Video: Flower pots arrive as council clamps down on Castle Green parking (From Somerset County Gazette)

Prongs says...
10:08am Wed 6 Mar 13

As per the picture and the notes, there are cars already parked. How do they get out now that the flowerpots are up. Answer - Who cares. They should not be there anyway.

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Mi_Coc says...
11:28am Wed 6 Mar 13

They look awful! Its just shambolic I dont know how the council can hold their heads high after this sorry saga.

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Slow down! says...
11:54am Wed 6 Mar 13

This just gets better and better.

What a Comedy of errors we're being treated to, well done Taunton.

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printers devil says...
1:52pm Wed 6 Mar 13

how is it the council can spend all that money making what was a good car park that was taking money into a folly and the brewhouse is now shut.
would'nt it have been better to improve the size of the brewhouse?

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St. Austell says...
2:01pm Wed 6 Mar 13

What is this wonderful public space on Castle Green to be used for I wonder? There are either no or very few seats: just nothing of substance so is it reserved for fights, skateboarders, footballers and for political rallies by the likes of UKIP, The Monster Raving Loony Party and The British Communist Party?

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St. Austell says...
2:02pm Wed 6 Mar 13

What is this wonderful public space on Castle Green to be used for I wonder? There are either no or very few seats: just nothing of substance so is it reserved for fights, skateboarders, footballers and for political rallies by the likes of UKIP, The Monster Raving Loony Party and The British Communist Party?

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St. Austell says...
2:02pm Wed 6 Mar 13

What is this wonderful public space on Castle Green to be used for I wonder? There are either no or very few seats: just nothing of substance so is it reserved for fights, skateboarders, footballers and for political rallies by the likes of UKIP, The Monster Raving Loony Party and The British Communist Party?

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madcow says...
4:27pm Wed 6 Mar 13

At last something is being done about the drivers who park there, now all TDBC need to do is put turf down outside The Drawing Room (formally known as The Winch for the last 40 yrs at least) then people could sit outside and have a pint albeit in a plastic glass.

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Somerset Tourist says...
7:07pm Wed 6 Mar 13

Now that the tyre tracks have hopefully diminished, TDBC should be preparing a series of open air events to fill this space going forward with profits to go to a new larger theatre. If this space past spring is not occupied by at least one event per week, it's a huge waste of tax payers money, unless TDBC can prove to all of us that it can pay for itself over the longer term and generate capitol going forward.

Open air theatre, open air cinema, street parties and fairs, somerset history re-enactments, an ice rink in winter etc. Come on TDBC show your worth and turn this negative (Sorry to say it but you have to listen to peoples opinions more if you were oblivious to this) into a positive.

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topcataj says...
8:45pm Wed 6 Mar 13

Agreed, Somerset Tourist. They will need to get people using it as the nights get longer and the weather improves or it will have been a waste.

Not sure what people expected would happen, it's quite obvious TDBC were going to have to do something. Extra expense, yes, but only because people continued to abuse the area.

Tax payers money having to be spent on stopping people's stupidity. Though I'm sure they won't see it that way...

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bluestormrider says...
10:35pm Wed 6 Mar 13

....graffiti, trip hazard.....just thinking out loud. bring back the grass and the sword in the stone!

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Thurza says...
9:20am Thu 7 Mar 13

I didn't like this development but now it's there I am glad the Council have put the planters in place, I like them, it needed more greenery to brighten up the area. As for spending tax payers money if these selfish motorists had respected the area in the first place the money on the planters could have been saved. Yesterday more people were sitting on the seats so if the weather improves hopefully more people will use it. Skateboarders? I am a 67 year old would be skateboarder, !

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Slow down! says...
10:08am Thu 7 Mar 13

Why are the people that parked there stupid?

They weren’t the ones who turned a profit making car park into a lawn which will now drain the public purse.

They weren’t the ones to not have the foresight that people would park there due to someone not applying for the rights to enforce parking restrictions.

They weren’t the ones to plough through with this idea despite local businesses and local people not wanting it.

They weren’t the ones to design the grassed and seated area so that it can’t be accessed by wheelchairs, pram etc.

They weren’t the ones to create an area that is used by teenagers to skate around on at speed which will result in someone being injured.

They weren’t the ones to design a glass bridge which is very slippery and dangerous to walk on when wet.

Who are the stupid ones again?

Hmmm let me see.

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PlentyMoor says...
10:19am Thu 7 Mar 13

Love the flowerpots...great if you are a skateboarder..when are the ramps going to be installed?

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topcataj says...
10:58am Thu 7 Mar 13

Whether you agree with the car park being turned in to a public open space or not is fairly irrelevant when it comes to parking on the new surface.

You could argue that TDBC were hoping to avoid some of the extra bureaucracy involved in setting up parking restrictions. That bureaucracy that most of us complain about...
It may also have just been an oversight or bad planning that meant it didn't happen. I'd like to think it was the former, but I know which is more likely...

Regardless of that, people could engage their brains, understand that the area was not meant for parking on, and treat it as such.

But no, some people can't manage that, they don't care about the consequences of their actions or that by parking there they would be forcing TDBC to spend more time and money dealing with it.

If you want to moan about how the public purse is spent, how much is used trying to stop people doing something they know they shouldn't do anyway? People who would otherwise consider themselves to be law abiding, productive citizens.

On the point of the 'profit making car park', are all the people who previously used the car park (some 79,000 transactions in a year according to one document I've seen) now not parking at all? Are people suddenly refusing to park anywhere because the one car park they used has been taken away?! If people are parking elsewhere (ignoring those who started doing it for free on the new open space) then at least some of that money is still coming in.

The question is, is there real pressure on parking spaces in Taunton and according to TDBCs own documents parking revenue has dropped in recent years, partly due to the economy problems and partly due other things like the park and rides.

If all the car parks were often completely full with no free spaces, and a car park was removed, well yes, revenue will be lost. Is that the case in Taunton? I'm not sure it is.

That car park was certainly convenient for the people who managed to find a space there and I understand it has caused problems for some people with mobility issues wanting to visit the museum since it reopened.

I don't necessarily think the castle green development was needed or a good way of spending £3m, but I'm not going to construct a misguided criticism of it based on partial, short sighted information.

Whether you agree with the car park being turned in to a public open space or not is fairly irrelevant when it comes to parking on the new surface. You could argue that TDBC were hoping to avoid some of the extra bureaucracy involved in setting up parking restrictions. That bureaucracy that most of us complain about... It may also have just been an oversight or bad planning that meant it didn't happen. I'd like to think it was the former, but I know which is more likely... Regardless of that, people could engage their brains, understand that the area was not meant for parking on, and treat it as such. But no, some people can't manage that, they don't care about the consequences of their actions or that by parking there they would be forcing TDBC to spend more time and money dealing with it. If you want to moan about how the public purse is spent, how much is used trying to stop people doing something they know they shouldn't do anyway? People who would otherwise consider themselves to be law abiding, productive citizens. On the point of the 'profit making car park', are all the people who previously used the car park (some 79,000 transactions in a year according to one document I've seen) now not parking at all? Are people suddenly refusing to park anywhere because the one car park they used has been taken away?! If people are parking elsewhere (ignoring those who started doing it for free on the new open space) then at least some of that money is still coming in. The question is, is there real pressure on parking spaces in Taunton and according to TDBCs own documents parking revenue has dropped in recent years, partly due to the economy problems and partly due other things like the park and rides. If all the car parks were often completely full with no free spaces, and a car park was removed, well yes, revenue will be lost. Is that the case in Taunton? I'm not sure it is. That car park was certainly convenient for the people who managed to find a space there and I understand it has caused problems for some people with mobility issues wanting to visit the museum since it reopened. I don't necessarily think the castle green development was needed or a good way of spending £3m, but I'm not going to construct a misguided criticism of it based on partial, short sighted information. topcataj

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Thurza says...
11:24am Thu 7 Mar 13

topcataj wrote:
Whether you agree with the car park being turned in to a public open space or not is fairly irrelevant when it comes to parking on the new surface.

You could argue that TDBC were hoping to avoid some of the extra bureaucracy involved in setting up parking restrictions. That bureaucracy that most of us complain about...
It may also have just been an oversight or bad planning that meant it didn't happen. I'd like to think it was the former, but I know which is more likely...

Regardless of that, people could engage their brains, understand that the area was not meant for parking on, and treat it as such.

But no, some people can't manage that, they don't care about the consequences of their actions or that by parking there they would be forcing TDBC to spend more time and money dealing with it.

If you want to moan about how the public purse is spent, how much is used trying to stop people doing something they know they shouldn't do anyway? People who would otherwise consider themselves to be law abiding, productive citizens.

On the point of the 'profit making car park', are all the people who previously used the car park (some 79,000 transactions in a year according to one document I've seen) now not parking at all? Are people suddenly refusing to park anywhere because the one car park they used has been taken away?! If people are parking elsewhere (ignoring those who started doing it for free on the new open space) then at least some of that money is still coming in.

The question is, is there real pressure on parking spaces in Taunton and according to TDBCs own documents parking revenue has dropped in recent years, partly due to the economy problems and partly due other things like the park and rides.

If all the car parks were often completely full with no free spaces, and a car park was removed, well yes, revenue will be lost. Is that the case in Taunton? I'm not sure it is.

That car park was certainly convenient for the people who managed to find a space there and I understand it has caused problems for some people with mobility issues wanting to visit the museum since it reopened.

I don't necessarily think the castle green development was needed or a good way of spending £3m, but I'm not going to construct a misguided criticism of it based on partial, short sighted information.

Well said.

[quote][p][bold]topcataj[/bold] wrote: Whether you agree with the car park being turned in to a public open space or not is fairly irrelevant when it comes to parking on the new surface. You could argue that TDBC were hoping to avoid some of the extra bureaucracy involved in setting up parking restrictions. That bureaucracy that most of us complain about... It may also have just been an oversight or bad planning that meant it didn't happen. I'd like to think it was the former, but I know which is more likely... Regardless of that, people could engage their brains, understand that the area was not meant for parking on, and treat it as such. But no, some people can't manage that, they don't care about the consequences of their actions or that by parking there they would be forcing TDBC to spend more time and money dealing with it. If you want to moan about how the public purse is spent, how much is used trying to stop people doing something they know they shouldn't do anyway? People who would otherwise consider themselves to be law abiding, productive citizens. On the point of the 'profit making car park', are all the people who previously used the car park (some 79,000 transactions in a year according to one document I've seen) now not parking at all? Are people suddenly refusing to park anywhere because the one car park they used has been taken away?! If people are parking elsewhere (ignoring those who started doing it for free on the new open space) then at least some of that money is still coming in. The question is, is there real pressure on parking spaces in Taunton and according to TDBCs own documents parking revenue has dropped in recent years, partly due to the economy problems and partly due other things like the park and rides. If all the car parks were often completely full with no free spaces, and a car park was removed, well yes, revenue will be lost. Is that the case in Taunton? I'm not sure it is. That car park was certainly convenient for the people who managed to find a space there and I understand it has caused problems for some people with mobility issues wanting to visit the museum since it reopened. I don't necessarily think the castle green development was needed or a good way of spending £3m, but I'm not going to construct a misguided criticism of it based on partial, short sighted information.[/p][/quote]Well said. Thurza

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Slow down! says...
12:12pm Thu 7 Mar 13

Don't even start me on the park and rides!

What a waste of money they are, and why are all the lights still on at night?

On another subject I’ve heard that the Firepool site is going to be houses/tower blocks and not the grand vision of office blocks and coffee shops providing much needed jobs for the area, yet another example of someone’s failed vision of Taunton, it's about time these people where kicked out of the Council as they are incompetent and shouldn’t be trusted to run a raffle let alone a town.

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topcataj says...
12:43pm Thu 7 Mar 13

As a daily user of the park and ride by the motorway I find it invaluable. I wouldn't have been able to move recently had it not been for that facility. I'm amazed more people don't use it and instead choose to queue in the traffic and pay town centre parking fees.

Quite agree there are a number of incompetent people around though. You can't sort that just by cutting funding and assuming the crap staff will be the ones to leave. It needs to start with County and District Council elections, keep councillors that are good, vote out those that are bad, and hopefully find some decent people to replace them with. That does require people to vote with their heads though.

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Slow down! says...
12:48pm Thu 7 Mar 13

At least the Motorway park and ride is in a good spot the other one is in the wrong place.

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Mike Rigby says...
1:21pm Thu 7 Mar 13

That looks absolutely awful! A bunch of white-painted concrete pots on that hugely-expensive surface (which is being dug up). And all because someone forgot to apply for the appropriate parking regulations How has TDBC made such a mess of this plan? Where are the events?

www.mikerigby.org

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Jamesey says...
9:49pm Thu 7 Mar 13

@ SlowDown!

I would definitely call the people who parked on Castle Green stupid, as well as ignorant and selfish.

It's exactly the same as parking in the High Street or right outside of Starbucks!

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Slow down! says...
10:49am Fri 8 Mar 13

But there are parking regulations in the High St and outside Starbucks!
There isn't any in Castle Green (or should that be Castle Grim)

The whole situation is a mess IMO, and to burn money like this in the current climate is criminal.

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Video: Flower pots arrive as council clamps down on Castle Green parking (From Somerset County Gazette)

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Video: Flower pots arrive as council clamps down on Castle Green parking

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