petition details
Creating a Tranquil Town Centre for People & Pets
In brief summary, the issue of the possible permanent
repurposing of a section of The Parade is not a new one, and has
been a hotly debated topic in the past in Warwick District. The
temporary closure of The Parade since the pandemic started has
provided a rare opportunity for people to experience a closed road
for a prolonged period of time. Another extensive experience has
been the one of home deliveries by all major supermarket chains and
food parcels for the most vulnerable.
Over the past year The Parade has been infinitely more pleasurable,
with less noise and pollution. Going back to the old traffic
blighted parade, with too many buses blocking the traffic, mounting
the kerbs and heavily tricked out cars with drainpipes for exhausts
driven down The Parades like it’s a drag strip, would be a
big step backwards. One option would be to locate bus shelters at
the rear of Tesco, or incorporate them into the redevelopment of
the adjacent car park site.
The repurposing would serve to further the relaxing artistic street
café culture that Leamington has made decent steps towards
in the last few years. Plus, the evidence is overwhelming that when
you pedestrianise an area the amount of trade increases (around 40%
more). See here for references https://cycleways.org.uk/economic/
There are plenty of alternative north-south routes in Leamington to
make The Parade redundant for traffic. The creation of commuter
‘rat-runs’ is inevitable, but not a valid enough reason
to avoid reducing traffic in the Town Centre. The
‘rat-runs’ would diminish as residents take the
opportunity to walk, cycle or take public transport.
Most importantly, if we are going to improve our Town Centre, it
has to be done properly with landscaping and perhaps provisional
plans for a future park & ride scheme.
This petition is purely to agree in principal to the repurposing of
The Parade, refining the details would be the next step.
Started by: Hafeez Ahmed (Binswood House Dental Practice)
This petition ran from 15/03/2021 to 21/06/2021 and has now finished.
341 people signed this petition.