A DROITWICH resident is calling for action to be taken to prevent people parking in roads surrounding the town’s railway station before commuting to Birmingham.
Dave Davidson said, while he welcomed the creation of the Droitwich Rail Users Action Group, he felt anything which made travelling by train even more attractive would worsen parking issues further for residents.
“Residential streets within at half-a-mile of the station are jam-packed all day long with commuters’ cars filling every possible parking space.
“Some streets consist of dense Victorian housing with no driveways, or very small ones.
“We, our visitors, and tradesmen find it impossible to park anywhere near our homes.
“People in more modern housing suffer too, particularly the elderly or infirm.”
The number of rail commuters has increased massively in recent years with thousands of people living in new housing estates in and around the town.
The issue also affects small businesses which lose trade as people are unable to park near the shops.
Mr Davidson said more reasonably-priced parking near the station was needed, adding the south side car park which charged £3-per-day for parking was almost full most days whereas the APCOA one which was £4.50-per-day had plenty of spaces.
He added low cost or free parking for commuters could be introduced at disused industrial sites in Union Lane and close to the former British Legion Club and residents’ parking schemes could be brought in to protect the surrounding roads.
Mr Davidson will be bringing the issues up at the next Droitwich Communities and Agencies Together meeting at 7.30pm on Tuesday, May 15, at St Nicholas’ Church.
Droitwich Rail Users Action Group is the brainchild of Coun Alan Humphries who is also the Droitwich Town Councillor for the area.
He said on-street parking near the station and the cost of car parking for commuters were among the issues he hoped the action group would take up.
A Worcestershire County Council spokesperson said any changes to parking arrangements would need to follow usual traffic management procedures, including consultation and formal advertising.
“The resident will need to initially discuss the matter with his county councillor who will take a representative view of the needs of the surrounding area.”
