Having just read the Draft Parking Strategy document I am amazed to find that Eynsham was not included in the surveys. The main car park at the medical centre is so full it is hard to find a place when attending the surgery and the streets in the centre of the village are seemingly above the magic 85% capacity.
There are proposals for about a 30% increase in housing to the west of the village and to quote your own report the Woodstock and Eynsham sub area are expected to provide 4928 new homes THE LARGE MAJORITY OF THIS BEING IN EYNSHAM.
All new developments in towns and villages to the West of Eynsham increases the use of the village as a ParkAnd Ride because the cost of the bus fare to Oxford is virtually the same as using the Park And Ride in Botley with the added advantage of eliminating the stressful drive into Botley.
Even the proposed Park And Ride to the North of Eynsham, if parking charges are applied, will not solve this problem.
A recent meeting of the retailers in Eynsham highlighted parking ( lack of it ) as the main problem threatening the viability of those businesses and hence the vitality of the village.
As the owner of the DIY SHOP in the village I know only too well the custom we lose ,even now ,because people cannot find a parking space to allow them to pick up heavy/ bulky items.
If the new Garden Village is built the individuality and hence popularity of the existing shops will not be duplicated. There will therefore be more traffic /parking generated by this development. The retailers of Eynsham look on this as a positive development but any benefits to both customer and retailer will be frustrated by lack of parking.
Reading your very interesting report it seems to me that extra car parking spaces is not necessarily the answer as this may just encourage more park and riding from the village.
It may be that the answer is to provide limited time parking in a small number of spaces adjacent to the various shops thus increasing the number of users of those spaces markedly.
I realize there are problems associated with this and this is not the place to discuss them. It would , I feel ,be helpful in the near future to discuss this issue with the relevant experts.
Which takes me back to my original statement . I am amazed Eynsham was not included in this survey.
Robin Saunders