What a good Idea

"BUY a flat and get a free bike. That will be the deal for people who
snap up one of more than 60 new flats in Southampton city centre.

Developers are offering the sweetener because there will be no car
parking spaces on the site. Instead, there will be spaces for each
resident to park their bicycles.

The pioneering project - the first of its kind in the area - will see
new owners at a block in St Mary Street each given a bicycle with
their flats.

They will also have the use of a fleet of six electrically powered
cycles as part of an initiative which has already won plaudits from
green campaign group Transport 2000.

The electric cycles will be made available for residents under a
booking system which will be operated by the managing agents at the
flats.

Work is likely to begin this summer on the development which is due to
be completed in summer 2005.

City highways bosses and developers Cindan Land Ltd will be monitoring
the scheme's success on cutting down congestion and pollution.

The flats are likely to sell for about £100,000.

The new four-storey block of 63 one-bedroom apartments will be built
above former shops in St Mary Street opposite the city's Bellway
housing development.

Developers are also being forced to provide public open space and a
children's play area as part of the multi-million pound development.

Roger Hurt, of Cindan Land Ltd, said: "We have conducted quite a bit
of research into electric vehicles and we thought this was the way to
go. There is no car parking available at the site but this is an
environmentally friendly approach which will help the government meet
its pollution targets."

Transport 2000 Steve Hounsham spokesman said: "This is a forward
thinking and, it has to be said, a brave move.

"We would certainly applaud efforts by developers to encourage people
to use sustainable transport and there will be a lot of people out
there who will be impressed with this scheme.

"People do want to escape from the stranglehold of the car and this
scheme is obviously very innovative and exciting.

"It deserves a lot of attention and we would certainly like to see a
lot more pro-active schemes of this kind to get people back on two
wheels instead of four."

The chairman of Southampton City Council's planning and rights of way
committee Councillor John Slade said: "I am glad that companies are
now trying to be more innovative in respect of the development of land
in the city. We will watch this scheme with interest to see if it is
successful."


(experimental) Transport & Urban Planning Blog

now at http://notonmywatch.blogs.com

If there's no car parking, where are people going to keep their cars? If the
buyers don't already own cars, they probably already have bikes. I doubt the
option to 'book' the use of a bike is going to lure people into buying a
one-bedroom flat at £100'000. Which market are they going for? Young
professionals are the usual target for one bedroom.

Who is going to maintain and replace the bikes? The developers? The
householders?

They will also have the use of a fleet of six electrically powered
cycles

Ugh.

Simonb wrote:

If there's no car parking, where are people going to keep their cars?

St Mary's is ideal for anyone who works in the City itself and not too far
for anyone working at the Uni or the various hospitals and med schools.

Don't be such a curmudgeon ;-)

--
Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University

Don't be such a curmudgeon ;-)

I'm not being curmudgeonly. I just think it's a gimmick.

Simonb wrote:
Don't be such a curmudgeon ;-)
I'm not being curmudgeonly. I just think it's a gimmick.

The free bike? For sure. The car-free flats? Anything but.

--
Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University

"Simonb" wrote in message
.. .

If there's no car parking, where are people going to keep their cars? If the
buyers don't already own cars, they probably already have bikes. I doubt the
option to 'book' the use of a bike is going to lure people into buying a
one-bedroom flat at £100'000....

£100k is cheap for a 1 bed flat as they often go for about £110-£120 here in rural
somerset!

The free bike? For sure. The car-free flats? Anything but.

OK. I see your point. But it's trivialising bikes.

"Simonb" wrote in message
.. .

They will also have the use of a fleet of six electrically powered
cycles

Ugh.

Not if you are disabled!

£100k is cheap for a 1 bed flat as they often go for about £110-£120 here
in rural
somerset!

You've never been to St Mary Street.