Agenda item

The Cabinet Member considered a petition requesting a review of parking arrangements in Marvell Avenue, Hayes.

Petitioners addressed the Cabinet Member and made the following points:

There was an issue of parking at the end of the road, near numbers 104, 102, 87, 94 etc., where there was a hedge and gate. There was a curved ‘T’ shape at this end of the road and an issue of parking on the curved kerbs.

There was currently an informal ‘no parking’ sign in front of the hedge/ gate, but this was not always adhered to, which resulted in the road being bisected in two. This also made it more difficult for drivers to access or leave their driveways.

Delivery vehicles were not so much of an issue, but non-resident parking was an issue. A related problem was that residents often did not know who was parking inappropriately, and so residents could not ask people to move their cars.

Petitioners were requesting a marked outline so that drivers knew where it was acceptable to park.

Currently, residents parked with one wheel on the pavement and one wheel beside the kerb. This presented an issue as drivers often parked their vehicles too far inside the road, narrowing the road space. This was especially an issue if multiple cars were parked too far inside the road, which would also cause concerns for waste collection vehicles or delivery drivers, who may have to enter driveways to manoeuvre or reverse all the way out of the road, posing a danger to any children playing or pedestrians walking by.

Petitioners were requesting formal parking measures at the end of the road. Petitioners did not want to lose kerbside parking but wanted better-specified areas to park. One option would be yellow or red lines along the hedge/ gate, not the whole road. This hedge/ gate was not privately owned and did not lead anywhere. Another option would be marked parking bays on the edge of the kerb.

Petitioners clarified that they did not want resident-only parking and were only requesting marked bays towards the end of Marvell Avenue.

Officers noted that there had been informal footway parking introduced in November 1989, but these bays were no longer legally compliant to current standards. Petitioners noted that the remnants of former marked parking bays were still somewhat visible, but these were not adhered to.

Councillor Jagjit Singh addressed the Cabinet Member as Ward Councillor for Belmore, and noted the following points:

Councillor Singh supported the residents’ petition and noted support for remarking the parking lines if possible.

The Cabinet Member highlighted that there was a question of what powers the Council had in terms of implementing a resolution. Yellow lines may be a hindrance if they were placed along the entirety of the road. Remarking the parking bays may lead to fewer available spaces if there had been changes in the required standards. Marked bays would not limit who could park in them. It was noted that a resident’s parking scheme would require the involvement of several roads and may lead to less available parking.

Officers suggested that a site visit take place to aid understanding of the issues.

Petitioners clarified that cars often parked too far into the road, whereby one wheel was on the kerb and one in the road. If these cars parking further onto the kerbside, this would aid access and egress. The petitioners submitted photographic evidence to officers.

The Cabinet Member asked and petitioners clarified that this was all all-day everyday problem, with no obvious times where the issues were more prevalent. Councillor Singh suggested that an evening site visit would better demonstrate the issues. It was noted that notice would be given before the site visit took place.

Petitioners further noted that by the hedge/ gate, drivers often parking along this gate, blocking adjacent driveways. Officers suggested residents register dropped kerbs with the parking enforcement team.

That the Cabinet Member for Property, Highways and Transport:

1)    Met with petitioners and listens to their request for parking bays or yellow lines the end of Marvell Avenue;

2)    Asked officers to conduct a site visit to assess the issues raised by petitioners; and

3)    Subject to the above, asked officers to add this request to the Council’s extensive Parking Scheme Programme for further investigation.