Agenda item

The Chairman considered a petition from residents requesting parking restrictions to reduce non-residential parking on the Greenway, [Ickenham] to reduce traffic and improve road safety.

The Lead Petitioner was in attendance and raised a number of points, including:

·         The Greenway was a residential road but also contained a few shops that backed up onto the Greenway.

·         There was a petition back in 2000 on the Greenway which requested the installation of yellow line restrictions.

·         Safety was ultimately the biggest concern for the Lead Petitioner and fellow residents and noted the presence of families in the locality.

·         Recent increases in traffic had potentially resulted from the Greenway’s close proximity to West Ruislip station but also HS2 construction workers placed nearby, as referenced in paragraphs 3-6 of the officer report. The overspill of HS2 workers’ parking had been particularly prevalent at the section of the Greenway which contained free parking, except between the hours of 10-11am.

·         These factors noted by the Lead Petitioner had resulted in shop entrances being blocked but also resident driveways and private access points. This had the knock-on effect of reducing the forward visibility for residents when exiting their driveways that had resulted in near misses and damage only accidents.

·         Further to this, the Lead Petitioner communicated that there had been incidents of altercations between the residents and individuals blocking their driveways. It was mentioned that, in connection with this, examples of potential anti-social behaviour had occurred. As a result, residents had been forced to install CCTV cameras at their own expense in order to deter and potentially document such behaviour.

·         The Lead Petitioner also referenced the 2007 development of Buckland Court, whose residents had also experienced issues with parking. It was said that 415 flats were built here with 468 parking spaces also. However, the Lead Petitioner reported that a number of people living at these premises had more than one car but only one car parking space and therefore took advantage of the free parking on the Greenway outside of the current times of operation.

·         It was concluded by the Lead Petitioner in his statement to the Chairman that, in order to combat the issues mentioned effectively and make the road safer for residents, petitioners had requested that parking restrictions ought to be increased to 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon. It was also inferred that another potential remedy could be to introduce a resident’s permit scheme for the section of the Greenway which currently offers non-discriminatory free parking.

Councillor Eddie Lavery, Ward Councillor for Ickenham & South Harefield, affirmed his support for the petitioners stating that:

·         The Greenway’s close proximity to West Ruislip station, combined with the development at Buckland Court and ongoing HS2 works had all contributed to significant problems for residents.

·         In additional regard to HS2 difficulties, Councillor Lavery noted that these problems were due to worsen as peak construction would occur next year. Moreover, the Council lacked any enforcement powers in terms of instructing HS2 workers on suitable on-site parking facilities.

·         Councillor Lavery argued that two potential resolutions were available to petitioners. Firstly, a residents parking scheme (which he acknowledged had several challenges associated with and costs etc). Secondly, a different set of hours for parking restrictions, as proposed by the Lead Petitioner, could help to solve the issues at hand.

·         An experimental traffic order was also highlighted as a possible solution, which would coincide with HS2 peak construction in the short term and looked at again once HS2 works had slowed as a potential long-term fix.

·         It was also noted that new parking at West Ruislip Golf Course could have helped with the problems identified within the petition.

The Chairman accepted the remarks made by the Lead Petitioner and Councillor Lavery, and responded to these with the following points:

·         A resident’s parking zone usually required a large area in order to function correctly.

·         In reference to Councillor Lavery’s temporary but also potentially permanent proposal for an experimental traffic order, pledged further investigation into this as well as the other suggestions made by the Lead Petitioner.

·         The Chairman asked officers if stress surveys were necessary and whether a resident’s parking zone was located nearby to the area in question which could incorporate areas of the Greenway.

Officers acknowledged the points made by the Lead Petitioner and Councillor Lavery and accepted these as valuable suggestions, particularly the extension of parking restriction hours for residents, which would require further investigation. Officers also informed the Chairman that there was no residents parking scheme nearby.

The Chairman, in reference to Councillor Lavery’s proposal to address the issues associated with HS2 works, reiterated its temporary nature but also prospect as a permanent solution and agreed that further investigation into this was required.

That the Cabinet Member for Property, Highways and Transport:

1.    met with petitioners and listened to their request to either extend the operational times of the existing waiting restrictions or to implement a possible Parking Management Scheme; and,

2.    subject to the above, asked officers to add this request to the Council’s extensive Parking Scheme Programme for further investigation and possible informal consultation.

Reasons for decision

The Petition Hearing provided a valuable opportunity to hear directly from the petitioners of their concerns and suggestions.

Alternative options considered and rejected

None at this stage.