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Former mayor raps loss of parking spaces

April 24, 2004 06:00

The loss of 60 parking spaces and a 20mph speed limit in Swaffham - proposed as part of a major town centre revamp - have been rapped by a former mayor.

Paul Ison, who until his retirement last year was one of Swaffham's most experienced civic leaders and served as a councillor for 35 years, said a reduction in parking spaces would force people away from the town.

The 20mph limit would cause serious congestion, especially at peak times during the summer holiday season and the build-up to Christmas, he said.

The changes are proposed in a £627,000 plan as part of the Iceni Partnership's revamp of Swaffham and supported by the town council.

Details will be available at the annual town assembly in the Assembly Rooms next Wednesday.

Plans will be on display in the town hall on May 4-5 and in the Assembly Rooms May 6-8, when officials will be available to discuss the scheme.

Mr Ison said: "I'm amazed at what is going on. It seems like a death knoll to lose 60 car parking spaces and I'm more than perturbed about it. Swaffham's lifeline is its commercial centre, and a reduction in parking could do irreparable harm."

He said the proposals would create the same kind of problems as those faced by Downham Market traders in the aftermath of a similar redevelopment scheme last year.

"They have completely and utterly messed up Downham Market and there the traders and shoppers are up in arms because the lifeblood of the town has been destroyed."

Mr Ison said reducing traffic speed to 20mph would be "horrendous," adding: "I would have thought 30 was enough to keep the traffic flow going at a safe speed. I can't think of too many people who have been injured in accidents in the town."

He promised: "I shall go to one of the consultation sessions because these points really need to be brought home. Some of these things that are going on really get hold of me."
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I don't suppose anyone has contact details for Paul Ison do they?

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

They have done the same thing in my town centre.

Speed limit down to 20 mph & reduced parking bays for the creation of traffic calming furniture.

I simply stopped shopping in the town, i do everything on the retail parks. Which offer free parking


This type of madness will see the end of town centre shopping.

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Steve

They did it here years ago. 20mph blanket limit on the main road (a lot of the other roads/streets are still 30mph, though), and there are now only about ten parking places on the main road through the town, most of which are reserved for the disabled. The street is also littered with humps, and it now has sections where it is no longer wide enough for two buses to pass - and quite a few buses pass through here. To say nothing of the ridiculous streetlamps which make the whole town look ugly, nor the pink-tinged tarmac that's extremely slippery when wet...

All it needs now is a batch of speed cameras to improve it to the point of perfection! [/sarcasm]

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-mike[F]
Caught in the rush of the crowd, lost in a wall of sound..

A Village near me has just Installed New Traffic Calming measures at £Thousands to the Tax Payer I expect. With a reduced speed limit to 20 Mph & humps that don't do a thing. You could never speed through there any way because always something parked along the road !

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RoADA Member -GOLD 2008
If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.

[quote="SafeSpeed"][url=http://www.edp24.co.uk/content/News/story.asp?datetime=24+Apr+2004+06%3A00&tbrand=EDPOnline&tCategory=NEWS&category=News&brand=EDPOnline&itemid=NOED23+Apr+2004+19%3A34%3A18%3A153][b]([u]mega link[/u])[/b][/url]

[b]Former mayor raps loss of parking spaces[/b]

April 24, 2004 06:00

The loss of 60 parking spaces and a 20mph speed limit in Swaffham - proposed as part of a major town centre revamp - have been rapped by a former mayor.

Paul Ison, who until his retirement last year was one of Swaffham's most experienced civic leaders and served as a councillor for 35 years, said a reduction in parking spaces would force people away from the town.

The 20mph limit would cause serious congestion, especially at peak times during the summer holiday season and the build-up to Christmas, he said.

The changes are proposed in a £627,000 plan as part of the Iceni Partnership's revamp of Swaffham and supported by the town council.

Details will be available at the annual town assembly in the Assembly Rooms next Wednesday.

Plans will be on display in the town hall on May 4-5 and in the Assembly Rooms May 6-8, when officials will be available to discuss the scheme.

Mr Ison said: "I'm amazed at what is going on. It seems like a death knoll to lose 60 car parking spaces and I'm more than perturbed about it. Swaffham's lifeline is its commercial centre, and a reduction in parking could do irreparable harm."

He said the proposals would create the same kind of problems as those faced by Downham Market traders in the aftermath of a similar redevelopment scheme last year.

"They have completely and utterly messed up Downham Market and there the traders and shoppers are up in arms because the lifeblood of the town has been destroyed."

Mr Ison said reducing traffic speed to 20mph would be "horrendous," adding: "I would have thought 30 was enough to keep the traffic flow going at a safe speed. I can't think of too many people who have been injured in accidents in the town."

He promised: "I shall go to one of the consultation sessions because these points really need to be brought home. Some of these things that are going on really get hold of me."
====================================

I don't suppose anyone has contact details for Paul Ison do they?[/quote]



20mph speed limits? I know of another one near Winderemere/Troutbeck in Cumbria. A narrow A road has been made narrower by the addition of those bloody awful green-coloured cycle lanes and to cap it all off-a 20mph speed limit!