Monday, May 5

Waterlooville the building site

As previously mentioned, Waterlooville has been turned into a big building site this year. Here are some of the other projects...

The old BAe/Marconi office block has almost completely gone, after a number of weeks of demolition work. Thankfully this time it looks like the trees will survive??
Let's not forget (like we don't forget those that fell in wars) that the land behind that fence was once farm land.





Hambledon parade is also getting a makeover, with new shops being built on the opposite side of Hambledon road on the Taylor Wimpey Wellington Park development.
Again the land where the new shops are being built was once farm land, another fallen victim.
More concrete!





4 comments:

Paul R said...

Although the council hasn't done anything to increase or sort out the parking nightmare at the hambledon parade shops, nope because clearly we need more benches to sit and watch the traffic go by!

The rest of the year will be hell for traffic in Waterlooville with the amount of road works planned. View roadworks.org filter drop down box (go to advanced, click forward planning)

We've got the sainsbury roundabout, 2 hulbert roundabouts and the motorway traffic lights being installed on the slip road. Hopefully it won't introduce new traffic bottlenecks.

TheVille said...

In the case of parking at Hambledon Parade, the council and I are in agreement.

They have done the right thing in not providing more parking spaces.
The shops have always been for local use (as all shops should be).

I suggest that if you are concerned about traffic in Waterlooville, then there are plenty of buses available. Plus cycling and walking are OK in the area as well.

I haven't owned a car for many years.

Paul R said...

I'm disabled and live on the berg estate (bungalows estate behind the hambledon shops) so after I've been doing shopping i go to the butchers and it's a nightmare to park. Not only that ederly people is it catchment area, for those that can't travel far they use a car!

Traffic is only a problem when traffic lights cant stay in sync (i support them but more often they stop traffic and stop people crossing)

I cannot walk far enough to use the bus services (who have bus lanes which are hardly used and end up back in traffic anyway) not enough is done for cyclists (asda roundabout lethal when cyclists can't navigate it safely)

I can't ride a bike because of my disabilty so car it is. And traffic is a problem when idiots can't plan roadworks correctly.

TheVille said...

Hi Paul.

I appreciate that you may have difficulties.

Some points though:

The reason you have difficulty parking at Hambledon Parade is because of the majority that park there are able bodied!
For the record I have neighbours that are fully capable of walking anywhere locally, but they often just jump in their car to drive a few yards 'around the corner' to local shops.

Driving to shop isn't a unique problem for those with disabilities. Supermarkets and retail parks base their business model primarily on car ownership. Hence the odds are stacked against anyone that doesn't want to shop with a car. Having said that, clearly able bodied people can shop without a car, if they have a little imagination.

Regarding bus lanes...
They are also cycle lanes. When appropriate I use the bus lanes for cycling. As a cyclist you feel a lot safer with the cars kept well away from you!

Another point I will make is that high levels of car use cause disabilities later in life. Car use adds to already sedentary life styles, which causes problems.
My mother never learnt to drive and is far fitter in her old age than anyone that spent their life in a car.