Agenda item

The Cabinet Member considered a petition raised by Councillors Riley and Corthorne on behalf of residents requesting parking restrictions in the vicinity of Ruislip Lido. Councillor Riley highlighted residents' concerns and suggestions which included the following:

·         The petition had been raised following a particularly hot summer in 2018 when the Lido had been exceptionally busy;

·         A large number of local residents had contacted their Ward Councillors to raise concerns regarding the parking problems in the area;

·         Ward Councillors had agreed to lead the petition since 17 roads were affected;

·         All three West Ruislip Ward Councillors had visited the roads in question and universally supported the petition;

·         Due to the hot weather and the popularity of the Lido, roads had become gridlocked. In some instances cars had parked on both sides of the road making it very difficult for ambulances and emergency vehicles to pass;

·         Some visitors to the Lido had parked across, or even in, residents' driveways;

·         There had been some incidences of aggressive behaviour and arguments between visitors and residents;

·         The petitioners were requesting seasonal parking restrictions only; ideally tailored to individual roads as they did not all want the same thing;

·         Double yellow lines on street corners had been suggested but a parking management scheme had not been mentioned;

Councillor Philip Corthorne attended the meeting and spoke as Ward Councillor in support of the petition. He noted that the problem had developed over a number of years but had been brought to a head due to the hot weather in 2018. Residents of Eastcote and East Ruislip Ward were also affected. Petitioners were requesting measures to tackle the problem backed up by enforcement and it was hoped something would be in place in time for summer 2019's busy period.

Councillor Devi Radia attended the meeting and spoke as Ward Councillor in support of the petition. She thanked the petitioners for attending and suggested that an informal consultation be undertaken for seasonal measures to combat the problem. Councillor Radia commented that the action needed to be taken sooner rather than later. The main concerns raised by residents she had spoken to included cars parking on both sides of the road and on corners and difficulties accessing driveways due to inconsiderate parking.

Councillor Burrows listened to the concerns raised by the Ward Councillors on behalf of the residents and responded to the points raised. He confirmed that he had also been contacted by residents on this topic and had been sent photographic and video evidence demonstrating that Council enforcement officers had been abused by visitors. Councillor Burrows asked Councillor Ian Edwards to email his concerns and suggestions directly to Steve Austin, Traffic, Parking, Road Safety and School Travel Team Manager, as he had no speaking rights at the meeting.  Councillors Riley and Corthorne commented that they were happy for comments from Eastcote and East Ruislip Councillors to be incorporated into their submission.

Councillors Burrows confirmed that he would meet officers on Monday 18 March 2019 to discuss this matter further and understood the urgency. It was noted that residents had requested seasonal tailored mitigation measures against poor parking rather than parking management schemes; however, Councillor Burrows commented that tailored measures for individual roads would take time and would slow down the process significantly. Bespoke measures would not be in place in time for the rush this summer. Councillor Burrows suggested that a better option would be to consult on three main suggestions as this would speed the process up. Ward Councillors agreed to compile a list on behalf of residents setting out their top three ideas to solve the problem quickly. These ideas would be circulated to Steve Austin by Monday 18 March with a copy to Councillor Burrows. The proposed options would be enforceable on a seasonal basis only; possibly from Easter until the end of September.

In response to Councillors' questions, it was confirmed that all measures were enforceable including yellow lines, white bars and dropped kerbs but people sometimes chose to ignore them.

RESOLVED -

Meeting with Ward Councillors and petitioners, the Cabinet Member:-

1.    Listened to their request for parking restrictions within the roads in the vicinity of Ruislip Lido;

2.    Decided that the request for parking controls in the area surrounding the Lido should be added to the Council's future parking scheme programme for further investigation and more detailed consultation when resources permitted;

3.    Requested that Ward Councillors forward their three top suggestions to resolve the issue to Steve Austin, Traffic, Parking, Road Safety and School Travel Team Manager, copied to the Cabinet Member.