| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Car free day throughout the Chiswick High Rd area? | |
| Posted by: | Joanna Biddolph | |
| Date/Time: | 12/07/18 18:20:00 |
| When this issue arose, on social media a couple of weeks ago, in connection with Car Free Day 2018 on Saturday, 22nd September this year I did a straw poll of local traders (on the High Road, Devonshire Road and Turnham Green Terrace) to find out what they thought. Responses ranged from "let's give it a go" to "absolutely not" with "only if there is commensurate parking nearby elsewhere" plus "only on a Sunday when we are closed and, no, we won't open on a Sunday" and "possibly, if there was a well organised street festival to bring people to the shops on foot" in between. The fact is that many traders see a drop in footfall and custom when parking is affected and there are some whose business depends on customers being able to drop off or collect heavy or bulky items for which they need nearby parking (whatever others say about carrying bulky/heavy items using other methods of travel). There are always several perspectives on these issues plus temporary changes always lead to permanent shifts in behaviour. If customers who need to park can't, they take their business elsewhere and might never come back. That's lost business when what our local independent shops, cafes and restaurants need is more business. Making roads car free for a day sounds great in some respects but unless it is accompanied by an extensive and sustained publicity campaign explaining what it opens up for residents and visitors, encouraging them to use shops they don't normally use, it could be an expensive disaster that leads to even more shops closing for good. Chiswick doesn't need that. |