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I have been walking,
climbing and canoeing in the Snowdonia National Park for twenty five years
and would like to make the following observations and comments on the
Green Key Plan.
I
am unclear what the plan is trying to achieve. There are no real problems
of congestion even on sunny weekends in the park and only rare cases of
obstructive parking. On the other hand your customers, the tourists and
the outdoor pursuits fraternity nearly all arrive by car and for a variety
of reasons really need their cars parked close to their chosen area of
activity.
Many
people use heavy, bulky kit for their activities and do not decide exactly
where they are going or what they are doing until they have seen the
conditions and the weather. Then they leave kit, dry clothes etc. in their
cars.
Conditions
change, mostly the weather and people change their plans and go to a
second venue, often having changed clothes and kit.
People
start before dawn to get good conditions, they finish after dark for
various reasons, they have accidents and need to evacuate.
The
flexibility required to persue many activities safely and enjoyably is
simply not provided by a park and ride scheme.
You
have hundreds of outdoor instructors in Snowdonia ask them why Park and
Ride cannot work.
After
the recent Foot and Mouth it must have become blindingly obvious that
tourism is Snowdonias major industry.
It
also became clear that the tourists do not go to the country if you do not
let them out into the countryside. Ask the business people how much money
they lost last spring, the shops were open but the tourists stayed home.
If
you make visits to Snowdonia awkward, over charge for parking, prevent us
from doing our chosen activities safely and with the necessary flexibility
we will go else where.
Wales
has always been less welcoming than it should be to tourists, this latest
plan shows a complete disregard for the people who put millions into the
local economy.
Indeed
I find it hard to believe how such a scheme was ever proposed. The local
business people cannot believe it will work, the local outdoor industry
must know it will not work, popular opinion from people outside the park
shows dismay and disbelief. However was the Scheme allowed to go this far?
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