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1. As a
resident
1.1 Our main shopping town is Porthmadog.
This can be very busy, especially during the School Summer Holidays, when
the A487 road into town gets congested - there can be a three-mile tailback
at times. The current widening of the Cob is not likely to alleviate this as
the blockage is at the throat of Porthmadog and along the High Street.
People come into Port to shop, to ride on the Ffestiniog Railway, for the
marina, for the Leisure Centre, and for access to the Morfa Bychan camping
sites. The town cannot take another large influx of cars being funnelled in,
and does not deserve more large expensive car parks. It is a place of much
beauty.
1.2 Another of the gateway towns,
Llanrwst, is also a shopping centre, straddling the A470 trunk road. It does
not need more congestion. I do not see the shoppers swapping their existing
excellent free parking for expensive parking and more traffic fumes. Who
calls this a green policy?
1.3 My wife and I have to go to Ysbyty
Gwynedd quite often. From Penrhyn, the direct route is through Beddgelert.
We have to use a car, because after treatment a journey home by bus is not
recommended (and it takes twice as long). If the appointment is not too
early, we will stop for coffee on the way at somewhere like Beddgelert. For
most of the year, there is hardly any traffic on this road - there is no traffic problem.
We also go to Caernarfon about once a month to shop, using the Beddgelert
route. Again, a car is needed because it is not practical to bring a heavy
load home on the bus (we are both pensioners).
1.4 I am a Reader (preacher) in the
Church in Wales, and Beddgelert is one of my parishes. This means that I
have to go there quite often, and any restrictions would be a real problem.
2. As a hill-walker
2.1 I visited North Wales many times
before I came to live here, often coming alone for a week or two of walking.
I came here by train, and got around locally by bus; so I certainly approve
of good public transport; sensibly marketed, it can lure people away from
their cars. But this is only suitable for certain classes of visitor, not
for all.
2.2 I also came with a wife, four
children and a dog; this is a different situation. Our touring would include
stopping for short walks, stopping in a village for a snack and to shop,
stopping to allow a child to be sick, stopping somewhere for a photograph,
and then another short walk for the dog; possibly stopping at another
visitor attraction as well (but there was a limit on how many paying
attractions we could afford). We carried with us a change of clothes in case
we were caught out in a shower (Capel Curig has the best showers in all of
Wales!). If the Green Key Scheme had been in operation we would not have
come to Wales - neither Snowdonia nor Llyn nor Meirionnydd. The Scheme
is likely to be disastrous for the economy of the whole of Gwynedd. People do not
go on holiday to be bullied and overcharged.
2.3 Walkers in the colder months of the
year, and rock-climbers at all times, bring a weight of extra gear; some of
this goes up the hill, some stays in the car to wait for the return.
Inexperienced walkers, whose clothing may not be the best for the job,
should have spare clothing at all times of the year. It is not practicable
to load it all into a public minibus, and it is necessary for safety for
the spare gear to be at the foot of the hill, not miles away in a town.
2.4 In the past, I have brought groups of
young people to the area to learn how to walk safely and with enjoyment;
this is surely part of the purpose of a National Park. This is only
practicable if we used our own mini-bus; the group was too large to rely on
public buses, and the problem of where to leave your change of clothing is
still there.
3. Cost
3.1 Park-and-ride works well in a town
like Chester, because with free parking and a cheap bus it is attractive to many shoppers.
Expensive parking and a much longer and more expensive bus journey is not
attractive.
3.2 The Scheme will deter young families
with children and youth groups because of the cost, and these are the people
who should be encouraged to come to a National Park. The same will be true
of poorer people from the towns. What in the National Parks Act encourages
elitism?
3.3 The people with higher incomes,
mainly middle-aged plus, for whom cost is not a major concern, will not wish
to be dragooned into mini-buses, so they too will stay away.
3.4 I reiterate that an expensive and
oppressive Snowdonia will blight the whole area; I thought after foot-and-mouth
we had realised we needed tourism. People out there already know that holidaying in Britain is more expensive
than going abroad; it is a stroke of genius to make it even more expensive,
with hassle added in.
3.5
Discouraging people from visiting Gwynedd will certainly be a 'green'
policy, but where will our income come from? I had thought we were concerned
about the rural economy and the Welsh language; destroying the economy is a
sure way of forcing more young Welsh people to leave for foreign parts. How
about some joined-up thinking?
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