).
Meanwhile, the Alderley Road traffic hazard continues daily (weekend excepted); RoW has suggested to the Leader that she simply institutes either a "temporary" or "emergency" No Waiting order. Will she do this? So far, NO!. Similar orders could be made for Buckingham Rd, Water Ln/Altrincham Rd on a temporary basis before a long term solution is in place. Wilmslow needs ACTION NOW, not in 3, 6 or 9 months, NOW. Then deal with the parking mayhem on other roads off Manchester Rd, Knutsford Rd etc.
Residents of Wilmslow is more than willing to offer constructive ideas, some above, rather than the old palliative pseudo-solutions trotted out here & elsewhere again and again by the out of ideas CEC Conservative councillors.
No solution is without cost/issues and no doubt there are potential stumbling blocks with the above. Please feel free to criticise but I'd respectfully request that along with your criticism you provide a practical alternative solution of your own.
There is a Planning Application in for an access road from the roundabout near the High School. A multi-story on this site would not be “in anybody’s face” as there are no houses nearby.
Come on CEC, spend some of OUR money, buy the land, just like you did with the, still unexplained, purchase of the proposed Dobbie’s site.