We hate traffic jams: survey
Convenient cheap parking tops wish-lists
Keep it cheap
With school holidays just around the corner, thousands of British families will be planning daytrips. All bar 18 per cent will take the car, but many would steer clear of attractions that were inaccessible or did not provide facilities for motorists.
Almost two-thirds (60 per cent) of motorists would avoid visiting an attraction where there was a lack of parking and over half (51 per cent) would shun somewhere if it was renowned for bad traffic. But the top turn-off when choosing a destination was the price of parking with seven out of ten (70 per cent) people stating they would avoid a place if the parking was expensive.
Location of parking is also a concern with over two thirds (69 per cent) of those questioned by the breakdown specialist claiming they would avoid a place completely if they could not park close to the attraction. Almost half found driving distance (49 per cent) and difficult road access (42 per cent) turn-offs when planning a trip. And to escape the queues at the end of the day, six-out-of-ten (62 per cent) admitted to leaving early and cutting their daytrip short.
In the survey of 1,300 people, museums and galleries were voted the least car-friendly places to visit by over half (51 per cent) questioned in the poll. Some two thirds (66 per cent) surveyed considered theme parks to cater best for motorists and at the other end of the scale, zoos, conservation parks, national parks and wildlife parks were all considered motoring havens with less than one-in-twenty finding them inaccessible for cars.
Green Flag found the top benefit of taking the car on a daytrip was freedom (87 per cent), with the ability to store items such as change of clothes for children coming a close second (71 per cent). More than half said that travelling by car was cheaper than public transport (51 per cent) and is convenient for taking a picnic along (55 per cent).
Distance is not a deterrent when considering places to visit as half (50 per cent) would drive up to 70 miles for a day out and three-out-of-ten people (30 per cent) would drive up to 100 miles from home.
So if you want to get away from the crowds, find a place where you have to walk a bit or where the parking is expensive...
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-chl/w-countryside_environment/w-environmental_practices/w-environmental_science-issues/w-environmental_science-issues-transport.htm
I saw a really apt quote somewhere (might even have been here); "the desire to save the world is nearly always a false front for the desire to rule it".
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-chl/w-countryside_environment/w-environmental_practices/w-environmental_science-issues/w-environmental_science-issues-transport.htm
I saw a really apt quote somewhere (might even have been here); "the desire to save the world is nearly always a false front for the desire to rule it".
"yoghurt knitters"??! lol
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-chl/w-countryside_environment/w-environmental_practices/w-environmental_science-issues/w-environmental_science-issues-transport.htm
I saw a really apt quote somewhere (might even have been here); "the desire to save the world is nearly always a false front for the desire to rule it".
You're biting off your nose to spite your face because the NT have some great places to visit and where practicable they have good parking facilities. They use cars themselves you know, but they are a conservation organisation so it would be a bit surprising if they didn't care about the immediate and future environment.
However, yesterday, my 13 mile journey to work took 1hr 45mins instead of the usual half hour, due to a TRAFFIC CENSUS by the Thames Gateway project.
So they basically brought the south of Essex to a grinding halt on the hottest day of the year (27C at 9 am) to ask "where are you coming from, where are you going, and do you pay for parking when you get there?".
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that if you take out a lane of one of Essex's busiest roads, you are going to cause chaos. And guess what, when the Thames Gateway project builds another load of houses, the roads are going to get even more busy.
I wonder if the people who were stopped for the census were in a good mood when asked the questions?
Ali.
Thame in Oxfordshire is (so far) an honourable exception, and seems to know the value of easy access.
Btw the NT is pretty good where parking is concerned, especially if you are a member. Great places to visit and in my case, do some laptop work, followed by tea in their cafes.
I think someone at the Ministry for Transport must have realised this, as there are now mutterings coming from the ministry, advocating parking charges for the out of town shopping centres.
www.lgcnet.com/pages/news/article.asp?ArticleID=337795
Edited to add link.
I think someone at the Ministry for Transport must have realised this, as there are now mutterings coming from the ministry, advocating parking charges for the out of town shopping centres.
www.lgcnet.com/pages/news/article.asp?ArticleID=337795
Edited to add link.
Typical, so instead of looking at why out of town shopping centres are popular:
-Easy to get to
-Plenty of parking
-Free parking
and then introducing the lessons to town centres, they instead decide to bring out of town shopping centres down to the level of town centres:
-Traffic jams
-Limited parking
-Expensive parking
Much as I would like to see high streets prosper, sometimes I would love to see town centres closed down, so the idiots on the councils can see what their anti-mobility policies are doing.
Studies have shown that a lack of parking spaces is one of the major contributors to congestion, as cars spend longer driving around looking for a space to stop.
I think someone at the Ministry for Transport must have realised this, as there are now mutterings coming from the ministry, advocating parking charges for the out of town shopping centres.
www.lgcnet.com/pages/news/article.asp?ArticleID=337795
Edited to add link.
Typical, so instead of looking at why out of town shopping centres are popular:
-Easy to get to
-Plenty of parking
-Free parking
and then introducing the lessons to town centres, they instead decide to bring out of town shopping centres down to the level of town centres:
-Traffic jams
-Limited parking
-Expensive parking
Much as I would like to see high streets prosper, sometimes I would love to see town centres closed down, so the idiots on the councils can see what their anti-mobility policies are doing.
Studies have shown that a lack of parking spaces is one of the major contributors to congestion, as cars spend longer driving around looking for a space to stop.
If they demolished the homes and offices that surrounds the shops they'd be able to make substantial free car parks and if the car parks fill up then they could just demolish more homes until there's room for everyone's car.
Demolishing houses and offices would be a bit drastic, but you could use a bit more consideration when looking at plans to build more of them.
Demolishing houses and offices would be a bit drastic, but you could use a bit more consideration when looking at plans to build more of them.
Absolutely.
There is an old industrial complex near where I live, that is now devoid of any activity, largely thanks to the local council having driven manufactures out due to excessively high rates.
Now, on the "Urban Centre Masterplan Supplementary Planning Document" that I have just received, the council have rubbished the area, mainly due to the high volume of traffic throughout the area.
So, what do they suggest for improvement of the area? New roads, new road layouts, so as to improve traffic flow? Nope! The council want to build over a thousand new flats. They also want to build new office and retail outlets. Not a mention of a new road at all.
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