USING a crude tool of 'traffic management' like parking meters does not address the bigger picture of the overall vitality of Tavistock town centre.
Two factors can turn thriving town centres into derelict ghost towns. The first is high shop rents (still going up in Tavistock in the worst recession for decades) leading to a high level of business failure, with shops left empty for months or even years (the latter being an invitation to fly-posters and vandals with the subsequent reduction in footfall in neighbouring shops).
The second factor is inadequate and/or costly parking (no, we can't all come on a bus) coupled with an unpleasant and/or dangerous pedestrian experience. On the narrow pavement of Brook Street, I have personally experienced the terror of a white van passing within inches of me at 40mph.
Instead of more signs, more street furniture, more rules, more regulation, more fines, I would like to suggest the following.
The bulk of the shopping centre of Tavistock should be made into a 'shared space' for vehicles and pedestrians: no distinction between pavement and road; more public seating, bike racks, decorative planters and charging points for electric vehicles.
There would be no parking at all, except for the disabled, electric vehicles and bikes. At the same time, the enormous Riverside car-park should be made free at all times.
This kind of transformation has been achieved elsewhere: the speed of through traffic drops to 'dead slow', simply because there is no clear 'road' as such.
Pedestrian traffic increases, as does footfall into the shops. In short, the town centre becomes a pleasant place in which to spend time (and inevitably, money).
Installing meters will not improve the pedestrian experience, will exacerbate the problem of residential street parking and will discourage drivers from coming into the town to shop.
Terry Hyde
Yelverton