Comments

• I know this topic will have strong feelings on both sides of the issue.

  I for one am against a CPZ as I don't think it would solve the problem. The reality is that there are two many houses- made worse by all the flats in this area, more families have two cars, and people are going around buying these ridiculous size SUV's which take up 1-½ parking spaces (yes I know people have a right to buy whatever car they have, but they are not really approprate in a limited parking area).

  The introduction of a CPZ is not going to miraculously give the area 50 new spaces to park. What it will do is cost residents money, and make it difficult for friends/workment to visit.

  resident of moormead area on 2006-02-12 08:20:22 +0000

• I have recently moved into Sidney Road. I work from home and notice there is reasonable availability of spaces between 9am and 5pm. This suggests that the majority of spaces are used by residents at the end of the working day. I don't think CPZ will make much difference apart from costing residents extra and making it difficult for freinds and family to visit.

  Phil Bolton on 2006-02-14 20:25:23 +0000

• I have lived in Sidney Road for 30 years and the dire parking situation is the single one factor that would make me want to move. Since the CPZ was introduced in Broadway Avenue, parking (always tricky) has been a nightmare - both day and night. While a CPZ won't create more spaces, it will stop people leaving their cars outside my house all day while they commute to town by train or go to work in local offices. Or worse, while they go off on holiday for weeks at a time! And the fact that the one place I can usually bank on finding a parking space at night is in Broadway Ave makes me think that night-time parking in our road could be improved by the introduction of a CPZ.

  Carol Townsend on 2006-02-16 18:10:38 +0000

• There have been 3 previous discussions of this issue since 1992; the most recent, in 2002, was a planned [by the Lib Dems] consultation which was scrapped when the Tories took over the Council. So it is surprising to to see them taking it up now at the fag end of their term of office. I would advise residents in each road to collaborate to collect good quality objective data about what happens in their road, day and night, throughout the week. This will serve to counter the strongly held opinions of those who have a particular axe to grind [for or against] and no evidence. The Council will proceed or not on the basis of evidence if it is supplied. I note that we have contradictory reports about Sidney Road already.

  I live down the road in East Twickenham, otherwise I would offer to assist in this.

  Chris Squire on 2006-02-16 20:35:47 +0000

• As a member of the local Liberal Democrats comments team, I wish to point out that after our own residents survey late 2005 it was clear that parking remained a concern for residents in St Margarets. This prompted a recent letter to 500 homes detailing much more information than the circular put round by the Tory Councillors. We are already recieving many replies and are calling for a detailed survey by the Council as several previous consultations have been inconclusive. A copy is attached below and we would be pleased to hear from any resident about their views as our intention is to maintain pressure on the Council to get a solution to this long running issue:

  February 2006

  PARKING SURVEY DEMAND - ST MARGARET'S LIBERAL DEMOCRATS

  Dear Resident,

  Parking problems featured largely in the replies to our recent survey about which local issues most concerned residents in your street. Furthermore they were seen to be getting worse. Other areas of the borough have expressed similar concerns and have been promised that they will be consulted about whether Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs) should be introduced in the near future. The previous Liberal Democrat administration did carry out surveys of opinion but the present Tory Council has not treated this area as a priority and further surveys were not conducted. The number of vehicles on our roads has increased and pressure from residents has grown so the Council has at last begun to respond. We are now calling for a detailed survey which points out all the potential issues and their implications for residents. If the Council does agree, here are some factors that you may wish to take into account.

  · The experience of residents of streets voting for a CPZ, which shows that parking problems are eased by a reduction in commuter parking.

  · The cost of annual permits, currently £75 per vehicle.

  · The cost of vouchers to enable visitor parking - currently £9 for a book of 10 half-day vouchers (£4.50 for the over sixties).

  · The times at which CPZs operate. With the exception of Richmond town, these are during the day and not evenings. The hours at which restrictions apply can be negotiated with the Council. Other St Margarets CPZs operate 8.00 am - 4.30 pm Mon to Fri only or 8am - 6 30 pm Mon to Sat. Some areas (eg Strawberry Hill) have much shorter periods simply to deter early commuters

  · The placement of yellow lines and other measures. This must be to improve parking opportunities for residents and not to restrict them further.

  We hope that the above information is helpful and if you wish to express a view we would be glad to hear from you either by email, by post to the address below or (to save you postage) by putting your slip or letter through the doors of one of the following addresses:

  42 Moor Mead Road, TW1 1JS or 39 Godstone Road, TW1 1JY or 13 Sidney Road, TW1 1JT

  Yours sincerely

  Geoff Acton Ben Khosa Philip Morgan Email: macacton@blueyonder.co.uk benkhosa2@hotmail.com philip@pjmorgan.fsnet.co.uk

  PS Some residents will remember that about 4 years ago Council Highway Officers put forward a proposal (at the request of the Winchester Rd industrial site) that would have removed no fewer than 84 parking spaces both day and night! Mercifully, the scheme was rejected after residents of all affected streets protested. We believe, therefore that it is vital that any CPZ scheme proposed must be guided by the needs of local residents and have their full-hearted support. ............................................................................................................................................................

  Your comments:.............................................................................................................................................

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  Your name and address:................................................................................................................................................

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  Geoff Acton on 2006-02-17 12:20:39 +0000

• When we were looking for houses in St Margarets, one of the attractions was the limited number of streets with CPZs. Having previously lived in an area where this scheme operated, I was sick of having to pay a fee to park outside my own house, and put up with the inconvenience of visitor permits. On two occasions, family friends received parking tickets as they were several minutes late in renewing these permits. I was also concerned about the social impact of CPZs for those people in the community who rely on people dropping in to help out- the elderly, sick or those with young children. Obviously, having to pay for and use visitor permits on a regular basis is quite a hassle. CPZs did not improve the parking situation as the simple fact was that it was a Victorian street, with too few parking spaces for the number of cars per house.

  It seems to me that this is a very similar situation in St Margarets and I agree with Phil Bolton's observation that there are plenty of places available during the day. I'm at home all day and can be guaranteed a place as along as I'm back before 5pm- indicating that it is the sheer number of resident's cars that cause difficulties. As for people leaving their car outside my house while they are on holiday, I doubt that CPZs would solve this problem, as a CPZ voucher holder could still park outside while they are away.

  I know from friends in Kew that when a CPZ was proposed, local residents fought against its introduction and succeeded. I would therefore urge everyone to let the Lib Dems know that this is a bad idea. I realize that parking in St Margarets is a total pain, but equally, I'm convinced from first hand experience that CPZs are not the answer to this complex problem.

  Rachel Lewis on 2006-02-18 11:24:28 +0000

• I've been living in Godstone Road for just under a year, and during that time the parking situation has gone from reasonable to absolutely terrible - sometimes there seem to be no spaces left within the Moormead area at all! I have previously lived in a CPZ area and found that it helped to reduce parking problems. Hopefully a similar scheme in this area would help too, and I for one would be happy to see such a scheme implemented.

  Andrew on 2006-02-18 17:33:26 +0000

• There should be a report with the council which considers these issues in considerable detail. Four years ago, as ward councillor, I was involved in discussions with the consultants who conducted a survey of the area for the council (using TfL money).

  We walked the entire area twice and discussed at length the pros and cons of a CPZ and the general conclusion was that paying for parking might result in a few residents deciding not to have a car, or fewer cars per household, but not enough to compensate for the loss of spaces which inevitably would occur to comply with the regulations on marking spaces within a CPZ. We also discussed some yellow lines around corners in Winchester Road for a safe route to the two primary schools, but the road traffic engineers wanted them to extend too far into the side roads and a stalemate resulted.

  We concluded that the evening parking problem would remain and we also had an exchange of letters with the Fire Brigade over access, which resulted from the Industrial Estate asking for extensive double yellow lines on Moormead Road.

  I also asked the consultants to consider more radical solutions such as a car sharing scheme, perhaps based on the industrial estate. These discussions formed part of a report which was submitted to the council and led to one or two changes in the wider area (such as the pedestrian crossing in Crown Road), but none in the Moormead area.

  I did not see the final report, but any further consultation on a CPZ was put on a back burner as the new administration introduced stricter conditions for any new CPZ being allowed.

  I would urge any responses to the two competing circulating questionnaires to take account of these past discussions and for the council to publish the report from the consultants. It would at the very least inform the debate.

  Trevor Whittall on 2006-02-20 10:43:12 +0000

• Today, for the second week running, the rubbish was not collected from Godstone Road. It seems the trucks could not get down the road due to cars badly parked on the corners. What will happen if there is a fire and the emergency services cannot gain access?

  Jan on 2006-02-27 18:59:31 +0000

• If a CPZ is introduced for Moormead area, there will be a ripple effect. I live in Orchard Road which already had a problem with parking due to the offices and minicab firms in the offices on the A316 who use the road as a car park. A CPZ would be the last straw.

  Residents on the perimeter of a CPZ should also be consulted.

  karen on 2006-03-18 11:13:49 +0000