Popularity of green spaces should encourage expansion (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)

Popularity of Twickenham's green spaces should encourage expansion

10:00am Sunday 3rd March 2013 in News By Rachel Bishop

A new survey demonstrating the popularity of one of Twickenham’s green spaces should encourage people to support an expansion of park land, environmentalists have said.

Almost 2,000 people visited Crane Park, Twickenham, during the course of an average Sunday, entering through The Meadway or Dragonfly Terrace.

About a third of all visitors were children and a fifth were dog-walkers, while nearly a third of visitors entering at the Meadway entrance. A fifth entering at the Dragonfly Terrace were cyclists.

At its peak, Meadway was absorbing nearly 200 people per hour and a bicycle every minute.

Nearly two-thirds of all people chose to extend their visit across the “green corridor” - which is the space between Meadway and Kneller Gardens.

At the peak, more than 100 people per hour were extending their walk across the Meadway, with a cyclist every two minutes.

The chairman of Friends of the River Crane Environment, Rob Gray, said: “The high proportion of visitors using the green corridor shows the benefit of being able to link up our green spaces, and ought to encourage everybody who supports the creation of an enlarged Crane Valley Park.”

The Crane Valley Park project is part of an initiative to improve and expand Crane Park to join up Richmond and Hounslow boroughs.

Councillor Virginia Morris, cabinet member for environment, said: “This survey has confirmed what we already know about our borough’s parks and green spaces, which is Crane Park is a popular and valuable place for our residents.

“It also shows how necessary it is for us to continue investing in, and improving our parks in the borough and galvanising communities to get involved in their maintenance and management.”