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Rail passengers have been warned a car park will be shut off for seven months from today as part of an ongoing £29 million project. Officials say the ‘major improvement works’ at Stoke Station have now entered the next phase which will bring with it a number of changes for passengers.
From today (November 4) and ‘car park one’, based next to the Royal Mail sorting office and opposite the sixth form college, will be closed until the end of June. Meanwhile the parking bay at Winton Square will also be ‘suspended’ while a temporary taxi rank will be put in that area.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council say the ongoing multi-million Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) programme is geared towards providing an ‘enhanced connection’ between the station and city centre. That has seen works carried out across College Road with a bus gate also going on.
Meanwhile efforts have also been ongoing to ‘improve the environment’ around the train station. The first phase has seen a new drainage system go in to tackle flooding outside the station while the iconic Josiah Wedgwood statue has now been placed into storage ahead of it being placed outside the station.
Paving work has also started as part of a wider public realm scheme in the area. The second phase will focus on upgrading the area around Winton Square.
With car park one shutting, other changes include:
- Long-stay parking at car park two, which is located at the north end of platform one, and car park three, at the rear of the station;
- Drop-offs will be available at car park three (20 minutes free)
- Disabled parking facilities will be available at both car parks;
- Parking bay at Winton Square will be suspended;
(Image: Pete Stonier / Stoke Sentinel)
- The pedestrian crossing at Winton Square will be kept in use;
- Taxi rank temporarily located outside Winton Square;
- Bus stop outside Federation House temporarily relocated to the station side while access to businesses along Station Road will be maintained.
Officials say it is ‘strongly advised’ that rail passengers allow extra time for their journeys while the works continue. Councillor Finlay Gordon-McCusker, cabinet member for transport, infrastructure and regeneration at the city council, said: “I am delighted to see that progress is being made on this important project to enhance the city’s main railway station and improve the connection between Station Road and the city centre.
“We are making it our priority to improve our city’s transport links and enhance our infrastructure. We want to make it as easy as possible for people to get around the city and make Stoke-on-Trent a healthier and greener place to live and visit.”
But the community leader has warned it means disruption. Councillor Gordon-McCusker added: “While this work is going on there will be some disruption and we understand that this can be frustrating for motorists but I want to reassure everyone that it will be worth it in the end.
“This project is going to create more room for pedestrians and cyclists, it will help to reduce traffic flow around the station, improve the look of the station itself and more importantly provide us with a better connection the city centre. So please bear with us and remember to leave a bit of extra time for your journey. Thank you for your co-operation.”
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