OnTheWight always welcomes a Letter to the Editor to share with our readers – unsurprisingly they don’t always reflect the views of this publication. If you have something you’d like to share, get in touch and of course, your considered comments are welcome below.
This from Cathy Foulkes, Member of Ryde Business Association, Director of Island Survey Systems Ltd, and Owner of Wight Karting.
Thank you for reminding the public that as yet we have not had the detail for ‘improvements’ to Ryde interchange; proposals which I believe will impact irreversibly on Ryde Esplanade.
For Isle of Wight council (IWC) to compare this project to the 2006 one which contained an iconic building (subsequently built at Portsmouth Hard Bus station), a link walkway over to Hovertravel and a cafe viewing platform (in phase 2) was misguided.
Concerns already raised
I have raised concerns in Ryde Regeneration meetings in 2019 – 2021 and previewed the long-closeted ‘plans’ that may be successful in claiming £10m central Govt fund that was supposed to be for speedy, sustainable, ‘healthy-lifestyle’, transport solutions.
One would expect then these project priorities to have some relationship with the recommendations of the Transport Infrastructure Task Force Report (July 2017).
Demolish public WCs and cafe facilities
But instead, the proposal being considered by IWC are that they demolish the public WCs and cafe facilities on Western Gardens to make way for a new access road to Wightlink’s Grade II Listed Pier.
Moving this road gobbles up a good part of £4.6m (of my and your taxes), and leaves space for buses to park parallel to the road.
Eight new sets of traffic lights
In addition, we will see the Island Roads passion for traffic lights indulged further, with eight new sets at the bottom of George Street, and possibly more to safeguard pedestrians and cyclists.
Planted areas are to be lost in front of Ryde Pier, Ryde Pavilion and the whole Rose Garden becomes a footway.
Cross two more lanes to get to toilets
I can see by the plan that people using Western Gardens, at the Carnivals, beach or shopping in Union St have then to cross two more lanes of highway to use railway station toilets (should they ever be built).
The funding pot is called Transport For Change – and you may need to change when you’ve queued up with travellers alighting ‘en-masse’ in our summer season, to use railway station toilets (which always close with the ticket office).
Pedestrians should be prioritised
Ryde Esplanade could have been redesigned with a masterplan prioritising pedestrians and healthy lifestyles, but instead, this change to public space can go forwards without planning permission unless challenged.
I acknowledge the IWC’s current dilemma (though the new portfolio holders for transport and regenerations may well yet not!).
The clock is ticking
The clock is ticking away to loosing the opportunity of funds: IWC Chief Executive’s, in my view, unindustrious team has sat on their hands for two years with this.
But having stripped out the skilled staff to develop sympathetic engineering projects in a Historic Conservation Area, they are satisfied ‘lifting’ part of a plan from a dusty shelf of expensive plans for Ryde.
Tough call for councillors
The alternative left to the new team of councillors is having to refuse £10m grant funding from central government (which is a big call), or reviewing the PFI. Island Roads will have allocated time to this and won’t get paid if we focus on healthy lifestyles.
However, as a resident, if you’d like to know more then Ryde Town Council will be the appropriate early opportunity to register your interest, until IWC launch their ‘Consultation’.
Image: © Google Maps/Streetview
