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Parking problems questionnaire
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brian


Posts: 2,002
Joined: Apr 2005
Post: #21
03-11-2008 06:37 PM

Why do you not mail the MET with details

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davidl


Posts: 180
Joined: Oct 2007
Post: #22
03-11-2008 08:07 PM

The law on this is actually fairly simple. Lewisham have outlined the actions they take here:

http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/transportands...ements.htm

Have a look - but basically, unless there's a sign saying otherwise, parking partly or entirely on the footpath is naughty (though generally not criminal, so the good people of the Met won't be able to help) and a PCN will be issued by the council (unless it's on a Red Route - noted elsewhere on this site that those are the responsibility of TfL).

I'd be interested to hear what the result is if the offender on Dartmouth Road is the subject of a call from a concerned member of the public. I also wonder whether the cars on Devonshire Rd might provide a bumper payday for Lewisham's parking attendants...

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brian


Posts: 2,002
Joined: Apr 2005
Post: #23
04-11-2008 08:34 AM

So it is up to LBC to sort them out. They should blitz the area with wardens.
I like it how they spell out the reasons why one should not pavement park. Anyone with a license should know this.

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kipya


Posts: 64
Joined: Feb 2008
Post: #24
05-11-2008 03:37 PM

I guess that people with cars will be upset to be told they can't park them where ever they like, and as we know, LB Lewisham are extremely loathe to upset anybody.

There is a car parked on the corner of Devonshire Road and Boveney Road today, again, right up on the pavement. I took a phone photo but I don't really know what to do with it.

Of course if LBL do not bother to look then they are not aware of any infringement of parking regulations. As I mentioned before, when I informed Lewisham about it I received a reply which said.

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brian


Posts: 2,002
Joined: Apr 2005
Post: #25
05-11-2008 04:22 PM

What?

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kipya


Posts: 64
Joined: Feb 2008
Post: #26
05-11-2008 04:27 PM

Quote:
What?


Precisely what I wrote in my posting ... nothing.

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brian


Posts: 2,002
Joined: Apr 2005
Post: #27
05-11-2008 05:21 PM

Cannot understand the lack of interest to stamp down on this vice.
How many blind or handicapped people need to be hurt before action taken.
Perhaps we ought to ask the council Health and Safety dept what is their definition of a pavement and who should use it.

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kipya


Posts: 64
Joined: Feb 2008
Post: #28
05-11-2008 05:27 PM

Quote:
Perhaps we ought to ask the council Health and Safety dept what is their definition of a pavement and who should use it.


That's a good idea. I'll send my collection of pavement parking photos to LBL H&S and see what happens.

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rocksteddy


Posts: 3
Joined: Dec 2008
Post: #29
08-12-2008 03:26 PM

As someone who has the misfortune to live in one of the newer CPZ's, my advice would be 'avoid at all costs'.

From conversations I've had with my neighbours, it seems that those who have cars have three main gripes:

(i) Cost: I'm told that LBC quickly broke its promise not to increase the cost of permits.
(ii) Space: finding a parking space is not really any easier - there are still far, far more permit holders than there are spaces. Besides, CPZ's don't actually prevent 'outsiders' from parking, they just charge them for the privilege.
(iii) Over-zealous enforcement. Displaying a valid permit won't necessarily stop the NCP wardens (who now prowl the streets more or less continuously during daylight - because, of course, CPZs have to be enforced) from giving you a ticket. Where there's a will (and maybe a bonus?) there's a way.

Ironically, if you don't have a car, you can still be badly affected by the introduction of a CPZ. I gave up my car a few years ago because I don't really need it. I reasoned that, on the rare occasions I did have a valid reason to drive (maybe five or six times a year) I could hire a car for a few days or use a car-sharing scheme. It worked a treat until the CPZ came in. Now, parking a hire / pool car within walking distance of my home is a logistical nightmare, involving trips to Deptford or Catford the day before to buy Visitors Permits. It would be easier just to give in, buy a car and get a permit - and that's what i'm thinking of doing.

Finally, a quick comment on the distribution of CPZ questionnaires. I've lived in Lewisham for around 20 years now and I can't recall a single 'consultation' / resident's letter / freesheet that was properly distributed. It's as if LBC has somehow failed to notice that a large chunk of the borough's housing stock is in multi-occupation? I live in one of four flats. When we were supposedly 'consulted' about a CPZ, we received just one questionnaire between us. The same happened next door, where there are six flats. If that was repeated up and down our road, then only 20% of residents even saw a questionnaire. Assume a thirty per cent response rate (about the norm for a postal survey) and you end up 'consulting' around six per cent of the households affected.

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Londondrz


Posts: 1,538
Joined: Apr 2006
Post: #30
08-12-2008 08:01 PM

I cannot stress what a positive change the CPZ has effected in our road. We no longer get abandoned cars, we can park pretty much outside our house at will (apart from Saturdays), the CPZ is positively enforced and those parking without permits are fined. Yes it does cost but I am more than happy to pay for the convenience it offers. As for visitors permits they are by the half day or the day and cost next to nothing.

If you are a family and use your car a lot then CPZ's are a god send.

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rocksteddy


Posts: 3
Joined: Dec 2008
Post: #31
09-12-2008 02:50 PM

LondonDRZ, it's good to know that your CPZ works for you - and that you're happy with the cost - but surely a good scheme should work for ALL residents? For that to happen, a local authority needs to

(i) carry-out proper consultation; that clearly hasn't happened / isn't happening.

(ii) keep it's promises; you may be happy to pay the new charges but the fact remains that the Council promised us there would be no increases if we voted for a CPZ, then raised prices almost immediately. That's simply unacceptable.

(iii) strike a balance between the needs of residents and visitors. After all, some of us don't have cars - but we do have (and may rely on) visitors.

One of my neighbours, an elderly widower, lives alone and relies heavily on regular visits from his daughter. Surely, as a long-time resident and council tax payer, he should be able to buy a permit, which his daughter can use when visiting? Instead, she has to pay either ?1.80 or ?2.80 per visit - to say nothing of the additional time and cost involved in going to Deptford or Catford to purchase the permits. Try telling them that visitor permits "cost next to nothing"! It's nothing less than a Council-imposed tax on the visits which are his lifeline.

In short, I'm not opposed to CPZ's but I am in favour of genuine consultation, honesty over pricing and schemes that have been properly thought-through. Many other local authorities do things so much better - for instance, by making visitor permits available from the local library or post office. Why can't LBL follow their example? (Could it be that they have 'bought into' a standard NCP product over which they have little day-to-day control?)

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brian


Posts: 2,002
Joined: Apr 2005
Post: #32
09-12-2008 03:13 PM

I have mentioned a solution many times used by other boroughs. This would especially help your infirmed neighbour who has regular visits from daughter.
The council should ban parking for 1 hour only a day . Say 10am to 11 am or 2pm to 3pm. One warden would then only need to spend a small part of the day monitoring the sight.
Many other areas have this system which has the added benefit of no one having to buy a permit ( perhaps the council would not like this because loss of revenue ).
As well as helping elderly people receive assistance would also help me in Dacres Rd which at 7am is empty , by 7.45 am full up all day. These lazy people should get some shoes and walk.

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