COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

The Far Gosford Street scheme has been an 'unmitigated disaster' claim traders



Furious traders are demanding that the council scraps road layout changes at a shopping district just outside the city centre. A petition presented to the city council claims that the changes have already forced some businesses to close permanently and that the only benefit of the scheme is ‘for the council to issue parking tickets’.

The experimental traffic regulation order (TRO) was introduced on Far Gosford Street six months ago. A report to the city services meeting, set to take place on Wednesday (October 25) states that the changes were introduced to try and improve safety and traffic flow in the area.

The report adds that this was in response to concerns raised by police and a bus operator due to incidents and delays caused by drivers parking ‘obstructively’ on double yellow lines. Access arrangements were changed, some roads were made one way and changes were made to where drivers could park, as well as load or unload vehicles.

The changes were introduced as an experimental TRO so that the impact could be monitored and responses from the public and businesses taken into consideration. A petition calling on the council to reverse the changes has been signed by 45 people and states that it is ‘on behalf of the shop owners and traders of Far Gosford Street’.

It claims the scheme has been an ‘unmitigated disaster’ for the revenue flows of businesses. It adds: "Many [...] are now struggling to survive as a result of the traffic changes. Some have already closed."

The petition states: “The only benefit that is being derived from this fiasco is that the council having restricted parking is now engaged in a ferocious exercise in handing out as many parking tickets as they can to the poor luckless souls who dare venture to the street. The passage of time and the constant stream of tickets being handed out are cruelly curtailing the revenue of the businesses along the street.

“The council will know that you can’t keep handing out hundreds of parking tickets a week and expect the area where they are being handed out to become a vibrant economic hub.”

Council officers have agreed that the current TRO should be scrapped - but they don’t recommend reverting the road layout to what it was before. Instead, they are recommending a new experimental TRO be implemented. The changes would once again be monitored and traders can have their say on the effect before they become permanent.

If approved by Patricia Hetherton, the cabinet member for city services, the changes would be implemented as soon as possible. The proposed changes include:

• Reducing the maximum length of stay in limited waiting bays from two hours to 30 minutes
  
• Reducing the number of disabled parking bays
  
• Increasing the number of limited waiting spaces
  
• Changing the restriction to loading and limited waiting by creating a loading bay in the layby

The issue will be discussed at a meeting of the cabinet member for City Services at 3pm on Wednesday, October 25.

Changes to road layout near city centre agreed after traders say 'we're struggling to survive'



Traffic changes that left Coventry traders “struggling to survive” will be partly scrapped by the council, it was agreed this week. Businesses on Far Gosford Street called for changes brought in by the council last year to be reversed as “they clearly haven’t worked.”

The scheme included making the road a red route, adding more disabled parking spaces, reducing short stay spaces and changing waiting restrictions in some areas. It was introduced last November (2022) as an experimental order to tackle concerns raised by police and bus users.

But just six months later a petition on behalf of the road’s traders claimed the changes had been an “unmitigated disaster” for businesses’ revenues.

A council report into the issue saw it agree to scrap some of the changes by revoking the experimental traffic order and putting in a new one. But others will be kept, it was agreed at a Cabinet Member meeting on Wednesday (24 October.)

The changes mean that some of the disabled bays added to the street will go and more limited waiting bays will be added. The maximum length of stay in these limited bays will reduce to 30 minutes to help create a turnover of spaces, though blue badge holders are able to stay longer.

An area opposite Fargo village will also see its double yellow lines removed and become a loading bay and limited waiting area instead. Councillors and officers also agreed to look into making a bus stop on the road shorter.

But other elements of the scheme will be kept including a red route along the street introduced to help keep traffic moving along, as “obstructive” parking was hitting bus journey times. Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Jim O’Boyle, who sponsored the traders’ petition, stressed the need to engage with business to make sure their experience is “properly fed back.”

“I know that we’ve had over about two or three years now believe it or not, conversations, meetings, with lots of different people to try and understand some of the concerns,” he said. “So the problem sometimes is with these things is we see a way forward and then someone who didn’t really engage, someone who engages later on, and we’re back to square one.

“I don’t want that, but I do want that proper engagement with them, because I think there are some tweaks that can happen here, definitely.”

“For the moment let’s see how this will work, let’s understand from the traders exactly what different or not it has made to the ability to run their businesses the way they see fit, that’s what I’d like to see. And we can take it from there,” he added.

“You’re not responding to all of the issues that have been raised I understand that but a number of them you are trying to, I get that. But I accept as well that this is ongoing.”

Responding, Cllr Patricia Hetherton said: “I think at this stage it’s about making sure the traders are with us I think at all times, we don’t want them disadvantaged in any way.

“Some of those things I would think are probably small things that we can do without costing too much so that’s really quite important.”

The changes will take about three weeks to come in including seven days after they are first advertised, the meeting heard. Speaking to the LDRS after the meeting, Cllr O’Boyle said there is “some work to be done” and he will be revisiting the bus stop issue.

On Far Gosford Street, he said the road is “complex” with lots of issues going on and problems such as criminality also have to be considered.