Time is running out to have your say on parking in Banks Road, West Kirby

Time is running out to make your views known to Wirral council about its planned shake-up of parking arrangements in Banks Road, West Kirby.

As we revealed last month, the council is planning to introduce a series of new measures aimed at helping local businesses by making it easier for customers to park on the busy street.

The measures include new parking bays with a two hour limit, shortened bus stop ‘cages’ and strictly enforced parking bans on difficult junctions.

The deadline for giving your feedback during the three week public consultation comes this Friday (February 5). Our story provoked a great deal of initial debate on West Kirby Today, as we reported here.

Many of you welcomed the measures, but there were some concerns that the two hour parking limit might force workers who park on Banks Road to use nearby residential side streets instead.

And it also led to a discussion on more radical ideas, like turning Banks Road into a one way street with angled parking to create more spaces. Since then the discussion has continued.

Neil McCauley has been calling on Twitter for the two hour parking bays to be extended to the stretch of Banks Road between Church Road and South Road, and is urging others to contact Wirral Council to support his view.

And this was the suggestion on our Facebook page from Katherine Nield at the Party Paraphernalia fancy dress shop:

Katherine PartyParaphernalia Nield There is one quick easy way the council could help reduce the congestion and that is to make the council car park down by Morrisons free of charge Monday to Friday. This would remove alot of the commuters off the roads and hopefully alot of the staff from shops and businesses would also benefit from using it. The car park is barely used during the week and generates very little income. But this has been put to the council over and over. We’ve even suggested just taping up the parking meters to do a test and see what effect it has. They keep refusing. To reduce parking up towards my shop I’ve suggested many times knocking down one of those old, now derelict buildings that is Ashton court and making it pay and display parking – again it just gets refused. The new parking bays may help but they are not a long term solution and more needs to be done.

Rex Crenshaw was deeply unimpressed with the two hour parking plan:

 Rex Crawshaw All very well for the shops the 2 hour parking but what about the residents that live above the shops and the people who work in the shops where are they to park? on the side roads that are already full to the brim. and how will it be policed by raising business rates to cover a warden?. silly selfish parking is the problem so if there where marked bays like outside Natwest. then it would self manage. and more space made available

 

If you have a strong view on the issue, and want to make it known to the council before Friday evening’s deadline, comments can be posted on the council’s website http://bit.ly/1H6a1EB or you can email Streetscene@wirral.gov.uk.