What Is The New Mayor Of London Going To Do For Car Drivers?
Most of the London Mayor candidates for 2016 seem to ignore car drivers.
As a non-driver, I wouldn’t mind if the new Mayor decreed that no-one in London could own a car, but if he or she did, they wouldn’t get elected.
I do occasionally need to be transported by car and as I don’t have the expense of actually owning one, I can afford to take a black cab, which I do perhaps a dozen times a year, at a total cost of perhaps three hundred pounds.
The most difficult journeys are ones where say, a friend is picking me up and taking me somewhere, so they have to drive into Hackney and out the other side again. Which just adds to the congestion unneccesarily.
The other tricky thing for car-drivers, is those coming into London often have no convenient Park-and-Ride. I was lucky, when I lived near Newmarket, as I could park at Whittlesford Parkway and get a train into Liverpool Street.
But when years ago, when I lived near Ipswich, parking was very limited and I had to get a taxi to the station. I once had a letter from British Rail suggesting that I ask my wife to drive me to the train.
I also see problems with the new Night Tube. This will generate an amazing night life all over the centre of London and I think we’ll see large numbers of people using the Tube late into the night and early morning. Those living in London will be able to use the Tube, but as there is little adequate parking at or around stations just inside the M25, visitors and those working late in the evening, may well lead to a lot of parking congestion around the stations.
To add to that, as London becomes an increasingly twenty four hour/seven day a week city, there will be an increasing need for some form of parking for night workers.
I have checked the map and the only Tube and rail stations close to a junction of the M25 will parking, can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
I believe that London needs a ring of well-designed car/bus/train interchanges around the M25. I did propose one at Waltham Cross, but that idea was not put together properly.
The interchanges would be designed for the following services.
1. Park-And-Ride, particularly aimed at those not wanting to stay all day. So perhaps the parking charges would be sensible for say the first four hours and then draconian afterwards. Obviously, at weekends and in the evenings, they would be reduced and aimed at those perhaps going to a sporting event or seeing a show or concert.
2. Pick-Up and Drop-Off of passengers, perhaps linked to something like thirty minutes free parking.
3. Car Hire for those living in London.
4. Long Distance Coach Services
5. Motorway Services
Obviously, there would be a frequent service into Central London. The service would have to be step-free and wi-fi enabled. I also think that like Cambridge’s superb Park-and-Ride, it would be linked into the cycle network.
Get it right and it would cut vehicular traffic into London.
The Anonymous Widower 
A while ago I had to spend two days in Lyon, I stayed in a hotel near the airport and drove to the outskirts and parked in a side street.
Talking to somebody on the train he told me that is not how it works. There are large car parks on the outside of Lyon off all the major routes which are free if buying a train or metro ticket, which in those days was €3.50 for a day rover ticket, now that is public transport.
Comment by Richard Nobbs | June 26, 2015 |
The parking at stations outside London is terrible. The only good one, I know in the whole of East Anglia is Whittlesford Parkway. How’s it down your way?
Comment by AnonW | June 26, 2015 |