Mr Lenthall about the problem of parking in Stevenage

Transcript:

Yes, well, the main problem as far as transportation was concerned; first problem that hit us was the increase in car ownership.  We were given standards to work to by the government when we produced the first plan for the town, which turned out to be woefully inadequate. And for example we wanted to provide, a garage or parking space per house, but the government standard said no, something perhaps achieving one car in four family ownership might perhaps be reached sometime in the future, and initially we were asked to provide parking spaces on the basis of about, one car space per eight dwellings, and you can’t do this attached to the house, so to speak.  You have to then solve the problem by creating garage compounds dotted round your housing areas. And we very soon found what we thought was going to happen, that as car ownership increased, this provision was inadequate, and secondly that, it wasn’t very popular because people like to take their cars as close to their houses as they can.  And certainly in the sixties and early seventies, we were working through the earlier parts of the New Town, trying to increase the level of provision.

Lenthall 1986