Martin Herdman of course.
From an article on thisislondon.co.uk (1 August 2007):
“When traffic wardens started to blitz a quiet corner of suburban London, one shopkeeper decided it was his duty to fight back.
Martin Herdman put up a 1,000-watt public address system outside his shop in St Margarets, near Twickenham, and recruited a network of “spies” to alert him the instant they spotted a parking attendant in the area.
Then, as soon as the alarm was raised, he started playing a recording of a Second World War-style air raid siren over the system.
Mr Herdman’s early warning system gives customers a chance to move their cars before they are ticketed by the warden.”
Comments
Martins heart is in the right place but drivers beware! I am sure I saw the CCTV Camera I believed to be trained on to Tesco Loading bay pointing towards Crown Road. I might be mistaken, I was driving and only got a glimpse. If I am correct tickets will be issued by a traffic warden sitting in the control room, unseen by anybody to issue the alert!
Gerhard Schellberg on 2007-08-01 21:42:19 +0000Is that camera really able to pick out legitimate residents permits or scratch-off parking vouchers on parked cars at that distance? Technology does move forward quickly.
Andy on 2007-08-03 10:26:29 +0000Andy, as much as I hate to appear to defend Tesco or the Council with regard to parking issues - there are no legally legitimate reasons for any car with a resident's permit or a scratch-off parking voucher to be in the loading bays. We can't really expect Tesco to adhere to their side of their delivery agreement, if we illegally park in the loading bays.
Harry Jacobs on 2007-08-04 07:39:45 +0000The Alarm system is a great idea, but I work nights and live on crown road. It does not help when Im trying to sleep in the daytime.
Ian clavis on 2007-08-05 06:15:25 +0000Harry, I think Andy commented on my suspicion that the camera is recording happenings on Crown Road.
I posted my original comment to warn those that might be tempted to park illegally because of Martins early warning signal.
To Andy`s concern about recognition of legitimate residents permits I would say that the camera operator will probably have access to the information by way of the vehicle registration. Yellow lines are obvious and scratch card type permits would not be seen by the camera as they are displayed inside the side windows of a vehicle.
Gerhard Schellberg on 2007-08-05 19:17:31 +0000If only we all took a stand like Martin we could start to live in a better place. Everyone knows parking fines, CPZ's and the new CO2 charges are nothing more than a money spinning racket at worst and sad gesture politics at best. Could we also sound the alarm when Councillor Trigg comes round with more plans to make our everyday lives as difficult as possible.
Charlie Leech on 2007-08-08 21:54:06 +0000Charlie, not having controlled parking in Crown Road and St Margarets Road between the station and the A316 will create a free carpark for commuters. Do you honestly think life would be better for local residents, shoppers and shop keepers if vehicles are parked up all day while their drivers are working in local businesses or are using BR to travel to were ever they are working?
Gerhard Schellberg on 2007-08-09 17:46:25 +0000Gerhard, The free parking the traders are asking for is only for 30 mins. After 30 mins you have to pay and can still stay for only 2 hrs max. So commuters cant park there. This is the same system the council has at the car park outside the council offices. Works there. Good idea me thinks.
tom on 2007-08-09 22:36:10 +0000Tom I use the car park at the council offices regularly and agree the free 30mins are a good arrangement but I noted that traffic wardens are almost resident in the car park for obvious reasons. Martins siren would be going off more frequently if the system was adopted for Crown road.
Gerhard Schellberg on 2007-08-10 02:53:25 +0000I was collecting boxes for use on a stall at the St Margarets from Streets the greengrocer. I did not leave the car nor stop the engine as my sister fetched the boxes. The whole operation taking, I would say 2 minutes. Unfortunately this loading was in a restricted time slot. Before I paid my fine I viewed the incident at Regal House. The gentleman there told me that the Police had asked Richmond Council to monitor the road between St Margarets Station and Broadway Avenue rigourously. and to tell my friends.
Penny jervis on 2007-08-10 14:32:31 +0000I agree with Gerhard that free parking spaces will result in more frequent patrols, hence it may not be the solution. Getting rid of the voucher scheme would be far more productive.
Trevor Whittall on 2007-08-13 13:20:18 +0000We have quite understandably gone from discussing Martins early warning system to what is the root cause of the problem. The council can not allow road safety to be compromised by allowing willy nilly parking in Crown Road and since Crown Road carry`s a lot of two way traffic at peak times there is no alternative to restricting parking to one side only. I suggest Crown Road is designated a one way street, from Richmond Road to St Margarets Road. This would create quite a number of parking spaces to benefit shopkeepers and shoppers alike. Sandycombe Road be designatd one way from St Margarets Road to Richmond Road. Sandycombe Road has already got double yellow lines along all of one side, no paring spaces will be lost. There will be some inconvenience for those residents living in the area but I would say that the businesses in Crown Road can not remain in existance by the patronage of just the residents living within walking distance.
We, as a community, need to make as many parking spaces available as possible including allowing shoppers to park in tescos loading bay outside the restriction times for delivery lorries.
I could go on and on, my wife thinks I am mad to waste my time.
Gerhard Schellberg on 2007-08-14 00:36:14 +0000I agree that designating Crown Road as a one way street would solve a lot of problems. I suggested that to the Council when "consulted" about the so-called St Margarets improvement plan a few years ago. Never had any acknowledgement of course.
Jimmy G on 2007-08-14 17:49:55 +0000Add a comment