Govt recognises coaches' role
Page 18
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
NEW EFFORTS are to be made to cut down coach congestion in London.
A Government White Paper on tourism this week acknowledges that further effort is needed if bad feeling on the part of both tourists and residents is to be avoided, let alone a loss of valuable business.
The White Paper states that tour operators, visitors and residents were facing "increasing inconvenience' as a result of the rapid increase in the number of touring coaches arriving in London. That coincides with an increase in London commuter traffic and round-London sightseeing tours.
The White Paper points to the use of more off-street parking facilities as both a short and long term measure to solve the problem.
It recognises that tourism plays a part in London's economy and praised the work of tourist authorities to iden • tify the scope for more off street parking.
The Government accepts that there is an urgent need to consider if opportunities exist for using publicly-owned land, outside local authority control, for coach parking. The Government therefore proposed to review urgently the opportunity for development in this area in both 1986 and the longer term.
Further, the Department of Transport has asked London Regional Transport to carry out a study into the need for more terminal facilities for long distance coaches.
The White Paper states that the lack of such facilities was a matter of concern and LRT has been asked to report its findings by the end of this year.
Other suggestions to improve the lot of coach touring visitors include the promise to look at the economic viability of new roads with a calculation of the financial benefits.
The economic assumptions used to link projects in the road building programme will be altered to take this into account. The review will be completed early in 1986.
The tourist industry told the Government that it would continue to press for priority for improvements. The Government says that much better sign posting to tourist aurae tions is "on the cards" in England and Wales.
Ahead of the new directional signs announced earlier this year, the Government is to allow improvements to signing on motorways and trunk roads. These will include tourist attractions and he paid for by the owners whose property attracts more than 150,000 visitors annually, provided the highway authorities agree to further 'signs on local roads.
• In the Commons this week, Transport Minister Lynda Chalker urged the Greater London Council to. tackle the problem of p. parking space for coach central London.
Officials met the GL( to discuss ways of identi proper stopping and pa places.
Mrs Chalker said she trying to ensure that u action was taken for summer.
Several MPs compla that the parking laws in tral London were being tantly broken by toi coaches. Mrs Chalker nowledged that action h: be taken even though Government wanted to nothing to deter the El created by tourism.