Winchester Friends of the Earth
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On the 9th April this car park was given the go-ahead, on the proviso that the current review on the South Downs National Park does not extend the boundary of the Park to encompass the Bushfield site. See WinFoE’s press release
► Here
P&R doesn't reduce traffic in city centres unless there is a commitment to the complementary removal of central car parking spaces. There was such a commitment in the application for the Bar End scheme but this has not been honoured. There is no commitment at all to this in regard to the latest scheme at Bushfield. Indeed it is now acknowledged by the authorities that overall traffic will be increased both inside and outside Winchester. The only remaining purpose to the scheme is to reduce central congestion at peak hours by intercepting commuter traffic, a small benefit achieved at a large environmental and economic cost.
Conventional bus and train services are more efficient ways of modal transfer and P&Rs actually encourage some trips to move from the buses to cars and P&R. While conventional public transport for the carless gets more expensive and infrequent, a higher quality, socially superior service is provided at high discount to richer car drivers.
