Maidenhead station - car parking issues - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[IndustryInsider]

Well it’s now been over a year since I had the pleasure of using any form of GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) service and my blood pressure is much the better for it

Good to see you back online, Nick.  I think it's fair to say that those who have continued to commute have also seen their blood pressure levels drop considerably!   

It would be interesting to hear your future plans over on the thread I created last month at http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=24728.0 - even though the associated poll has now closed.

[NickB]

A first trip to Maidenhead Shoppenhangars car park for quite some time revealed that approximately 20 bays (10%) have been removed and replaced by c10 disabled bays.

As one might have expected all of the regular bays were in use (ie car park full) but not one disabled bay was in use.

Does anyone know whether the reassignment of valuable parking spaces is a temporary phenomena whilst the forecourt is re-done or whether this work of face-palm genius is permanent?

Thanks

[Electric train]

A first trip to Maidenhead Shoppenhangars car park for quite some time revealed that approximately 20 bays (10%) have been removed and replaced by c10 disabled bays.

As one might have expected all of the regular bays were in use (ie car park full) but not one disabled bay was in use.

Does anyone know whether the reassignment of valuable parking spaces is a temporary phenomena whilst the forecourt is re-done or whether this work of face-palm genius is permanent?

Thanks

I believe GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) / TfL^» (Transport for London - about) / NR^» (Network Rail - home page) and RBWM have agreed that the RBWM will be providing the additional car parking capacity for Crossrail at Stafferton Way and Vicus Way

[NickB]

That would be most unfortunate if that is the chosen solution to Maidenhead’s lack of parking because they are park of a one way system that would massively compound the majority of driver’s routes and time spent accessing parking that is not actually near the station. For me that would add 15mins at least to my commute.

What has happened to Silco Drive?  Closed for refurbishment for a couple of months, never to be heard of again?  That was another 100+ spaces.

Should I take it that the answer to my question about the disabled spaces is that they are there to stay (and never to be used)?

[stuving]

Should I take it that the answer to my question about the disabled spaces is that they are there to stay (and never to be used)?

Obviously there are rules, and for stations the relevant requirement is in  Design Standards for Accessible Railway Stations:

C2.	European standards	Reference
	The European TSI requirement is that UK▸ (United Kingdom) national standards shall be applied to ensure consistency across the UK. Therefore, the national standards below must be followed.	PRM▸ (Persons with Reduced Mobility) TSI 4.2.1
C2.	National standards	Reference
1.	The minimum number of designated spaces should be one space for each employee who is a disabled motorist, plus 5 per cent of the total capacity for visiting disabled motorists.	BS 8300:4.2.1.4
2.	A further 5 per cent of the total capacity should be enlarged standard spaces of 3600 mm wide x 6000 mm long that could be adapted to be designated parking spaces to reflect changes in local population needs and allow for flexibility of provision in the future.	BS 8300:4.2.1.1
3.	Spaces designated for disabled employees should be differentiated from spaces designated for other users.	BS 8300:4.2.1.1
4.	Where space permits, at least one large designated parking space, 4800 mm wide x 8000 mm long, should be provided for side or rear access using hoists or ramps.
5.	Designated disabled persons’ parking spaces must be 2400 mm x 4800 mm with a zone 1200 mm wide between designated parking spaces and between the designated spaces and a roadway (without reducing the width of the roadway) to enable a disabled driver or passenger to get in or out of a vehicle and access safely the boot or rear hoist (Figures C2.2 and C2.3).	BS 8300:4.2.3
6.	Designated on-street parking must be 6600 mm long × 3600 mm wide. This allows access to the rear of the vehicle and free passage between parked vehicles. It also enables the driver or passenger to alight from the side (Figure C2.1).	BS 8300:4.1
C2.	Code of Practice guidance
	If all the designated spaces are occupied for more than 10 per cent of the car park’s operating hours, the operator should consider increasing their number.

The "total capacity" should include all car parks provided for the station, but the designated spaces all go in the nearest one. What if the demand for parking exceeds what is provided specifically, so passengers have to park elsewhere? That isn't clear, but as "total capacity" isn't defined we have to rely on this text alone. So it appears that only capacity specfic to the station is counted, i.e. the assumption is that any other car parking would have its own "accessible" provision. Maybe.

[eightf48544]

Does anyone know whether the reassignment of valuable parking spaces is a temporary phenomena whilst the forecourt is re-done or whether this work of face-palm genius is permanent?

Thanks

Would suggest it's permanent I think there has to be certian percentage of disabled bays in any car park.

[NickB]

Interesting reading and interesting to see what drives the decision making.
It remains a crying shame that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) can’t support their actual passengers who increasingly can’t actually park at the station.
With the loss of Silco Drive and the forecourt and the additional disabled spaces I think the total capacity has been halved in the past few years, at a time when it already could have benefitted from being doubled.

[sanfrandragon]

I see ground is being broken at the Vicus Way site.  You're right, its a pretty poor location, and I guess will be a year to completion.  However Stafferton way multi-storey is a bit closer to the station and in the past had spaces in the morning.  Neither is as convenient as Shoppenhangers Rd though.  Just another nail in my decision whether to go back to commuting.  Although I expect I will, I will be pushing out my re-start to as far in the future as possible, and only a few days a week.

[sanfrandragon]

As an aside, and probably in the wrong thread, but is the extension of the station on the Shoppenhangers Rd side still going ahead?

[sanfrandragon]

Shoppenhangers Rd car park back to being full by 06:55 today, presumably due to the opening of the Elizabeth Line.  Neither the Stafferton Way car park nor the new one under construction by Lidl are particularly attractive alternatives, being a longer walk and the wrong side of the busy Braywick Rd.  Cycling might be an option, but the station bike racks are the 'bike theft capital of Europe' according to one local counsellor.

[NickB]

Agreed - I’m not sure what the sudden burst of interest has been this week as the services from Maidenhead are exactly the same as they were pre-go live for the central section of Crossrail.

Time for me to ask GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) why Silco Drive remains shut…

Ps. ALL of the additional disabled spaces at Maidenhead that I mentioned in this thread remain empty.

[Electric train]

Shoppenhangers Rd car park back to being full by 06:55 today, presumably due to the opening of the Elizabeth Line.  Neither the Stafferton Way car park nor the new one under construction by Lidl are particularly attractive alternatives, being a longer walk and the wrong side of the busy Braywick Rd.  Cycling might be an option, but the station bike racks are the 'bike theft capital of Europe' according to one local counsellor.

From the statistics the numbers return to commuting has been gradually increasing over the last few weeks.  There was an initial spike in return numbers it levelled off for a while but has shown a slow increase in the last few weeks, busy days Tuesday to Thursday although Boom Town Rat Day (Mondays  ) has been improving in numbers of late

[sanfrandragon]

I see the the price has been increased from £6 to £8 - a 33% price increase when inflation is running around 10%, for no change in service except for bigger potholes.  Also, I've never understood the 20p extra 'convenience' charge to pay via the APCOA^▸ (Car parking company used at GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) - controlled stations in the area) app.  Surely it costs more to send someone to collect the cash from the machine as well as to maintain it, whilst the incremental cost of paying online is virtually zero.

[grahame]

Also, I've never understood the 20p extra 'convenience' charge to pay via the APCOA^▸ (Car parking company used at GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) - controlled stations in the area) app.  Surely it costs more to send someone to collect the cash from the machine as well as to maintain it, whilst the incremental cost of paying online is virtually zero.

I suspect it relates to what the market will stand - it's for the convenience of the car park user who does not have to have the change to hand nor have to walk to the machine.   Convenience (and cost) to the provider is not the issue.

This reminds me of the big sign ... "Loaves of bread at popular prices", and when someone says to the vendor that £5 is not a popular price he tells them "it's popular with me" ...

[sanfrandragon]

I don’t commute by train to London anymore thank goodness but imagine my surprise when I was dropping off passengers at Maidenhead station that as a private car you can’t actually access the station anymore.  Access is controlled by ANPR.  Grenfell Drive has limited space (all taken) and Shoppenhangers is a complete no no.  Aren’t we supposed to be making access to public transport easier, not harder?

What are others doing?  Is this RBWM, TFL^▸ (Transport for London) or GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)’s machiavellian strategy?