West Lothian Council's Consultation on Parking
Linlithgow Civic Trust Response
After considerable debate, the Executive Committee agreed the terms of the
Trust's response. The Council has acknowledged receipt of these observations,
but, due to the scale of the responses received, it may be some time before we
receive a detailed reply. Given the extent of opposition, voiced through local
press, significant changes will be required before the strategy can command a
broad level of support.
In principle, LCT is not opposed to the introduction of Controlled Parking
Zones, given the major concerns regarding traffic management and congestion
referred to in 'A Vision for Linlithgow'.
Any Controlled Parking Zone introduction should, however, be set against a
backdrop of a more holistic solution, which should include assessment of
potential strategic solutions such as:
- Introduction of 'Park and Ride' facilities at both the east and west
extremities of the town to divert long stay parking from the Central area.
Areas for investigation might include Burghmuir junction in the east and St
Ninian's Road (adjacent to the loch - has anybody actually investigated the
possibility of releasing it from Trust control?), north end of Mill Road
opposite the industrial estate, or west of Linlithgow Bridge off the Falkirk
Road
- Serious investigation of the potential development capacity of the
existing car park at Regent's Centre. The Council's consultation leaflet
dismisses new parking provision as too costly: has the potential
contribution from future planning gain been adequately researched, have
First ScotRail as the operator of the key parking attractor been approached
re possible part funding, have Tesco's, one of the most profitable companies
in UK, been approached on a similar basis, have the owners of Regent Centre
been sounded out about their future development proposals?
- The potential for an expanded facility at this location should not be
dismissed from the outset.
Within Linlithgow, bus operators should be asked to review their current
route/timetabling structures to ascertain the potential for operating
augmented services from the east and west of the town particularly at peak
periods (7 - 9 am and 4 - 6.30 pm) to dissuade rail commuters from
attempting to park their cars as close to the station as possible.
Comments on the Clarendon Zone:
- LCT is concerned that, due to the way the boundary is drawn, the outcome
of this scheme will be merely to move the existing long stay commuter
parking from Manse Road into adjoining streets outwith the zone, which are
technically and spatially even less suited to such a use. Currently, despite
the long stay parking in Manse Road, traffic appears to flow relatively
easily both north and south, for the most part. Given that most residents
directly affected north of Clarendon Road have additional access from the
rear of their properties, LCT wonders how significant this issue is at this
location? If this zone is to proceed, consideration should be given to
extending the boundaries to include all streets within an acceptable walking
distance from the station (say as far west as Friar's Brae).
Comments on the In Town Zone
- St Ninian's Road is currently shown as an area of free parking; given that
it might reasonably be regarded as being within reasonable walking
distance/time of the station it might be consistent to allocate all day
charging costs as at Strawberry Bank?
- Wateryett Long stay car park - given the proximity and use of the Health
Centre, consideration should be given to allocating at least a proportion of
this facility as short/medium stay parking to allow for patient traffic
turnover.
- On street parking in High Street - for the most part the proposals appear
reasonable although the allocation of High Port as a medium stay location
appears somewhat inconsistent, given its proximity to the High St core - it
should be categorised as short stay.
- Again within the High St, other than around the Red Cross shop/Cabrelli's
area opposite the Health Centre, the traditional practice of allowing on
pavement parking requires re-consideration, in the context of a
comprehensive pavement/carriageway re-configuration/public realm investment.
Conclusions
These comments represent the initial thoughts of LCT Executive Committee and
will doubtless be augmented by a series of additional responses from Members in
an individual capacity (See 'A
Resident's View').
As mentioned in the Vision document, West Lothian Council and the Linlithgow
community as a whole, need to agree on the future role of the town with the
impending reduction of the Council's administration role. If it is to be a
commuter town, a specialist retail town, a tourism town or a combination of
these and any other roles, the key to the success of the agreed strategy is the
availability of an adequate infrastructure, of which sufficient parking
provision to meet all the various 'parking demands/needs' is absolutely
essential.
The proposals put forward currently represent a first stage in this process -
they require considerable refinement/additional research/investigation of
related options, preferably in the context of the finalised outcome of the
impending Public Local Inquiry into the West Lothian Plan, before LCT could
consider their formal endorsement.
Phil Murray
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