Wednesday 10 February 2010

Dear all,
Quick update on the issues people are raising with us. Having leafletted a large area people are kindly copying us in on emails to the council and approaching us with questions. We will answer them if we can, but do encourage you to contact the council as they can answer with authority - we can only tell you what the council has said previously (sometimes contradictory), information they have given us, council minutes we have etc. They need to know your concerns, any confussions or outright objections. They reluctantly met with us on 2 occasions in the last 14 months, they ignored our suggestions on how to make the system/questionnaires simpler and more transparent, hence the mess we are in. They aren't interested in our opinion as a group - so be persistent and get answers!

Issues raised in the last few days:
Chingford Road/Brettenham Road. A resident contacted us asking how commuters could possibly be responsible for the parking troubles in the evenings near the junction of Chingford and Brettenham and suggested it was actually the residents of Chingford Road (where there are few spaces currently) parking in Brettenham that are causing the issues there. One of the problems with parking zones is that they reduce the number of parking spaces, the other is that all roads in the zone can park anywhere in the zone, it isn't road by road. Looking at the map distributed with the pack it appears there are very very few spaces allocated on Chingford Road in that area. If Chingford and Brettenham are included in the new zone there is nothing to stop Chingford Rd residents continuing to park in Brettenham Road, everyone will just pay for the priviledge - and there will be fewer spaces on Brettenham to boot. Again a note on number of spaces - the council has not taken into account lamp posts, trees or other obstructions that will prevent parking , or make it difficult, reducing spaces further.

Missing consultation packs - so far 5 residents have copied us in on emails to the council requesting consultation packs that never arrived.

Cost of Zone - a resident of Badlis Road copied us in on a mail outlining that she wanted the option of 5 days a week 2 hours a day, like the options on the new zone consultation. She calculated that she had spent £200 on permits in the last year and that the inconvenience of 1, 2 and 5 hour scratchcards was unbearable. Before the inclusion of Winns Ave (against residents will) her visitors had parked there, causing no congestion in the area because Winns Ave was an effective buffer, with plenty of space especially at weekends when visitors come. After the inclusion of Winns Ave and Diana Road she was forced to pay for visitor permits (while Winns Ave sits nearly empty) and the costs are very high.
We weren't allowed to see the draft of the LP consultation and would have asked for the same options as for the new zone. We asked for this for the Winns Ave consultation - so that Winns Ave could be included in which ever zone most closely matched its wishes - we were ignored.

More people have emailed us about how unsatisfactory the public Drop In's were and why not put in complaints to the Council if you feel the same.

Leaflets in LP - a resident of Winns Terrace has distributed his thoughts to some homes in the LP zone. He states that the council is trying to turn LP into a carpark to service the newly (soon to be) renovated park. Clearly this is what he believes, but how does that add up when the council is actually trying to completely surround the park with a CPZ in this consultation? Residents of Winns Ave, Diana Road and Badlis Road all complained to the council about having the strictest restrictions in the Borough.
As a note as well, Winns Terrace is an incredibly underutilised road - according to council statistics and also, just as a random sample I have counted the cars on it on my way home the last few days. Please bear in mind that the Council states there are bays for 66 cars. On Monday at 21:25 (after restrictions end at 21:00) there were 22 cars, yesterday Tuesday just minutes after midnight there were 25 cars, today at 21:10 there were 24 cars. One third full.

Sorry for the random useless posts below - I tried up upload copies of our leaflets and the one another resident (of Winns Terrace) distributed to some homes in LP for you to take a look at. It didn't work, but I will try again:)

We also know that various residents are starting petitions, that at least 2 residents have been distributing leaflets against the zone/consultation independantly of us. I think the level of activity shows how strong a reaction this has provoked. We know some people are passionately in favour, and that of course is fine too, and you are welcome to post - but note that the comments are moderated and we have a few guidelines for you. Please be polite, no personal attacks, NO SHOUTING and no bad words.
Goodnight for now.

2 comments:

  1. I live on Cazenove Road and we only really have problems with parking in the evening, either due to households with more than one car, or owners unable to find parking on Brettenham Road/Chingford Road parking on our Road. I am therefore totally opposed to the CPZ and as far as I can see if it is extended to this part of Walthamstow it will only be to further the coffers of Waltham Forest Coucnil rather than to help residents with geniune parking concerns.
    Denise (Cazenove Road)

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  2. Thanks Denise for your comment. We did ask the Council to include an option of 4-8pm as we thought that this would stop most day commuters (as they would have to be gone by 4) and would leave spaces free for residents coming back from work.
    They ignored our suggestion and it was not included in the consultation.
    You are right - an astonishing amount of revenue is made by these schemes (which they claim are only meant to be self financing) - in 2004/2005 they made over £640,000 profit from all parking in teh borough after costs had been removed. Imagine what they earn from us now!
    Best wishes,

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