Opinion : The nearest car park is too far away….

The weather was nice at lunchtime today.

In Wycombe town centre the sun was shining and shoppers were busy milling around looking to make purchases.

After finishing my sandwiches yours truly decided to walk round to Frogmoor for a little exercise before returning to work.

Making my way around towards Queens Square a shopper walked past carrying a large box containing a purchase they had made. The box was of an awkward shape and looked rather heavy.

Of course the nearest car park was an awfully long way away and there are no places in the town centre where a motorist can park for a quick pick up.

When you think about it Wycombe town centre may have lots of glitzy shops but it’s no use selling items if those buying can’t get them home.

There are plenty of taxi ranks, bus stops and yellow lines in our shopper unfriendly town but nowhere to park a car for a few moments to pick something up. To make matters worse the bus station is out of the way since it was relocated close to Bridge Street.

Wycombe may be awash with pedestrianised areas but I fear there is a desperate lack of vehicular access for those needing to get heavy or awkward goods home.

The large supermarkets usually have car parks close by so they are relatively unaffected, it’s the small traders in White Hart Street, the High Street, Frogmoor and Church Street who are don’t have car parking close by. This surely puts them at a disadvantage?

Once again the large shops have the upper hand when it comes to trading in the town centre.

The rush to pedestrianise in the politically correct 1990’s is now, I fear, costing our town business.

I for one would have difficulty buying a large item than lugging it back to a car which is a long distance away.

What do you think?

*My next blog will be published on Friday evening around 8pm here on the WycombeToday.com website.