General Discussion
Parking Consultation for Social Distancing
From 22 Jun 2020 to 30 Jun 2020
The Town Council has proposed measures to make social distancing easier and assist local businesses during the reopening phase of Cov-id 19. The press release include full details of the proposals and a parking restrictions consultation.
Consultations are a sham, just window dressing to disguise the fact that the decision has already been made.
Even if there is temporary parking restrictions on The Strand, the road is still open with traffic piling through. If the pavement next to the lawn area is taken up with tables and chairs from the cafes then we are restricted to walking along the other pavement and social distancing will be impossible. This element of the plan is nothing short of bonkers! To make this work The Strand would need to be pedestrian only, and they have clearly said this is not an option. I have been really happy shopping locally for the last three months but if this plan is implemented I will not be shopping in town. The cafes might make a bit of extra money but at what cost to our health, safety and well-being?
The solution is simple a one way system with the shop side down and the lawn side up leave parking as is the only problem is some people dont seem to follow guidance of any kind.
But the lawn side is to be full of tables and chairs from all the cafes so you won't be able to walk up or down the lawn side! That's why that element of the plan is madness! We will all be herded onto one pavement, as it used to be before the refurbishment that was to 'save' Dawlish! It's bad enough now, but at least I can track between the two sides of the road to avoid those that cannot be bothered to social distance but that option is being removed.
Well i dont shop in town so it wont affect me, everything i need is via the internet delivered to the door and i exercise late when eveyone is tucked up in bed but. The proposals are mad but hey thats Dawlish.
There is a full town council meeting scheduled for tomorrow evening (Weds 1st July). Item 20 on the agenda is Parish Recovery Plan Update which I believe includes the parking restriction consultation.
And then all and sundry will descend on us this weekend as campsites are open from Saturday. My advice stay indoors they will be from all over the country and probably bringing Covid with them.
Leatash, you are so right! It will be utter chaos from Saturday, the R rate will rise, we will be in lockdown again through no fault of our own making, but alll the infected clowns will have gone home to Birmingham and Manchester!! You couldn't make it up but it will happen. Meanwhile, Dawlish will have ONE pavement for all whilst the other one is full of tables and chairs so the cafes can make more money, meanwhile our health is compromised. Like I said, you couldn't make it up!!!
And to make things worse a new study by the WHO has found that 40% of those tested for covid are asymtomatic. That tells me there are thousands out there who have no symptoms havent been tested and are now on there way to the South West.
Also with the new table arrangement, the attraction for seagulls etc. will be irresistible and the litter from serviettes, wrappings etc will not enhance the town! I like many others have done more local shopping over the last few months but that has been because of the option to walk on either pavement should there be a queue outside any of the shops. I shall seriously have to have a rethink if it becomes congested on the the shop side pavement with everyone walking on it and cafe workers dodging us to get their trays of orders across the road to the waiting masses.
From the minutes of the town council meeting held on 1st July. (emphasis in bold is mine)
PARISH RECOVERY PLAN UPDATE Members considered a report which detailed suggestions being taken forward to various organisations in an effort to help local businesses reopen and help make Dawlish an attractive place to visit and shop in, whilst assisting with social distancing and other means of making a visit as safe as reasonably practicable. Members were advised that there were no guarantee funds would be recovered from the European Fund and therefore small-scale expenditure of approximately £800 for street stencils to encourage social distancing had been approved. The recent consultation on parking bay restrictions along the Strand had resulted in a majority being favour of a 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. closure although it was noted only a small proportion of the residents of Dawlish had taken part in that survey. At this juncture, Members resolved to extend the meeting for a further 30 minutes. Following discussion, it was Resolved that (a) The update report be noted; and (b) That an application for the restricted parking trial on The Strand, as detailed in the report and during the hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. be agreed and submitted to Devon County Council.
Will folk park in the Barton car park and walk to the Strand i doubt it all this will do is reduce the footfall in the town and lead to more shop closures.
Well I hope footfall in the town is reduced because it was impossible to social distance today. I have always supported the local shops and certainly over the last four months but no longer, I am not prepared to compromise my health. And when all the visitors have gone I will have established new routines and probably won't return to shopping in town. The town council should have been ahead of the game and sorted out post lockdown plans months ago! What have they been doing for the last four months?
Seems there has been a bit of confusion (courtesy of Devon County Council) of just what it is exactly that the town council is seeking to have happen on The Strand in terms of parking restrictions.
Click on this link to see press release issued by Dawlish Town Council
https://www.dawlish.gov.uk/edit/uploads/3065.pdf
Walking through town earlier I noticed about half a dozen of the pavement stencils, if they cost 800 quid then the council has been robbed.
I thought for one moment there that I'd be agreeing with you @burneside (one day pigs will fly...) having seen the markings on the Strand pavement yesterday when I was in the town. But I thought to myself "800 quid just for those few very, very, very, spaced out stencils on the The Strand pavement. Surely that can't be right". So I enquired of the town council just how those 800 quidlets had been spent and this is what I was told:
Every shop I have been in, be it small or large, has had its own abundant sinage all over the place. I think spending £657.60 on window stickers is hardly a necessary expense.
Well I guess the town council wanted to help out the town centre businesses in whatever way they could. And if that meant spending money on window stickers then that is what they have done. Every little bit of financial support helps.
I know no more than you.
If anyone is interested in 1) why the window stickers were provided by the town council and/or 2) why they cost just over £650 then suggest you contact the town council to find out. And if you do find out then please could you post your findings on here? Thanks.
BTW: There is a meeting of the town council's finance committee this coming Thursday (23rd July). One of the items on the agenda is to consider funding specific proposals with regard to the parish recovery plan. The chair of the committee is Cllr Wrigley. So any thoughts on what has happened so far or should or should not happen in the near future could be addressed to him.
Councillor Martin Wrigley* (North East)
26 Cofton Hill, Cockwood EX6 8RB
Tel: 01626 891277
martin.wrigley@dawlish.gov.uk
Parking Restriction in the Strand
From 24 Jul 2020 to 31 Aug 2020
Dawlish Town Council's Temporary Traffic Restriction Order for parking restrictions between 10am and 3pm each day on the Strand will come into force from 27th July to 31st August to allow for social distancing at a peak holiday time. It does not include loading bays, disabled parking bays or the Strand car park.