Unanswered questions

about

Market Place plan

There’s been some lively debate on the plans to revamp Boston’s Market Place ever since Boston Borough Council published its “sketch impression” of what the £2 million scheme might look like when it is completed later in the year.

The longer people have to think about it, the clearer their ideas become.
Despite a vocal minority who expect to park their car within five feet of a shop,
we think that there is a groundswell of opinion to set parking at a minimum and to restrict it to the east side of the Market Place.
But there are still unanswered questions to be dealt with.
The sketch shows the market stalls grouped in a single area.
We think that this is a good idea, as it gives a stronger market “feel” on Wednesdays and Saturdays – but without over-cluttering the space and making life difficult for shoppers who want to use the ordinary shops.
However, there is no suggestion that this idea is a concrete one, and it would be nice to know for certain.
Again, relocating the taxi rank is a good idea, but what the drivers think about it hasn’t yet been disclosed.
Provision for just thirteen taxis makes sense, as there are often days when there are clearly no takers for a cab and the overspill from their current parking allocation causes problems for other drivers and pedestrians.
Having said that, the other day we counted more than twenty taxis plying for trade, and we wonder where the others will go once the Market Place is redesigned.
Street furniture is mentioned but without any specifics.
The current curvy blue monstrosities are well past their sell-by date and we need something that looks far more inviting, and far less “sixties” town centre in appearance.
A couple of thoughts in this respect:- if the chosen material could be self coloured, it would save regular repainting costs, and also avoid the steady decline in appearance as paint chips slowly away over time. And what about a design that makes it impossible for people to sit on the back with their feet on the seats, and also lets rainwater run off the seating?
No mention has been made of whether there are plans to replace the current market stalls, which are unattractive to say the least. Replacing the stalls for The Green market wrought a huge improvement, and a similar change to the main market is long overdue.
Central and crucial to all of this is the Five Lamps feature.
Please, please, don’t dump it on one of the bus stops used by that wretched, noisy, smelly, intrusive Into Town bus service, where is will be obscured to photographers by buses countless times a day.
You wouldn’t incorporate a bus stop into the Ingram Memorial would you?
Perhaps we shouldn’t have mentioned the idea …


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