The Post reported today what we had heard rumoured a few weeks ago, namely that the Royal Berkshire Hospital Park & RIde Bus is to cease operation in November due to lack of demand. While it is obviously unfortuanate that this laudable enterprise has had to be scrapped, there have been issues locally with the operation of this route. Residents living on Allcroft Road and Redlands Road have complained fairly regularly to us about the noise and frequency of buses (not helped by the fact that buses often appeared empty). In fact, this was one of the first issues residents in Redlands raised with me (before I was elected).
However, lack of parking on site and resulting overspill parking in local roads is an issue that must be faced both by the Royal Berks NHS Foundation Trust, and Reading Borough Council's Highways Department.
At present, local roads such as Addington Road are being used as 'free parking' by staff and visitors to the hospital to such an extent that they are severely limiting the amount of available parking for local residents, as well as compromising road safety in some cases around junctions (particularly where cars are parked nose to tail).
The article in today's Post says:
'the hospital is planning to build a new multi-storey car park on the existing South Wing car park, on the corner of Addington Road and Craven Road, but a planning proposal is yet to be submitted.There is also expected to be additional parking created at the rear of 13 to 17 Craven Road, and in West Drive, but this will not be ready until mid-2009 at the earliest.'
As local councillors for the area we have not been party to these plans. Given that the Bus is due to cease operation in a couple of months time, we will be looking to see the Trust move quickly to investigate other more sustainable solutions to parking problems at the Hospital.
I have written to the RBH's Chief Operating Officer today requesting an urgent meeting to discuss parking provision in light of the end of the Hospital Park & Ride bus. While I understand that parking is not something the Trust's management team would want to prioritise in terms of spending, the Hospital depends on a good relationship with the local community, and to this end a solution to overspill parking must be found.
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