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Yet another low quality waterfront car park

6 Aug

A new Car Park at the Waterfront. Now, where have I heard that before? I think I’ve lost count of the Car Parks in this area now. This was a space that we were interested in as it is or was a large unused space that had some potential to be a really nice public space, but instead it is being used for yet another Car Park when the existing ones are still underused and mainly empty.

One very noticeable feature of the Car Park is a very nice covered bike park. Its great to see them using the space in different ways and that they are thinking of cyclists though its placement does seem a little strange.

I spoke to an attendant and asked if there was going to be any further development to cheer the place up and he said that improvements may be made to the area when business picks up and it starts to make some money. I say “good luck” if the other Car Parks in the area are anything to go by.

So the new Car Park has shown early signs of moving in the rightdirection in being friendly not only to Cars but lets hope that some further development see’s some tree’s and flowers green the place up a bit. Amongst the modernity of the new waterfront it would have been great to see a picnic park area adding some life and loveliness to all those buildings and Car Parks instead of the easiest and laziest way of making money.

Whats this? Another car park…

5 Jul

Wow, could this be the densest collection of car parks in the land? The Waterfront in Ipswich is now home to its sixth Car Park which I don’t understand considering the numerous others don’t get used. We spoke about these Car Parks in a previous post and the same questions apply here, mainly couldn’t this space be used for something better?

As you can see this is a picture of the new Car Parks tariff. I t seems very reasonable and could be the cheapest Car Park in town but will that matter when the others in the same area aren’t being used.

Perhaps we had better try to brighten it up a bit.

A waterfront garden?

10 Jun

A virtually empty car park right up against an ancient church!

The waterfront in Ipswich is separated from the town center by a pair of major roads (the Star Lane Gyratory) and a number of ugly surface-level waste-ground car parks which have been crudely flung together from very rough and unattractive materials.

Rough hoardings which have been there for years

They were created in response to the familiar cry ‘there is not enough parking’ which became hysterical just before Christmas 2009 when the Crown St car park was closed following structural problems. However… these waterfront car parks are very poorly used with most drivers preferring to queue for the car parks in the town center.

Another virtually empty car park

They are close to a number of significant historical structures, including Wolsey’s Gate and also to St Peter’s church and to St Mary’s church and could form attractive areas linking the town and the waterfront.

 

Runner beans doing well!

So… we decided to brighten them up and make them a little more attractive. For starters we have been doing some planting and have more plans for the near future. The beans that we planted a couple of weeks ago to attract the attention of the public have started to grow. There are about 6 inches tall already thanks to the rain and it wont be long before they are climbing up the bars of the fence.

We are choosing the perfect spot for a next veggie patch. The waterfront is ideal because amongst all the construction, finished developments and car parks there is very little plant life which we are going to try to change. 

First gardening project

1 Jun

The growing number of naff car parks in Ipswich town center, mainly around the waterfront are now starting to cover large area. The waterfront has seen considerable development in that past few years with new businesses setting up within walking distance of the town center. So why should so much land be dedicated to cars and why are the owners of these eyesores allowed to take from the community without giving anything back.

We are taking it upon ourselves to brighten up these areas and give something back. We have started planting in this area, our first action is a trench of peas and runner beans on the waterfront. We are hoping that passing pedestrians and motorists will be able to see these clearly and appreciate a nicer use of public spaces. We feel the Car parks in this area are a problem and need more of our attention which it will receive.


Update

We got plenty of beans planted in a great spot. Some were unfortunately ‘strimmed’ during the course of the year but others bloomed and produced a crop!