Graham, Tom and Ian

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Cheadle car park changes – how do YOU think it’s working?

by Lib Dem team on 27 April, 2016

After consulting with residents, traders and others, Keith and the Lib Dem team got the council to change the car parking charges in Cheadle village centre.

Instead of a flat 20p an hour, the charges reverted to the previous fees: 30p for 0-2 hours, £1.50 for 2-3 hours and £5 for more than 3 hours.

The idea is to discourage all-day parking and free up spaces in the car park for short-stay. For anyone who needs to park all day, we’ve offered to help them find a parking space within a few minutes walk of the village centre that’s both free and doesn’t inconvenience residents. (People can also choose to come in by bus or bike, or – if they want to – pay the higher charge).

We want to know how you think it’s working. If you’re a shopper, are you finding it easier to park. If you’re a trader, are you getting more customers through the door. If you parked all day in the car parks, have you found a workable alternative?

It’s still very early days – the new charges have been in for just over a week – so we know we’ll need to revisit this over the coming months. Right now, we want to get some first impressions of how the changes are working so please do let us know.

 

   20 Comments

20 Responses

  1. Alistair says:

    I like the changes – there is more car movement during the day and there do always seem to be spaces available for our customers. I have noticed that surrounding streets parking seems to be fuller, but not excessively or obstructively so.

  2. Roy says:

    The car park seems to be working well but there needs to be more vigorous enforcement of illegal parking both in Resident Only areas and Yelow Lined areas and at junctions ( I believe it is an offence to park within 5 metres of a junction).
    Can we have a full daily traffic warden service for Cheadle working from say 10am to 7pm to sort out the inconsiderate drivers who wont abide by the rules, there are major problems in Brooklyn Road and on Wilmslow Road due to the fast food outlets of Chickadees etc. Please can this be sorted

  3. Michael Sandler says:

    If Cheadle is to compete with Sainsburys and other big retail areas where parking is free, then the first 30 minutes needs to be free and, thereafter it should be 20p. There are many people who would like to “pop” into Cheadle for one small item and which would take them no ore than a few minutes. It’s ludicrous that any payment is required when, as stated, it’s free elsewhere.

  4. June says:

    I’ve noticed a significant increase in parking along Wilmslow Road.
    A more frequent bus service in the area could only help all the various traffic congestion problems.

    • Stuart Thompson says:

      The frequent bus service should start in Cheadle Hulme (say Albert Road) and pass through Cheadle to East Didsbury. Although Metrolink from East Didsbury is useful, it generates significant congestion on Manchester Road from the traffic it attracts. At some times of day, it can take 4 cycles of the traffic lights by the Gateway to clear a backlog of traffic from the bridge over the Mersey. Then this batch of traffic has to wait for 2 or 3 cycles of the lights by Tesco in order to turn right towards the Park and Ride entrance. I know that I have to allow 25 minutes to drive from the centre of Cheadle in order to get to the Park and Ride with certainty. Then there is the problem that the Park and Ride is sometimes totally full and it is then necessary to try an alternative route into the city.
      A shuttle bus should leave Manchester Road as though going to Didsbury, turn right immediately before the railway bridge, pass Tesco on its left hand side, and turn right to pick up passengers for the return journey through Cheadle. It would remove congestion on Manchester Road, at the Gateway lights, and avoid the need to turn right for the Park and Ride. This service would lead to increased revenue for Metrolink. It is a win-win situation for all concerned (TfGM, Stockport Council and its parking problems)
      The shuttle should start early and continue late so that people who work in Manchester and wish to spend their evenings in the city do not need to worry about the journey home. It can be a long and unpleasant walk back to Cheadle in bad weather. It was not so bad when we had 3 buses per hour. East Didsbury is well served by Metrolink, the No 50 bus, and others via Wilmslow Road. My own solution for a night out in Manchester is to use these facilities and, if i have missed the X57, I decide at Parrs Wood whether to walk or phone a taxi. I find the Cheadle Cars/Taxi World group very reliable and rarely have to wait more than 5 minutes to be picked up outside the Casino at Parrs Wood. That is their favourite landmark where pick-up is easy. This firm parks its cars in Massie Street Car Park to await phone bookings so they are well situated for a rapid journey to East Didsbury. The drivers are all polite and efficient, as is the dispatcher so at around £4 a trip they represent very good value.

  5. Robert Cohen says:

    I know it’s causing difficulties for employees travelling in to the many office and other employment in Cheadle. I think there should be some additional long-stay parking devised to allow workers to park all day at a reasonable rate – £5 a day (£25/week) is a lot out of taxed income. Business owners/employers could apply for spaces. I know there is the annual parking permit, but this is also costly for employees – £247.50 a year

  6. John H says:

    There is a need to check Yellow Lines and Parking restriction signs as many in the area are not legal.

  7. Wendy Rowley says:

    Parking for shoppers improved immediately after the change. For the first time in months I was able to buy heavy shopping in Cheadle because I could park – even at lunchtime. Ever since the previous change in tariffs I’d only been able to buy what I could carry home on foot. The traders I spoke to reported no customers are now complaining they can’t park so hopefully those shops that lost out over the last 18 months will recover their trade and assure the future of our local centre.

  8. Barbara says:

    Working well I think. Spaces for shoppers. Local on road parking heavier but not causing problems from my perspective. Need to ensure the car parks are well monitored to pick up the overstayers.

  9. Adele Gregory says:

    I have managed to park 2/2 times this week in Cheadle and it’s felt like my birthday and Christmas rolled into one! I try to do the majority of shopping in the village so though I generally walk in, it’s great that I can now get a space when I need it. I think 30p is a reasonable sum to pay and think the changes are working.

  10. Alan Gent says:

    Parking is now very. Heavy on Milton Crescent- both sides all the way up to the yellow lines.
    It’s worth noting that the government intend to bring in legislation to prevent cars parking on pavements – as in London now. With a £70 fine that’s £2000 every day for SMBC on Milton alone

  11. Lesley says:

    If you think parking is bad on cheadle side streets try Greenway rd, in Heald Green, Friday lunch time is the worst, double parking, parking on every corner, right outside your house/drive, how can people be so thoughtless and inconsiderate.

  12. Estelle Weiner says:

    whilst I fully understand the reasons against parking on pavements, logistically the roads aren’t wide enough for two way traffic in many places, if people didn’t do this. And this doesn’t allow for cycle paths that have been put in place haphazardly. It must be frustrating for a cyclist who has a cycleway that is full of potholes and grids and often blocked by cars. I believe in some countries (Australia?) you park on one side of the road only, facing in the direction of traffic. The signs tell you which side is available.There is no easy answer. The new charges do seem to be helping; the side roads are taking the overflow and this includes Wilmslow Road which isn’t really in that category.

  13. Kath hallworth says:

    Hi,

    I wonder if the recent application for a residents only parking scheme on Greenbank Road, gatley will be met with the same opposition from local traders as the application for Warren Avenue? Local traders managed in my opinion to unfairly influence the outcome of the Warren Avenue application by saying their clientele used warren avenue for parking. This is nonsense, it is their staff that use Warren for parking as has always been the case. So in reply to the question regarding the new charges in cheadle carparks making a difference – my answer is no – parking on local roads has increased and is causing more problems for long suffering residents.

  14. Hasan Matin says:

    I think Michael Sandler idea of the first 30 minutes needs to be free is a good idea – on many occasion I gone to Sainsbury for a quick shop instead of stopping in the villiage

  15. Vin says:

    I shop at least twice a week in Cheadle to support local business and for convenience.
    I welcome the solution to making more places available.
    However, having a minimum charge of 30p is a mistake in my opinion.
    For those of us who rarely stay more than 40 minutes you have just increased charges by 50%.
    I suggest the 20p be reinstated for up to one hour stay.

  16. Fuchsia Arnold says:

    I’m a stay-at-home mother with a 15 month old baby, living on Foxland Road. I used to regularly do my grocery shopping at the independent shops in Cheadle and regularly go to the other shops.

    However, the car parking changes have now made this uneconomical for me. I can no longer go to the closest baby and toddler groups in Cheadle (which all last approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours) and do the family shopping (which invariably takes more than an hour when taking into account breaks for feeding and changing my baby) without paying £5 for parking, an increase of 5x the previous price!

    So now I will either be stuck with making two seperate visits to Cheadle or I will have to give up on doing my grocery shopping at the independent shops and visit the big Sainsburys on the way home instead; the big Sainsburys is going to win that one as it will be cheaper and easier than paying the extra or making two trips out to Cheadle.

    As for walking or taking the bus – it’s not really terribly easy or convenient to carry a full family grocery shop on the back of a pram, especially when transporting perishable goods!

    To add insult to injury, it is still just as hard to find a parking space.

    Perhaps parking should remain 20p an hour up to 6 hours and stays longer than that should be prohibited? Or perhaps you should provide a long stay carpark for the office workers in the area? This would prevent office workers from parking in the short-stay parking all day but allow more flexibility for residents who want to stay for more than 3 hours but not linger all day.

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