Marine traders have own answer to parking ‘folly’
Thursday 29th December 2011, 2:30PM GMT.
Guernsey Marine Traders Association president Matt Waters alongside one of the seven granite follies it wants removed to create 93 permanent parking places at North Beach. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 1211972)
DEMOLISHING seven granite follies to the south of the QE2 marina would create up to 93 new parking spaces in Town, the Guernsey Marine Traders Association said yesterday.
The body has objected to the Public Services Department’s harbour plans, which would see 200 spaces lost at North Beach for two-and-a-half years while work is carried out to replace the harbour cranes and improve the berths.
The association has put forward alternative proposals in its objection. It suggests knocking down the seven granite ‘follies’ – three-sided granite structures to the north and south of the QE2 Marina that include seating areas for people to look out over the marina – and the short section of the wall in the corner between North Beach and the East Arm.
‘The seven granite follies serve no purpose – there are only a total of three public benches in the seven follies,’ said association president Matt Waters.
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Tomorrow’s news – GMTA President Matt Waters narrowly escaped serious injury after standing in the middle of the road. :-)
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Why do car owners think the Island revolves around them? Why spend extra x hundreds of thousands creating 95 extra spaces? Will knocking the wall down, transporting it and disposing of it be cheap?
Why must we constantly pander to the whims of drivers. You want the roads…you have the roads. You take the pavements whenever their isn’t enough road. You ruin the island experience for cyclists, horse riders and pedestrians day in day out. When you don’t have enough parking spaces you shout “knock these walls down and create MORE spaces because we demand the right to park our precious cars” Its all a bit self righteous and damned selfish.
Car owners just need to accept that their will be 200 less spaces in town for a couple of years. Get on your bike, or walk or get the bus. Get over it and adapt.
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Why should all hard working people be punished, when Civil Servants and finance workers get free parking underneath their buildings.
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Couldn’t agree more – and I am a car driver. I would like to cycle but I consider the roads too dangerous, having come close to being knocked off by drivers who can’t wait for a proper gap to pass.
If drivers were charged the going rate for the use of a parking space then a certain number of people would find alternate ways of travelling to town. Businesses and shops could set up car share rosters, neighbours could collaborate and the whole congestion thing would be eased, travel would be quicker, people would talk to each other more and pollution would be reduced. What’s not to like?
So instead of demolishing at great cost parts of the pier, let’s try and prevent the problem rather than accommodating it.
Happy New Year!
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80,000 plus motor vehicles in the island?
Only 60,000 plus pedestrians and most of them are either walking to or from their vehicle
SO THE MOTORIST MUST WIN!
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Don’t go off on an anti-car rant when this suggestion is being made the MARINE traders, NOT by the local car club!
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I agree with getting rid of these so-called “follies” but is a more permanent solution to parking in Town as a whole also feasible – to simply build a further tier of parking above the existing North Beach car park?
Let’s face it, it’s not exactly going to detract from the area and you could then have the longer-term parking in the back of the lower tier and the shorter term on the top, more ‘visible’ tier…..??
Just a thought.
Oh – and whilst you’re at it, get rid of the model yacht pond too… It’s not exactly used much is it??…
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When I visit I rarely see the pond not in use. Last visit it had children learning to sail and powered model boats enjoying it.
Car use is not exactly ever discouraged, the problem is only going to get worse until public transport is improved.
I agree with the comment made about just adapt for a couple years to the loss of spaces.
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Get rid of the model yacht pond…
…and where would you like the young sailors of Guernsey to learn their craft? And before some ‘clever’ person says “The Sea!” – Have you ever tried to launch children into Havelet Bay on a windy day? These children are mostly under 10yrs old and it wouldn’t be safe or practical to put them into a sailing dinghy by themselves in the sea!
Perhaps a bit more research on your part Ian and you would discover the Guernsey is producing young sailors that are representing our Island and International level…and guess where they started…?
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OK keep the model yacht pond but why does it have to be located smack bang in St Peter Port? Surely it can be relocated to a more appropriate place. How about the unused area behind beau sejour for example. Plenty of room there and beau sejour could do with the extra income.
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Spartacus
Why does the model yacht pond need to be by the harbour?
Why can’t you park behind Beau Sejour?
Heaven forfend that a car driver might not be able to exercise his god-given right to drive door to door!
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rocquaine
I note your points and didn’t mean to demean the requirements of model yacht pond users (who I never seem to see when I go down that way)
I’m just throwing ideas out there!
I tend to park at the Salerie because I hate driving round in circles wasting petrol and I like a bit of a stroll.
My concern is for the traders in St Peter Port who will suffer if shoppers with cars can’t be bothered due to parking hassles. Shoppers will always prefer cars to buses and will want to park close by because you can load up the car and pop to waitrose etc on the way home.
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I too am concerned for the shops in St Peter Port (well some of them anyway). It would be interesting to see what results a free bus service would achieve, and maybe the States should do a 3 month trial of free buses when the parking restrictions start. If there is a bus company that is.
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Spartacus
I must look out for you next time I’m down by the Model Yacht Pond because I too can’t remember when I last saw it in use
It is a huge space in Guernsey terms and looks like something Islander’s German friends left behind out of spite ( Sorry Islander .. I take that back)
I reckon Pulias Pond would be an ideal replacement site with a bit of work and wouldn’t be a drain on taxpayers resources for the constant patching up that the present pond needs
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There are eight Follies serving no useful purpose if you count the one by the plantation.
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Mr G you make me laugh. Even more than PB Falla. Happy new year to you sir.
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Matt Waters – what an ignorant quote.
Just because something isn’t a parking space, it doesn’t render it completely useless. Many people sit here during the summer months (on the wall as well as the benches).
I don’t have the answer to the parking problem on the island, one thing is for sure, knocking down these spaces is not the answer.
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My cousin was intending to make use of one of the follies for a few hours last summer to paint a marina scene but she had to give up because there was nowhere to park
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So the traders object to the removal of exclusive parking spaces for which they pay nothing?
I looked yesterday and I could not see any boat moorings set aside for the motor trade in the North beach marina.
Still, nice of the harbour master to create a good smoke screen to hide the big question…
Why do we offload commercial cargo in SPP and then drive 95% of it down to SS?
How much are those much needed new cranes again?
Where is all the airport import “temporarily” coming into excatly? Surely not a SS deep water berth?
Do we laugh or cry?
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Why not build a multi-story car park, like in the UK, that can accommodate 1000′s of cars?
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Ooooh yes! Let’s ‘accommodate 1000′s of cars’ onto our roads and into our small town! That will show how keen we are to care for our island…… not!
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There is a lot of granite there for someone to reuse.
This will make it even noisier in the marina as the walls act as a sound barrier.
There is a lot of electrics with in the build as well this would have to be moved .
more cars for St Peter Port soon we will have one huge car park and only granite seats to sit on.
Seems like the car rules in our island.
About time there was park and ride from all parishes . let other parishes have a bloney car park as well .
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http://www.topdeckparking.co.uk/?gclid=CPyQ6I6Hp60CFZMhtAodWC3Vug
This is worth looking at but for goodness sake start charging for long term parking, the only people currently paying back for the use of the purpose built QE2 area seems to be the boatowners…makes no business or black hole filling sense to me at all!
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I’m gonna put exactly what I put a few posts up, why should hard working Guernsey people pay for parking when Civil Servants and highly paid finance workers get free parking right outside their office?
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Mr G,
If you want parking as part of your remuneration package, then by all means apply for a job with the States or finance sector. However the fact that these institutions on occasion may subsidise or cover the cost of their employees’ parking space has no bearing on whether there should be paid parking in Town or elsewhere.
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My post fully explains why there shouldn’t be paid parking, you will be making the poor poorer and the rich richer.
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That is up to the States to resolve (this lot never will, doubt the next lot will either). Unpaid for private parking should be taxed as a perks, ie where public spaces not available!
Utoh, see a few more civ servs to do this then a manager, report, etc. Slow snails will win one day
Vroom Vroom Guernsey loves cars
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if the states members had to find a parking place to attend there meetings instead of having one supplied,the parking and the bus service would have been sorted out years ago
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Hold on a minute Mr G not all civil servants have allocated parking, I was a civil servant for 22 years and I had a space very early in the morning if I managed to get there in time, it was called Salerie corner, dont tar everyone with the same brush. I can think of two large States departments that have no parking.
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