UKC

Austrian style apparently?

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/snowdonia-visitor-pass-pl...

Visitors from English areas of high risk (high or very high tier?) are to be banned from all of Wales anyway!

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/coronavirus-live-press-co...

Let’s wait and see what drakeford comes up with! He’s written a couple of letters to Boris who has now said he doesn’t want a full lockdown. 
 

Welsh Government have already come unstuck with their local lockdowns as it turns out some of their ‘rules’ aren't actually enforceable! 

Bans on Tier 2 and 3 so a lot of the North. Abersoch's taking over half term are shot without the Scousers/Mancs/Cheshire set.

I’m not sure about “deleting” existing parking. Sounds like an okay solution for visitors/walkers, but a total inconvenience for climbers.

I’m not sure it will be as easy to replace with buses as they think. Especially at a reasonable price point for end users given the wildly fluctuating visitor demands during a day before even considering seasonal variations and the impact of weather. I’d put money on a load of wasted cash on feasibility studies, pilot project and an outcome report which goes along the lines of the road network doesn’t suit the buses required, lack of space, distance to travel etc. 

Eg a bus from Llanberis to Pen y pass takes 20mins before allowing for stops, alighting etc. It could at a push take 100 people. How many people go up snowdon from pyp a day? How much would 3 buses cost per day to run... the questions are plentiful but even the very basics don’t stand up to much scrutiny. 

It sounds like the scheme they came up with a few years ago. It was scrapped when all the walkers and climbers told the consultation they'd go to the Lake District instead. 

Are the various towns/villages which are going to be turned into huge car parks happy with the idea?

Yeah in theory I think its a good idea but really not sure how it can be got to work practically. Maybe a hybrid approach. Park and ride to the honeypot routes (with no stops on the way) and either less frequent for the rest or allow parking with restrictions/pricing to use the buses unless it really doesnt suit your needs.

When I lived in Nant Peris I could never get on a bus during busy weekends as they had been filled to bursting at Llanberis. So the only option was to either walk to Pen y Pass or hitch. And with a dog in tow, nobody stopped. Likewise when late in the day off the hill, no buses were running. A total f*ck-up. I can't see this scheme being any better.

Does Austria restrict access to anywhere?  If they mean that, a tourist tax applied to hotel and campsite nights with a free public transport pass included would be the way they'd go, and I would be more than in support of that provided the public transport was upgraded to those standards (or as a minimum to the standards Stagecoach manage to deliver commercially in the Lakes, which is still quite good!)

If you upgraded the Conwy Valley Line service to hourly with some new passing loops and had the buses properly connect with it at Betws an A55 Parkway by Llandudno Junction station would work well, there's plenty of spare land around there and it's not the sort of pretty place that would really object to a car park.  A Southern P&R might be harder to fit in as most of the way in on the A5 is pretty, any ideas?  Underground maybe?

Car parking in old quarries seems the obvious answer

I wonder what time the first bus transfers will be? Many climbers, myself and my partner included, like early starts, say 7am in the summer, maybe 5.30/6am in winter to maximise the day/conditions. I very much doubt this will be catered for and, if there is no parking alternative at Ogwen/Pen y pass, what are you supposed to do. Are they intending to restrict climbing to 9 to 5?

I'd personally say they should keep the parking but charge a very premium rate for it, so the bus is more attractive to anyone it suits.  Perhaps pre-bookable at certain busier places.

Comparison of the Alpine/Austrian "Pearls" scheme with a resurrected Snowdonia Green Key seems a bit disingenuous!

The Austrian scheme seems to encourage people to visit areas where they won't need a car, but doesn't seem to exclude other visitors.  It's all carrot, whereas the proposed Welsh scheme is all stick.

Like the previous proposals, it won't work and will simply deter visitors.  This could easily add an hour or more both at the beginning and end of the day, and much as I love Snowdonia this makes it more likely I'll go elsewhere.  

Much of the parking 'chaos' is because they've closed the laybyes.  Most of the people parking in these areas are from the outdoor community, is there any evidence that they want a 'structured visitor experience', whatever that is?

If the authorities feel Snowdonia is too busy and want to restrict numbers, fair enough.  They live there, whereas I realise that I am part of the problem.  But they can't have it both ways - they can't create more jobs in tourism by deterring visitors.