Commuters face up to four months of misery when a busy railway car park closes for redevelopment work – and there’s also the possibility that parking meters may be introduced in roads around the station.
South West Trains has announced that the main car park at Wokingham Station will shut on Monday, March 28 to enable a new parking level to be installed. When completed, in July, the train company says that the car park will see its capacity rise by more than 200 additional spaces.
To help commuters prepare for the closure, South West Trains will be holding a ‘meet the project team’ session on
If you have any questions about the decked car park project please come and meet the project team on Thursday, February 25 from 5pm-7pm. This will be held in the booking hall of Wokingham Station.
Meanwhile, a Council task force is recommending that metered parking be considered for roads around the railway station.
South West Trains will also be upgrading all lighting within the car park, increasing the number of CCTV cameras, offer a new help point and have segregated walkways.
During the works, the main car park – opposite the station’s main entrance – will be completely closed. Most of the smaller car park will remain open and will be dedicated to season ticket holders.
South West Trains are warning that due to other major developments in the town centre, other local car parks will be stretched to capacity. The company says that during the works, rail users look for alternative arrangements to get to and from the station such as using local bus services, walking, cycling or getting lifts.
The plans to increase the number of spaces within the train station meets a need identified by a task force set up by Wokingham Borough Council. In a report published in December by the Commuter Parking Task and Finish Group, it noted that at stations, “where practical, car parking capacity should be enhanced” and the Wokingham Station car park plan allows for future expansion.
It also supports plans to may commuters pay to park in roads around the station.
The report said: “We consider that it would not be unreasonable to introduce metered parking on certain roads where parking is prevalent and where road safety issues permit its continuance. Charges could reflect the distance from the station and the charges in the appropriate station car parks.”
It also adds that: “Council run car parks near railway stations primarily required to service local needs should have a time restriction or a pricing mechanism to discourage their use by commuters.”
Speaking to BBC Radio Berkshire, Wokingham Borough Council’s Lead member Planning and highways Cllr John Kaiser outlined some of the options, including park and ride and an increase in buses going to the station.
He said: “Our plan is to work with the train companies … We don’t want to disadvantage residents and we don’t want to charge them for parking outside their own houses.”
