I think that there is a bit of a conspiracy going on to get everyone to leave town.
After years of roadworks, massive hikes in car parking charges, construction of a huge monstrosity in Parkway, we now have a spanking new fleet of DOUBLE deck buses encouraging us to "Whizz into Reading in style" or in the other direction take the "Basingstoke Flyer".
There will soon be nobody left in Newbury during the daytime.
I think that there is a bit of a conspiracy going on to get everyone to leave town.
After years of roadworks, massive hikes in car parking charges, construction of a huge monstrosity in Parkway, we now have a spanking new fleet of DOUBLE deck buses encouraging us to "Whizz into Reading in style" or in the other direction take the "Basingstoke Flyer".
There will soon be nobody left in Newbury during the daytime.
The buses carry passengers in both directions don't they?. Or is it the usual case around here of the glass is half empty.....This board really tries its utmost to talk down Newbury at every opportunity, sad really, all this negativity in most threads. And before anyone starts, I am not User23 nor do I work for WBC.
The buses carry passengers in both directions don't they?. Or is it the usual case around here of the glass is half empty.....This board really tries its utmost to talk down Newbury at every opportunity, sad really, all this negativity in most threads. And before anyone starts, I am not User23 nor do I work for WBC.
You must be just as blinkered as user23 or else you need a visit to Specsavers. Have you not noticed how the town has deteriorated over the last few years?
However lets not get too gloomy, presumably these buses will be emblazoned with adverts for Parkway (if it opens on time). Can we rename the Basingstoke route to be the Newbury Flyer?
By the way the A339 through Newbury is totally stuffed again this morning. Now why did they close Parkway Bridge? Ah I remember, it was because the A339 was a more convenient route to avoid the traffic jams in the Wharf.
After years of roadworks, massive hikes in car parking charges, construction of a huge monstrosity in Parkway, we now have a spanking new fleet of DOUBLE deck buses encouraging us to "Whizz into Reading in style" or in the other direction take the "Basingstoke Flyer"..
Where did you get "Basingstoke Flyer" from? As far as I am aware the Basingstoke route is called "The Link". The route into Reading is called "Jet Black".
I am sure there will be lots of publicity when Parkway opens, including advertising on buses.
You must be just as blinkered as user23 or else you need a visit to Specsavers. Have you not noticed how the town has deteriorated over the last few years?
Deteriorated? Says who? From what I see of Newbury it's a pleasant enough place to shop/work/live. When Parkway opens and some of the larger chains relocate to it, I am sure landlords owning the smaller shops are going to have to reduce their rents which in turn will encourage more smaller, specialist shops to move in, making things even better in the medium to long term. The market place is far nicer now than it was although I'd like to see more growth in the cafe/bar/pub collection around it.
The cinema is OK, not my cup of tea but a welcome addition to the town although I object to it being funded by taxpayers. Northbrook street is a pleasant enough shopping environment. Shame the buses are going from it, low emission vehicles would be a handy and popular mode of transport right into the centre, but I respect other's views that is is dangerous, although I fear cars are just as dangerous as buses outside of the closed period.
Anyway, my point wasn't about whether Newbury is deteriorating (in some people's but no means everyone's eyes), it was about why people on here twist almost every story here into some negative gripe about Newbury! I have seen those new buses and with them carrying free wifi I though what a brilliant set up if you happen to live in Newbury and work in Reading (or vice versa). Having just suffered a tedious, almost 2 hour, journey from Maidenhead to Newbury by train the other da,y I saw the buses and begun wondering if I could start using them to get to Reading for an onward train to Maidenhead. Others, probably heavily blinkered , would just assume those buses are WBC's devil and will just suck everyone from town and destroy Newbury and the whole of the civilised world
I think that there is a bit of a conspiracy going on to get everyone to leave town.
After years of roadworks, massive hikes in car parking charges, construction of a huge monstrosity in Parkway, we now have a spanking new fleet of DOUBLE deck buses encouraging us to "Whizz into Reading in style" or in the other direction take the "Basingstoke Flyer".
There will soon be nobody left in Newbury during the daytime.
What a strange post, complaining about improvements in local public transport. I've no idea what the "Basingstoke Flyer" is either.
I was in Newbury during the daytime today and it was packed. Perhaps it might be even more so when Parkway is open and people on the outskirts of Reading are able to "Whiz into Newbury".
Also, and I'm being a tad pedantic here, but surely "the other direction" from Newbury to Reading is Reading to Newbury, not Newbury to Basingstoke.
By the way the A339 through Newbury is totally stuffed again this morning. Now why did they close Parkway Bridge? Ah I remember, it was because the A339 was a more convenient route to avoid the traffic jams in the Wharf.
This has been going on for a few days now and it appears it is something to do with new storm drains on and around the Burger King roundabout. Today they had closed the southbound right hand lane because they had dug a new drain in the middle of the roundabout. This caused blocked roads back to Shaw, the Kings Road and Hambridge Rd and the Robin Hood roundabout. According to WBC Traffic Management department who patently were not managing anything, the repair material takes an hour to set. This would be the reason for all the workmen sitting in the lorry cab watching the traffic for several hours.
You must be just as blinkered as user23 or else you need a visit to Specsavers. Have you not noticed how the town has deteriorated over the last few years?
However lets not get too gloomy, presumably these buses will be emblazoned with adverts for Parkway (if it opens on time). Can we rename the Basingstoke route to be the Newbury Flyer?
By the way the A339 through Newbury is totally stuffed again this morning. Now why did they close Parkway Bridge? Ah I remember, it was because the A339 was a more convenient route to avoid the traffic jams in the Wharf.
You seem to be complaining about the buses and the traffic jams. Logically, if we had more buses (double decker or not) the A339 would not be so totally stuffed. BTW on the bus into Newbury this morning it was 3/4 full. The bus going in the opposite direction had 6 passangers.
I think Scaramouche's point is that the actual marketing of this service REALLY does say we should "Whizz into Reading in Style", and as some quite rightly pointed out it is a two way journey ! Also I can't envisage the good people of Reading being enticed to "whizz into Newbury in Style" when they already have what we are getting ?
The market place is far nicer now than it was although I'd like to see more growth in the cafe/bar/pub collection around it.
But it is still nothing but an an empty space during most of the daytime. The only thing happening when i walked through there the other day was some shirtless spotty youth trying to do stunts on his mountain bike.
I was in Newbury during the daytime today and it was packed. Perhaps it might be even more so when Parkway is open and people on the outskirts of Reading are able to "Whiz into Newbury".
Which part of Newbury were you in, Cheap St, or the northern part of Bartholemew St. perhaps !!
But it is still nothing but an an empty space during most of the daytime. The only thing happening when i walked through there the other day was some shirtless spotty youth trying to do stunts on his mountain bike.
When was that then? I would image that during the week, many, if not most, people will be at work. Yesterday, Saturday, it was very well filled
Incidentally, these new buses carry the writing "Whizz into Reading in style" on one side and "Whizz into Newbury in style" on the other side.
When was that then? I would image that during the week, many, if not most, people will be at work. Yesterday, Saturday, it was very well filled
Well yes, i do realise it would tend to be busy on Market days, that is fairly obvious. My point was that even after spending x amount of money on making it 'look nice', apart from 2 days a week it is still an empty space !!
Well yes, i do realise it would tend to be busy on Market days, that is fairly obvious. My point was that even after spending x amount of money on making it 'look nice', apart from 2 days a week it is still an empty space !!
We all like to criticise, but what would be your solution to this empty space?
We all like to criticise, but what would be your solution to this empty space?
What about a car park? We used to have one there which was very convenient for the banks. Handy for the Corn Exchange (particularly if you are disabled) Now for 95% of the week, it is just an empty void.
What about a car park? We used to have one there which was very convenient for the banks. Handy for the Corn Exchange (particularly if you are disabled) Now for 95% of the week, it is just an empty void.
How would you propose you get to the car park? Not Northbrook Street 10.00-5.00, not over the bridge, not the Wharf because of barrier nor Mansion House Street. Victoria Park was empty today and is only really busy maybe five months of the year, would that make a good car park too?
How would you propose you get to the car park? Not Northbrook Street 10.00-5.00, not over the bridge, not the Wharf because of barrier nor Mansion House Street. Victoria Park was empty today and is only really busy maybe five months of the year, would that make a good car park too?
You may just be spot on if the Pigeon Loft Pavilion goes ahead as planned?
The barriers wouldn't be needed if the Market Place become a car park.
Quite a backward step. Although the area can sometimes look a bit deserted, it has to be much nicer without a load of cars parked all over it. The market place is only lacking in events but you can't have them every day and of course when an event does come up, without the place being cluttered with cars, it's available without any special orders having to be obtained by WBC. It was an lot of money but in retrospect, probably worth it.
Bollocks. It was a well kept car park actually (why are you so quick to run our council down )and I would argue it is hardly a centre piece for the town as it is now. Even more so when Parkway opens.
Admin, where is that picture you had of the car park just before our council wasted the thick end of a million pounds repaving it on it?
Bollocks. It was a well kept car park actually (why are you so quick to run our council down )and I would argue it is hardly a centre piece for the town as it is now. Even more so when Parkway opens.
Admin, where is that picture you had of the car park just before our council wasted the thick end of a million pounds repaving it on it?
It was a rather tatty car park replaced by a nice piazza.
Now you can argue about the cost, or the need to do it, but you can't say that it looks worse now as the centre piece of the Market Place.
It was a rather tatty car park replaced by a nice piazza.
It just simply wasn't tatty. It had not been that long from a resurface anyway. As car parks go it was in good nick. It had the trees and everything IIRC.
Now you can argue about the cost, or the need to do it, but you can't say that it looks worse now as the centre piece of the Market Place.
Looks are subjective, although I have to say: I think it is paving 'overkill'. Rather like painting everything the same colour. The point is: without spending squillions of pounds, it looked fine as it did.
It was a rather tatty car park replaced by a nice piazza.
Now you can argue about the cost, or the need to do it, but you can't say that it looks worse now as the centre piece of the Market Place.
How it looks is very subjective. To spend all that money on creating a piazza that no one is using five days of the week and then is covered by market stalls for another day just seems a tad ludicrous to me? No good having a very expensive center piece and no body looking at it or using it surely? It will be even worse when Park Way opens and footfall falls in the rest of the town.
I bet it's not an empty space tonight, I bet it's bustling.
To be truthful i doubt if many of the clientele who inhabit the area at night really give a toss what it looks like. The presence of regurgitated carrots etc. in the mornings often bare that out.
To be truthful i doubt if many of the clientele who inhabit the area at night really give a toss what it looks like. The presence of regurgitated carrots etc. in the mornings often bare that out.
There's far less of that that there used to be, perhaps because it's now a nice looking area rather than a tatty car park.
There's far less of that that there used to be, perhaps because it's now a nice looking area rather than a tatty car park.
You obviously aren't there before the army of Veolia workers clear it up. That said, I'm sure it is not very different to many towns with an over concentration of night spots in one area.
There's far less of that that there used to be, perhaps because it's now a nice looking area rather than a tatty car park.
Perhaps if the council were to subsidies the cost of booze we could have the place inhabited by drunks during the day as well then? That would help make it worth while in spending all that cash.
Logged
, would just assume those buses are WBC's devil and will just suck everyone from town and destroy Newbury and the whole of the civilised world 
Male
