SO, a decision has been made by councillors, to kick the idea of a Park and Ride into touch.

We now have to go along with the idea of a multi storey car park in the middle of a cul-de-sac surrounded by housing on two fronts - Waterloo Flats and Corinium Gate.

Already The Waterloo is a service road for businesses delivering to the rear of premises fronting Dyer Street, the Woolmarket, the Market Place including the Fleece Hotel, as well as Grove Court, a garage business and the library.

By doing so, our councillors have created another problem to be dealt with - Traffic Management at the four phase traffic lights of London Road, Dyer Street, Victoria Road and The Waterloo, not forgetting the pedestrians using this already busy junction too.

Let’s not forget The Waterloo is a cul-de-sac so what traffic goes in has to come out.

More car parking spaces means more vehicle traffic going in and more vehicle traffic coming out - likely problem - congestion!

Much public comment has been made to the councillors as well as to the Wilts and Glos Standard of pollution problem arising from site-ing a multi storey car park in The Waterloo.

Whatever experts may say about more pollution getting to a Park and Ride one wonders what they have to say about the pollution created by stationary cars/vehicles waiting their turn to move through the 4 Phase Traffic Lights at the junction of London Road, Dyer Street, Victoria Road and The Waterloo.

Not too pleasant or healthy for the pedestrians crossing there either.

Everyone knows there are already times during the working day when traffic stretches back to the London Road roundabout with traffic stationary on the roundabout and affecting access roads - such as Burford Road.

It’s already clogged with stationary traffic now, even before we get anywhere near starting to build the multi - storey car park.

So the situation can only get worse.

Stationary traffic creates pollution too, councillors, maybe far more than vehicles travelling to get to a Park and Ride - the given reason for not having a P&R system.

The brief given to councillors Mark Harris and Mark MacKenzie-Charrington, to look into the viability of a multi storey car park at the Waterloo was achieved - we knew it would be, because the idea of such a car park has been around for a number of years - I believe I am correct when I say that the land on which the car park is sited already belongs to the CDC so obviously that made a big difference in making the decision to forge ahead and build the multi storey there rather than a Park and Ride.

We all recognise the need for more parking availability but the historic core of Cirencester is not a sensible option and the possibility that The Forum Car Park (so recently successfully upgraded) is going for housing and retail development instead of staying as much-needed parking seems counter-intuitive to say the least.

So councillors, you have decided to provide decked car parking at The Waterloo.

Please reassure us you have already decided how to deal with the likely traffic congestion highlighted above and your proposal to go ahead at the Waterloo will not make an already difficult situation a lot worse!

David Iliffe

Cirencester