Findings
- there were 3,709 - page visitors. Of that number, 1,882 people clicked for further information. Page visitors and postal respondents completed 1,323 surveys and provided 42 pins on the map for cycle parking
- most respondents came to the page directly (570), from social media (232) or used an email link they had received (109). This reflects the way the survey was promoted
- in the survey, the Board outlined a number of their preferred options for Louth town centre.
- 55% of respondents (730) agreed with the Board’s preferred option for Cornmarket - to leave it as existing (space for market stalls on market days and for parking at other times). Comparing to 42% of respondents (559) selecting seasonal scheme or full-time closure as their preferred option
- 45% of respondents (600) preferred to leave Market Place as existing comparing to 40% of respondents (534) who agreed with the Board’s preferred option for Market Place – to use the space differently
- further exploration of the Board’s preferred option for Market Place – use the space differently showed that:
- 6 businesses (7%) out of 83 businesses in total, said they would be very likely or likely to use the space on the Market Place to operate a pavement café under licence by Lincolnshire County Council
- 160 of all respondents (12%) said they would be very likely or likely to use this space to hold events
- in the survey, the Board asked about parking arrangements for a number of locations in town centre
- 727 (56%) respondents said that they would like to see restricted parking (30 minutes) if the parking was retained in Market Place on non-market days
- Around 60% of respondents were against changing parking in parking bays within the highway to 30 minutes waiting in the following streets:
- Aswell Street – 784 (59%) were against the change
- Lee Street - 818 (62%) were against the change
- Northgate - 812 (61%) were against the change
- Vickers Lane – 782 (59%) were against the change
- Nichol Hill – 777 (59%) were against the change
- 595 (46%) of respondents agreed with Board’s preferred option to leave the two large loading bays on Eastgate as existing. Comparing to 279 (23%) of respondents who preferred changing it to limited waiting and 281 (23%) of respondents who preferred a mix of limited waiting and disabled parking
Comments were sought for each of the closed ended questions to provide explanation for the chosen option. Additionally, the survey asked about additional ideas for Market Place use, suggestions for improving on-highway parking bays in the town centre and ideas about Louth town centre that had not been covered in this survey.
Most comments provided support for the chosen option. The comments were grouped and categorised into common themes in addition to those that supported the chosen option. The emerging themes differed from questions to question and are broken down in more details in survey analysis section of the report.
The topmost emerging themes mentioned across all questions in the survey were grouped as follows:
- keep current parking arrangements – 267 comments
- extend the time permitted for limited parking (the suggestions were between one to three hours instead of 30 minutes) – 206 comments
- restrict Market Place parking (time limits, mixed users) – 180 comments
- provide more parking for disabled – 131 comments
- enhance street scene. The comments covered a range of suggestions including more seating, greenery, and street cleansing - 120 comments
- activities and events as ideas on how the Market Place could be used on non-market days - 115 comments
- traffic flow issues in town centre specifically Eastgate narrow section. Comments included vehicles parking at the narrowest point and causing an obstruction, pedestrian safety and condition of the footways – 103 comments
- encouraging more businesses into town centre - 99 comments
- leave Eastgate loading bays for current or future businesses – 92 comments
- pedestrianise parts or the whole of town centre. Comments included suggestions for pedestrianising the whole of Mercer Row and Eastgate through to Fish Shambles plus the Cornmarket, Market Place, through to just the Cornmarket or just the Market Place. – 76 comments
- close occasionally for events (Market place or Cornmarket) – 75 comments
- review parking charges – these included suggestions for free parking in all pay and display car parks (for example first hour free) or parking schemes (parking reimbursement scheme or park and ride) – 59 comments
- share space on market days - 54 comments
There were 42 pins placed on the map around town centre with proposed location of the cycle parking. Locations of all pins on the map is listed in the map tool results section in the report. The most common places chosen for additional cycle parking were:
Six pins were put around Market Place
Five pins were put around Cornmarket area
Comments included:
- consideration for indicated locations and CCTV coverage
- capacity of cycle parking
- suggestion for cycle parking areas at the hospital (outside town centre) and all car parks
- improvement of facilities in Aswell Street and CCTV coverage
- replacement of existing cycle racks outside the library