Bushy Park set for car parking charges
Margaret Hodge (Minister for Culture and Tourism) is set to give the green-light to impose parking charges in Bushy Park much to the dismay of local residents, park users, societies, councils and MPs who publicly stated their overwhelming objections to the proposals (6,500 petition signatures collected against). Details of the reasons why this is to go-ahead are listed in a letter sent to Friends of Bushy and Home Parks.
In an earlier consultation the benefits of the charges are listed including fairer rotation of car parking spaces and also the environmental benefits from park users who switch to foot, bicycle or public transport which would also reduce the amount of vehicles travelling through the parks and would be reduced.
However opponents of the charges (84% of those who responded) cite that the scheme would discourage visits to the park and lessen the amount of exercise and enjoyment the public get from this valuable resource. Also the roads around parks rather than the car parks themselves will instead be congested – simply moving the problem from one area to another, at the same time only slightly reducing the amount of traffic in the parks (most cars are simply travelling through, not parking in them).
The ‘Keep Bushy Park Free’ alliance are suggesting that the Royal Park’s requirement to raise revenue at the same time as reducing park traffic would be more successful as a toll on the 90% of park traffic that use it as a short cut.
If you disagree with the proposed charges you can register your objections to Margaret Hodge using the contact information on this page. Alternatively you can print and/or pass on this poster to help the campaign.
