Commuters to face parking charges from Monday

Commuters will face parking charges from next Monday (1 November 2010) on a temporary car park provided by the council.

The car park, on the old MFI site, on Drake Street East opened in September to give train commuters somewhere to park now the Metrolink works have started.

The car park was free to start with as a “good will gesture.”

The charges will be £1.50 per day. Parking will be free after 3pm and all day on Saturday and Sunday.

The Metrolink works started at the end of September 2010 and are expected to take two years to complete.

The new, temporary car park will accommodate approximately 250 cars.

The chairman of STORM (Support the Oldham, Rochdale and Manchester Rail lines), Richard Greenwood said: “GMPTE say they have a policy to encourage park and ride and a policy for commuters to park for free. Rochdale Council has had to pay for this and they’re passing the cost on to people parking. GMPTE have refused to refund this which varies from their policy.

“GMPTE are showing an anti-Rochdale bias.”

Mr Greenwood continued: “At the moment there is no lighting on the car park. It would be nonsense to charge if there is no lighting on it.”

Mr Greenwood has another concern, he said: “There is no place for some one to drop of a passenger, such as an elderly relative with luggage. It is nonsense. The space which has been provided for taxi drivers is also woefully inadequate.”

A spokesperson for GMPTE said: “We are currently working with Rochdale Council to look at how on-street parking provision might be better managed in the long-term. There is also a proposal for a Park and Ride scheme at Rochdale railway station.

“The development of Park and Ride facilities across Greater Manchester is a priority for us, as they reduce urban congestion and provide the scope to maximise the benefits of public transport for the travelling public.

“Following the government's spending review, we will be considering whether our proposed Park and Ride schemes are eligible for funding from the £1.4bn Regional Growth Fund and the £560m Local Sustainable Transport Fund. We are awaiting further details of the bidding processes, which we understand will be available later this year.”

A spokesperson for Rochdale Borough Council said: “New parking restrictions have been put in place at the train station in preparation for the Metrolink’s arrival. We’re monitoring the current traffic flow closely at the moment and assessing ways we can ease congestion in the area.

“The lights have been ordered and should be installed for Monday, if not early next week. Temporary car parking provisions though the use of land on MFI has been provided for commuters at a cost to the council. The pay and display charge is necessary for us to recover the costs for providing this facility.” 

For more information and a map visit: http://www.rochdale.gov.uk/pdf/Final%20version%20-%20Drake%20St%20East%20Car%20park%20leaflet.pdf