Guernsey Press

Two-hour parking would accommodate increased community demand

I AM RESPONDING to Janine Le Sauvage’s letter of 30 September, which amongst other things, expresses her concern about paid parking at La Vallette.

Published

She has completely misunderstood the point of my letter, which was proposing that two-hour parking could be made permanent around the vicinity of the Gents and Ladies pools as far as the aquarium in order to encourage a fast turnover rate of users to accommodate increased community demand. I would even suggest that permanent two-hour parking should be extended back as far as the Gents pool. I assume by Janine’s comments that, had she understood the contents of my letter, she would support this proposal, rather than rise to the ubiquitous bait of ‘paid parking’. I was advocating experimenting with paid parking for the 10-hour slots at the Town end of La Vallette, for reasons that I am not going to repeat here.

Janine infers that I am unfamiliar with the area. This couldn’t be further from the truth as I have been a key-holder for many years, learnt to swim there as a child, and now use the pools frequently, albeit more so in the winter months, when having a covered area to shelter from the wind and the rain is a godsend.

I thoroughly applaud the notion that La Vallette should be seen as a community asset for all, and Janine’s enjoyment of the area with her social group is to be commended, but not at the expense of it being sequestered away from the wider community, which is implied in her letter.

I am happy to repeat my praise for the Vive La Vallette team, as what they have achieved is a remarkable community endeavour. So I remain perplexed that Janine chooses to sit outside the public toilets when fabulous ‘free for all’ facilities have been created for everyone to enjoy, including her and her social group.

Vive La Vallette.

RUPERT DOREY