Pontypool: A history of parking problems (From Free Press Series)

Pontypool: A history of parking problems

2:55pm Thursday 2nd July 2009

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AS TORFAEN Council unveils proposals to improve car parking in Pontypool, we explain the background to the problem that has irritated shoppers and traders over the past six months.

BACK in 2005 the borough council forecast a possible shortfall in car parking spaces as the town continued to grow.

In January this year it introduced new three-hour limits to three floors of Riverside car park and red bays in the Civic Centre. Offenders faced a £60 fine.

The changes were brought in after the council heard concerns from some traders about a shortage of spaces for shoppers, because people who worked in Pontypool were holding onto bays throughout the day.

But many traders and shoppers soon found that they were now unable to find long-term car parking spaces if they arrived in town any later than 9.30am. And the problems escalated on Wednesdays when the outdoor market is in town.

This resulted in people unwillingly overstaying the limit in short-term bays, or resorting to parking in unmarked bays or those reserved for the disabled.

The council has issued 205 tickets since the enforcement began at Civic Centre, Rosemary Lane and the Riverside multi-storey car parks. 97 were for overstaying time limits.

Of these, 68 offenders appealed the fine and 28 were successful.

Salon 68 owner Vivien Lewis is one of the traders who refused to pay a fine after overstaying the time limit in a short-term bay.

She successfully appealed the fine and began a petition calling for better car parking in Pontypool, collecting more than 500 signatures.

Following reports in the Free Press, town centre manager Denise Langman spoke to traders about their concerns and the council’s regeneration team monitored parking patterns in the town, agreeing the need for change.

Ms Langman said: “A number of small businesses in Pontypool are concerned that their clients cannot find long-term spaces and therefore are not able to continue shopping after their appointments or do not have enough time before they have to return to their car and try and locate another space.”

The proposed changes now include making all 68 spaces on level four of Riverside car park long-term; changing all three-hour bays to four hours throughout the town centre; increasing the one hour time limit in Rosemary Lane car park to two hours; and creating eight short-stay spaces at Trosnant.

Chairman of Pontypool Regeneration Partnership Cllr John Marshall says achieving a balance must be struck between short and long-stay parking in Pontypool.

Chairman of Pontypool Chamber of Trade Gaynor James welcomed the latest changes saying: “It’s a positive step forward in resolving parking problems in Pontypool and should make a real difference for traders and shoppers.”

But salon owner Ms Lewis believes still more should be done, and wants another car park.

She said: “Any improvement is good but there’s no getting away from the fact that Pontypool is in desperate need of another decent-sized car park.”

The council says it is aware of this need but says suitable sites are in short supply.

Town centre manager Ms Langman said: “Creating new parking is expensive and the council has limited resources of funding at its disposal.”

The council will continue to explore opportunities for creating more car parking spaces, she added.

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