AT the dawn of the new year, for one rail commuter in particular, the parking problems at Bentley station look set to raise his stress levels to breaking point.
While some are condemning the latest increase in rail fares, all be they at the lowest level for six years, for others it is actually accessing the facility that leads them to argue that the cost does not reflect the level of service provided.
With the area expected to see a high level of development over the next 10 years, putting additional pressure on the rail network, especially in terms of accessibility, many commuters believe that it is up to Network Rail to address these issues – in particular the problem at Bentley station.
While not wishing to be named, for this particular senior railcard holder regular trips to London Waterloo start with a nightmare scenario as he struggles to park before catching the South West Trains service from Alton. So bad, on occasions, does the situation become that he finds himself travelling further down the line to Farnham or on to Aldershot in his quest for a parking space.
He has to travel by car because Bentley station is relatively rural and is not served by any other means of public transport. There is no taxi rank and the nearest bus stop is a mile away in the centre of Bentley village and can only be accessed by walking along a country lane with no lighting and little in the way of pavements.
While the station serves passengers from a wide area, the car park is small with no room for expansion.
Furthermore, following pressure from residents, the parish and county councils have recently brought in a restriction to stop rail users from parking on Station Road.
According to Ken Carter, district councillor for Bentley, the situation over parking on Station Road came to a head around a year ago and was caused by commuters abusing the privilege of parking in what is a residential road.
For some time residents had raised concern over irresponsible parking, with some rail users said to be abandoning their vehicles, blocking driveways and even double parking, making it difficult for emergency service and refuse vehicles to access the road.
Mr Carter said that the crunch came when the school bus found it difficult to turn round, coming close to injuring two children as it did so.
It called into question health and safety issues and an investigation was carried out, culminating in a public consultation which resulted in an extension to the parking embargo on the road which had run from 7am to 10am, to discourage rush-hour commuters, but has now been extended to 2pm.
For our Lindford rail user, this has meant that while he had, in the past, found it relatively easy to park in an on-street lay-by after 10am, having to wait until after 2pm to catch a train means he does not arrive in London before 4pm, which is too late.
He said: “Over the past year I have chatted with more than 20 frustrated passengers who have been caused great hardship by this change in parking regulations. Families have been prevented from travelling to London at half term, daytime hospital visits have been thwarted, special events have been missed, staff and students have been prevented from attending schools and colleges of their choice, and many residents of Bentley have abandoned travelling to London altogether.”
Mr Carter believes the issue at Bentley station is indicative of a wider problem which can only get worse as the population increases.
He sympathises with the plight of Bentley station commuters but feels there is no obvious solution to the parking problem, as the car park is operating at capacity.
His only suggestion is for Network Rail to look at approaching the owner of a private strip of land on the opposite side of the track, which he feels may make a good car park, accessible from the Blacknest Road, and which would provide an answer to the problems on Station Road in one fell swoop.
The disgruntled commuter believes that gaining new passengers from this expanding area and the provision of adequate car parking should be a strategic objective for South West Trains and Network Rail, suggesting that together with “the extortionate prices” charged for station car parking, investment in land at Bentley should be of little financial concern.
He believes the proposed reinstatement of the former Longmoor line as a tram or branch line connecting Bordon-Whitehill to Bentley could provide an answer in an area which is set to take more than 4,500 new homes over the next few years, but this idea has been abandoned after Hampshire County Council’s public transport strategy deemed it “unviable”.
The Herald was still awaiting a statement from Network Rail at the time of going to press.