Vicarage Field Development

Apart from the improvements - and from the artist's impression it looks better - to St Awdry's Walk (see below), the main changes proposed are:

• Linking Vicarage Drive to St Awdry's Road
• Service road from Ripple Road to be new entrance, with a new ramp to the roof level car park along the side of the existing building
• Ground level car park to have housing built on it
• New tall building above Station parade entrance.
• New "car park ... on the eastern side of the existing building"

The blurb makes many references to sustainability and reducing reliance on cars and it says that the centre will be "more pedestrian oriented", but I note there will be "the same number of [car] parking spaces as the existing centre."

Biceberg - underground automated cycle parking

http://www.biceberg.es/ingles/

This is the kind of hi tech cycle parking we need at main line stations and high density housing developments.

CO2 based CPZ charges

Barking & Dagenham Council is considering tiered CPZ parking charges based on the CO2 emission rating of cars, following the lead from a few other London councils. The Barking & Dagenham Post (25 April) quoted interviews with two people - one in favour of protecting the planet whilst not being against "gas-guzzlers" as such and another vehemently against, on two grounds, one of which was that "it's a free country" and the council shouldn't tell people what car to drive. Not a terribly convincing argument as it ignores the council's role in trying to protect the planet.