Consultation about on-street parking options in Marlow starts on Fri 9 Feb 2018

West Street, Marlow. (Archive picture)

A public consultation about on-street parking options in Marlow is to be launched by Buckinghamshire County Council on Friday 9th February 2018.

The consultation will run until Saturday 10th March 2018. On Thursday 15th February 2018 there will be a public drop-in event at the William Borlase School* from 1.30pm until 7.30pm. Members of the public will have the opportunity to view the proposals and to speak to officers from Transport for Buckinghamshire and Marlow Town Council to make their views known and respond to the consultation.

During the consultation period members of the public will be able to respond to the consultation in a variety of ways, including on the County Council website ‘Have Your Say‘ page, the Marlow library in Institute Road, Marlow, SL7 1BL, at Marlow town council offices or at the exhibition.

Parking and congestion in and around Marlow can be a problem for residents and drivers alike, especially at busy times. The primary objectives of the proposals are to improve road safety, reducing congestion and improve turnover of parking through better managed on-street parking.

A study carried out in 2017 showed that there is a need for more parking within the town centre and a better turnover of the existing on-street parking spaces. To try and alleviate these issues, the consultation puts forward two proposed changes to the existing on-street parking in Marlow. These include:

• Providing around 30 additional short-term parking spaces by rearranging the town centre parking bays.
• Helping to fund better enforcement which will provide a higher turnover of parking in the key retail centre.

These two proposals would help improve highway safety. Additionally, they would also reduce congestion and provide a better use of kerbside space, which would have a positive impact on the economic vitality of the town. The measures would contribute to tackling air quality issues in the light of the District Council recently declaring the High Street and other areas of Marlow an Air Quality Management Area in a bid to tackle poor air quality.

From Friday 9th February 2018 the consultation can be viewed on the the Buckinghamshire County Council website at https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/services/council-and-democracy/have-your-say/.

It should be noted that for formal consultations on changes to traffic orders, a petition is technically one objection but is supported by all of the signatories.

Clearly a petition reflects the strength of feeling about the proposals for paid parking in Marlow which will, of course, be taken into account when the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Transport makes his decision after the formal consultation has finished.

*It should be noted there is no parking at William Borlase school but it is fully accessible to all. A public car park is available nearby.