Tag Archives: Transport

Free parking for Warwick visitors

Warwickshire County Council and Warwick District Council are putting out the positive message that Warwick is open for business by offering free parking in the town centre at weekends.

Warwick town centre is currently undergoing improvements to High Street and Jury Street and as an act of goodwill to businesses and visitors the county council and district council are relaxing the rules to allow motorists to park for free on Saturdays and Sundays for the next three weekends.

From this Saturday (May 19), the county council will waive the charges for on-street parking and Warwick District Council will do the same for its off-street town centre car parks at West Gate, New Street, The Butts, Barrack Street, Linen Street, Priory Road, and Castle Lane. These measures will be in place on May 19 and 20, May 26 and 27, and June 2 and 3.

Cllr Peter Butlin, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transport, said: “We recognise that there has been disruption in Warwick while the town centre improvements have been carried out, and have decided to offer free parking as a gesture of goodwill. We hope this encourages shoppers to enjoy their time in the town and stay longer without having to worry about the cost.

“Warwick remains well and truly open for business and we thank everyone for their patience while these works are being carried out. Once completed, High Street and Jury Street will be much more user-friendly for pedestrians and have considerable long-term benefits for the town.”

Cllr Dave Shilton, Warwick District Council’s Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhood added, “We are well aware of the difficulties that drivers are experiencing in travelling in and out of Warwick town centre at the moment.  We hope that by offering free parking at seven of our car parks in the town, residents and visitors will be encouraged to continue with their usual visits into the town centre.”

During the improvement works, businesses have remained open as normal and traffic patterns have settled down after initial delays caused by the diversions.

The county council is continuing to endeavour to keep disruption to a minimum and ask that people bear with us while the work is completed.

For more information on the Warwick improvements visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/highstjuryst

Details on parking in Warwick district can be found at www.warwickdc.gov.uk/WDC/roads-parking-and-transport

Put Spring in your step

Winter is finally over, so why not have a spring clean of your lifestyle choices and try walking to work?

People who walk to work often arrive feeling awake and with plenty of energy to take on the challenges of the day.

Walk to Work Week is the perfect time to get active. Join in the campaign between Monday (May 14) and Friday (May 18) by registering your steps on the website at http://www.livingstreets.org.uk/walk-with-us/events-and-challenges/great-british-walking-challenge and counting up how many muffins you can eat in exchange for the number of calories you burn.

Cllr Peter Butlin, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transport, said: “Why not make exercise part of your daily routine by combining your commute to work with getting into shape? A 15 minute walk both to and from work everyday can constitute the minimum recommended amount of physical activity you should be doing every week.”

John Linnane, Warwickshire’s Director of Public Health, added: “If you feel you live too far away to walk the whole way, or you are feeling a little out of condition, why not combine it with another mode of transport. You could catch the bus or train and walk the remainder of the journey and still feel the benefits. Or park and stride by finding a viable parking spot just outside of where you work.  And if you can not walk to work, at least take some time out to get some fresh air and exercise during your lunch hour.”

On average people walk between 3,000 and 4,000 steps a day. In Japanese, the pedometers nickname is ‘manpo-kei’, but there’s nothing lost in translation here, as it literally means ’10,000 steps’. This is the Government recommended daily amount of steps and there is evidence that walking 10,000 steps a day can lead to significant health benefits. If done daily it can help reduce the risk of developing serious illnesses such as heart disease, some cancers, diabetes and depression.

Warwick works update

Warwickshire County Council is asking motorists to remain patient while work continues on making Warwick town centre more user-friendly for pedestrians.

A decision was taken on Wednesday to close The Butts northbound at short notice in a bid to ease rush-hour congestion in the town caused by diversions and high volumes of vehicles from returning schools, inclement weather and a road traffic accident.

The Butts will remain closed to northbound traffic until the end of next month to act as a pressure valve while the works continue in High Street and Jury Street. Businesses remain open as normal and it is anticipated that traffic patterns will settle down as motorists return to normal routes and adjust journey times.

The county council will endeavour to keep disruption to a minimum and ask that people bear with us while the work is completed. The road closures and diversions will be continually under review.

For more information visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/highstjuryst

Olympic football – residents parking event

As Coventry and Warwickshire gets ready to welcome the world for Olympic football this summer, work is underway to ensure parking arrangements are in place for local residents and businesses.

To make sure all residents in the locality of the Ricoh Arena – renamed the City of Coventry Stadium – are aware of the parking arrangements that are being introduced throughout the duration of the games, an open invite has been extended to attend a presentation by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG).

The event is being held on Thursday 12 April between 6pm and 7pm at Exhall Old School Community Centre, School Road, Exhall.

The priority of LOCOG and the local authorities is for residents and businesses to operate as normal and the games are to be an experience for all. Residents will have the opportunity to see how the organisers will manage the transport for the venue and discuss any issues with them directly.

As on match or major event days the parking protection area will operate on Olympic match days from two hours before kick off until one hour after the final whistle. Where there are back to back matches the protection will remain in place between games.

Cllr Peter Butlin, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Transport and Highways, said: “A lot of work is going on behind the scenes to ensure that the necessary parking arrangements are in place for local residents and businesses when the Olympic football comes to Coventry.

“This is a once in a lifetime event and we are striving to minimise disruption to those who live and work around the stadium.”

More information is available on the London 2012 website www.london2012.com/accessandparking

Bus services to be debated at overview and scrutiny

Warwickshire County Council’s Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee meets on Thursday 12 April.
Items for discussion include a review of the impact that reductions to the bus services have had on communities.
The committee is made up of a cross-party group of councilors who scrutinize Council services and ensure that it delivers on its promises. 
Members of the public are encouraged to attend the meeting and give their views.
Cllr John Whitehouse, chair of the committee, said:  “This meeting of Communities Overview and Scrutiny is an opportunity for the public to feed back on decisions made that affect their local bus services.”
“Faced with budget reductions, we have to be realistic and accept that the county council cannot support the service in the same way as before but this is an opportunity to check that the council has made the right decisions in the routes that it has prioritised and it is important that we know what impact the changes are having on residents.
“We welcome the input of residents at the meeting which will take place at Shire Hall, Warwick at 10am on the 12th of April.  We urge anyone with a view on the bus services in their area to come along and share their experience.”
For further information on the meeting visit the democratic services blog at warksdemocracy.wordpress.com
If you would like to ask a question at the meeting or give your views, please get in touch with daveabbott@warwickshire.gov.uk

New contract brings yearly £1m savings

Three neighbouring councils have joined together to sign a highways contract that it is hoped will bring joint savings of £1 million a year.

Solihull Council, Coventry City Council and Warwickshire County Council have undergone a procurement process that sees them jointly employ the contractor Balfour Beatty for their highways work.

  • The Councils have the ability to use the contract to provide:
  • •           routine and planned highways work eg. pot hole repairs, resurfacing, building new roads
  • •           street lighting
  • •           bridge maintenance
  • •           traffic projects, such as calming, zebra crossings, junction realignments
  • •           winter maintenance
  • •           drainage works

The contract will cover around 5,400km of roads, and create savings of £1m each year.

Councillor Peter Butlin, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transport, said: “The highways maintenance contract delivers one of our core services and its performance is incredibly important to residents and businesses.

“By agreeing a highways contract as three-way partnership, we will be able to deliver far better value for money to the taxpayer. As neighbours, it makes perfect sense for Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull to join up and deliver a more efficient service through collaborative working.”

Councillor Ted Richards, Cabinet Member for Transport and Highways at Solihull Council said: “This partnership demonstrates how, by working together, local authorities can achieve the best possible services for their residents and at the same time, bring in savings to the council taxpayer.”

Coventry will also benefit by the extra skills available in bridge maintenance outlined in their works programme.

Councillor Lindsley Harvard, Cabinet Member for City Services at Coventry City Council, said: “It makes sense in the current climate for us to work together and, using our bulk buying power, to maximise on expenditure. Balfours will provide specialist and top-up services whilst working alongside our workforce.”

Terry Woodhouse, Managing Director, Balfour Beatty Living Places, added: “Balfour Beatty Living Places is delighted to be working with Warwickshire County Council, Coventry City Council and Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in this innovative, first of its kind contract. We are dedicated to delivering an effective, efficient, sustainable and customer focused highways service for the whole area.”

The agreement comes into effect in 2013, with the new contractor working from a base in each area.