Free Parking in Abingdon

Free Parking Signs
Free Parking was introduced in December 2011 and for the first year or so there were temporary signs round car parks warning people to get a ticket for the two free hours. These are now replaced by permanent signs.

At each entrance into town there is now a Free Parking sign

Reynolds Way pharmacy have signs all round South Abingdon saying they have Free Parking. Parking was always free at Reynolds Way but it helps advertise a fairly new service – so clever marketing.

Recently Waitrose changed to have 2 hours free parking to fall in line with other carparks – they were 90 minutes.

And every morning along Wilsham Road you will see a long queue of cars who get all day Free Parking. People working in the town centre can save £5.30 (6 hour+) a day by walking the last half mile. But it is not always so popular with Wilsham Road residents.

8 thoughts on “Free Parking in Abingdon

  1. Peter Del

    The two hours free parking is brilliant but I for one would like to occasionally park in Wilsham Road so that I can walk along the river, but there is hardly ever any space; and it is impossible to park outside The Anchor. Perhaps the Council could come up with an idea which might encourage tourism to this area.

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  2. Abingdonian

    The small car park on Thames Street did not have two hours free when I last used it, yet it is as close as any to the “Town centre” proclaimed by that sign.

    Very confusing. Is there some jurisdictional explanation?

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  3. Local Lass

    Abingdonian – I think (could be wrong) that the car parks are managed by VWHDC and give the free parking. The on street parking which is available in West & East St Helen Street is managed by the Abingdon Town Council and is not free, perhaps Thames Street is part of that too.

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  4. HelenP

    Local Lass is not quite right. The on-street parking is managed by the Town Council *on behalf of * Oxfordshire County Council. OCC set the rules and costs.

    Reply
  5. Socrate's Sister

    Ii is not just Wilsham Road that is now full of people parking all day, it is now a problem for many streets within a half mile or so of the town centre. On my roas, it was not too bad when it was shoppers parking for a few hours but now it has shifted to all day parking, if residents return from work early they face difficulties parking 🙁

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  6. Janet

    Sorry folks but according to the housing inspector, Abingdon has to grow and needs many more houses. Now that the 158 houses have been approved in South Abingdon the traffic along Caldicott, Preston Road and Wilsham Road will be much worse. There are an additional 55 houses planned in Steventon. In the end South Abingdon will join with Drayton although the traffic infrastructure is not there to cope with the extra traffic. Gridlock all around.

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  7. davidofabingdon

    the “clever marketing” is not just by the Reynolds Way Pharmacy.

    My dad always used to say that nothing in life is ever really “free”, and that someone always pays somewhere along the line.

    So Good marketing by the Vale calling it “free parking£ instead of “taxpayer subsidised parking”, which does not sound nearly as good.

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  8. Anne and Peter

    The front page story in this week`s Herald (in your photo) re the go-ahead for the Drayton Road houses will be the first time for many Abingdon residents that they will have heard the result of the 4 day Public Enquiry. For anyone wating to know what can be done now and the feasibility of the condition imposed by the Planning Inspector, the persons to contact are the local MP and the local District and County Councillors. If you go to the Oxfordshire County Council website http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk and put your postcode in after clicking on Where I live, it should bring up the contact details of the MP and your Councillors. There was clear united opposition to Hallams planning application by the MP, the County Council, responsible for roads and traffic, and the Vale of the White Horse District Council, responsible for housing in this area.

    Reply

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