Opinion : Five Christmas presents for Wycombe
Christmas is nearly here. Just a few days to go then turkey, Christmas crackers, unwrapping presents, eating to excess and indigestion will be the order of the day.
Suppose we were to give Wycombe a Christmas present this year. What sort of gift would be suitable for our town?
Well, my good self has put a lot of thought into this topic and here is my top five list of gifts (in reverse order) that I think Wycombe would like :
5. Get rid of ANPR technology in car parks and return to Pay and Display
Once upon a time parking in a car park was easy. You bought a pay and display ticket for the required length of time and that’s it.
Then the newfangled electrical technology encroached on the town’s car parks turning something that was simple into a nightmare.
Cameras scan your car’s registration number and payment is all electronic. Life is too complicated to mess around. What a charade just to park a car.
Bring back the simple pay and display technology in just a few of the car parks to make parking easy once again. No camera, no electronic payment methods, no complexity.
3. A new fountain for Frogmoor
Mention Frogmoor and everyone thinks of the the magnificent Frogmoor gardens with flower beds and of course the fountain.
Look at Frogmoor today. A barren concrete wilderness, a far cry from the Frogmoor of the past.
Recently work was carried out to create car parking spaces on the edge of Frogmoor, parked cars hardly enhance the beauty of the area do they?
Rip up the concrete, put down some grass and let’s have a huge fountain too. Perfect.
4. Put doors and a full roof on the shopping complex
Only in Wycombe could they build a large, prestigious public building and forget to put doors or a complete roof over it.
In order to entice customers to spend money in the shops the right atmosphere needs to be created. Shoppers are less likely to open their wallets if that are subjected to a draughty wind tunnel with rain pouring down on them.
Millions can be found for alterations to the roads in Wycombe and for constructing coach parks on the outer edge of town so why can’t some money be found to complete the shopping complex and make it a pleasant environment in which to shop?
2. Stop the traffic master plan and reconstruct the dual carriageway on Oxford Road
Just look at the traffic jams that have built up in the Oxford Road area and the town centre since a dual carriageway was reduced to a single track road with a 20MPH speed limit.
Surely it’s common sense that unless traffic has the ability to move quickly, freely and easily traffic jams and tailbacks will form. The master plan needs to be abandoned and the dual carriageway rebuilt in Oxford Road.
It’s time for the powers that be to realise that the traffic will not go away and we need to live with it as it brings economic prosperity to the town.
The master plan will not stop traffic jams no more than King Canute could stop the sea.
1. A five year licence for Wycombe Sound
If there is one thing that Wycombe needs more than anything this Christmas it’s a full five year broadcast licence for the Wycombe Sound radio station.
During the three Ofcom Restricted Service Licences the station has obtained it has proven to be a vital community resource bringing benefit to everyone.
Every time Wycombe Sound is on the air it has a huge benefit and impact on the whole of the local community. Everyone in the town is better off for the presence of Wycombe Sound.
The sooner the radio station is on the air permanently the better.
What do you think?
Don’t forget my special Christmas blog will be published at 3.00pm on Christmas Day, Friday 25th December 2015.
*My blogs are published every Tuesday and Friday evening around 8.00pm here on the WycombeToday.com website.
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