How to spend less on parking, and more on town centre shopping, knowing that the reduced parking fee goes to charity.
The front-page headlines on Sat Dec17 of Cambridge News indicated that Parking charges (up to £24 if over 5 hours) put off 1 in three people from shopping in Cambridge. The editorial, quite understandably, encouraged people to support City Centre shops.
The Rotary club of South Cambridge has, this winter, as it has done for a number of years, manned 3 car parks, very kindly made available by the University of Cambridge namely the Downing Site, The Department of Chemistry and Cambridge Assessment Centre during weekends in December and for a couple of days for post Christmas sales. All money collected goes to Charity – mainly local charities. There was a single “charge” of £6 for up to a whole day’s parking (cheaper than the nearby Grand Arcade car park for a stay over 2 hours). The amount raised in previous years by the club has increased significantly from £8,000 to £11,000 to in 2010 over £13,500. This year we have raised £19,400.
The car parks are at Park Terrace, Lensfield road and the Downing site on Tennis Court Road (the pedestrian exit from this car park is onto Downing Street nearly opposite John Lewis’s).
We estimate that 3000 cars will have been able to park more easily and more cheaply near Cambridge City Centre bringing 7000 shoppers into Cambridge. We believe that this is of great benefit to High Street traders by providing them with more, less-rushed shoppers with more money to spend (because of the saving on parking charges) whilst contributing greatly to local charities. People are able to look for the Rotary car park signs bearing the “Rotary Wheel” and know that, at that seasonal time of the year, their parking contribution all goes to charity.
The charities to benefit from 2011 monies are:
Standing Start – Helping those with spinal injuries
Jimmy’s Night Shelter – Emergency accommodation for the homeless in Cambridge
Hearing Dogs for the Deaf – Training dogs to help the deaf
Wintercomfort – Supporting the homeless in Cambridgeshire
The Rotary Foundation – including helping to eradicate polio worldwide
Cambs PSA – Help and support for prostate cancer sufferers and their families
Alzheimer’s Research UK – Looking at ways to defeat Alzheimer’s
CAMpod – Supporting medical research at the University’s Department of Pathology
University of Cambridge Veterinary School Trust – Providing crucial care for sick and injured animals
The benefit to local charities was brought home to me recently at the Day Centre Christmas lunch where the speaker (from Cottenham) was an MS sufferer who was explaining during the super dinner, provided by the Day Centre volunteers, that he was able to keep sufficiently mobile with the help of a rowing machine at an MS centre in Cambridge which made his limbs work when weak and which allowed him to use like an ordinary gym machine when a little stronger. He was delighted that this machine had been purchased with money from the Rotary club of South Cambridge.
In summary this project not only raises a very large sum of money for local charities, it does it by a means by which people pay a modest sum of money to park centrally in Cambridge for Christmas shopping. This is cheaper than alternative parking at this busy time of the year. It is also quicker since it reduces queuing both for them and other drivers. The other car parks do not lose out since, at this time, the demand outstrips the supply of car parking places. This brings more people into the city centre to shop by the means they prefer at this time when they may wish to purchase heavy/large items (no doubt the recipients of the gifts get some enjoyment as well!). They leave the car park happy that they have not paid high charges and have contributed to charity via an organisation (Rotary) that they trust. The shops greatly benefit from this extra trade from contented shoppers at their crucial time of the year for their businesses. It also helps to enhance the reputation of the University’s generosity with regard to its service to local residents.
The Local charities greatly benefit from the extra cash that they are able to put to really good use such as for a machine to help MS sufferers. In essence a real win-win community project. We have a considerable number of volunteers from Cottenham without whom this would not be possible and are pleased that many Cottenham drivers look out for our car parks. Further information is on the website Cambridge South Rotary,
