Milton Keynes in shock central car ban
In a shocking announcement this morning, Milton Keynes executives have banned all non-retail parking across central Milton Keynes, affecting thousands of employees, commuters and businesses in the city.
Come by to try our own Café & Co-working. Visit our new cafe?The ban will see all red, purple and permit parking spaces within a 5km radius of Centre:MK turned into Retail Spaces. These will be reserved for people using Centre:MK and Intu, in a bid to encourage more shopping in the area and reduce the parking pressures during the school holidays and at Christmas.
“Milton Keynes has always been ahead of the curve, and when the government announced its Retail Revival Strategy, we knew that we’d have to do things a little differently. The introduction of our Retail Spaces, will make shopping locally easier, which we hope will help to revitalise the high street and retain our much-loved shopping centres for years to come."
“Additionally, we hope that the ban on business parking will increase the health and wellbeing of Milton Keynes workers while substantially reducing the environmental impact of vehicle commuting - a win-win for everyone involved,” says Milton Keynes parking executive Carlos Komut.
The ban, commencing 22 April 2020, coincides with this year’s Earth Day – an annual event that celebrates our planet while raising public awareness about climate change and pollution.
How has Witan Studios responded?
We realise that this ban will come as a shock to all of our residents and while we already have excellent bike and shower facilities, we realise that there’s plenty more we can do help employees adjust to the changes. Starting Monday, we’ll be running a twice-daily runnute - a 3.6 mile run (with loopbacks) from the re-branded Park & Run to Witan Studios, in time for a 9 am start and 5 pm finish. Contractors have commenced work on the existing bike and shed, upgrading security and providing additional storage for scooters, rollerblades and pogo sticks.
Finally, we’re running a mileage competition to see who gets the furthest in this article before realising that it’s April Fool’s Day. April Fools! Of course, we’re only joking, and we’re not aware of any such plans to change business parking in central Milton Keynes. However, what’s not a joke is the impact that vehicle commuting has on the environment. Road transport accounts for 22% of the UK’s total emissions of carbon dioxide. And while Milton Keynes was built with the car in mind,
it also has an enviable network of redways that make cycling, running and even scootering to work safe, easy and possible for the many local residents. That’s why on Earth Day 2020, we’re asking our residents to take advantage of our redways, bike shed and shower facilities and give carless commuting a go. You never know, you might like it. You can find out more about Earth Day 2020 here, and you can find our bike storage facilities behind Fourth and Fifth.
