CPZ for Mandeville?

In the Autumn 2008, edition of local newsletter, the ‘Mandeville News’ I wrote about a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) Consultation that the Council were planning. The residents of Mandeville Ward in Northolt were asked for their views, and we voted against the introduction of a zone.
Just over two years later, The Council are asking us again. Presumably in the hope that we will change our minds.
Little has changed since 2008, except that the Council has recently announced a significant increase in their charges for Residents Parking Permits which will now cost either £45.00 or £75.00 per year per car.
I acknowledge that there are areas of Mandeville where parking is extremely difficult. Although in some roads it is equally difficult on Saturdays and Sundays when there are few commuters in the area. Roads without garages or off-street parking will continue to have parking problems even with a CPZ in operation.
The Commuter parking problem needs to be addressed road-by-road, not with the one-size-fits-all solution of a Controlled Parking Zone that affects all roads in the area, and not just the ones with parking congestion.
A CPZ will mean that Residents will be obliged to pay £45.00 a year for a parking Permit in a Zone that operates for very limited times, or £75.00 a year for a Zone with longer Operating Times. The Permit will allow parking somewhere in their area, subject to space, but does not guarantee that spaces will be available near your Home, or even in the road where you live. You will also need to buy Parking permits for your Visitors at up to £3.50 per day.
The Council will designate some parking bays as Pay and Display for Visitors, but remember that these will be only for Visitors, not Residents, so Visitors Bays will reduce the total number of parking places available to Residents.
In summary, we will all be paying for Residents and Visitors Permits to park in the area. There is no Guarantee that we will be able to park near our Homes, and the CPZ will not address local parking problems.
I would like to see a wider Consultation that would include suggestions from residents that could help to relieve parking congestion in the roads near their homes. This could include ideas such as; More free short-stay, Stop and Shop bays, More, or less, street furniture, Double yellow lines near junctions or on bends, Changes to traffic islands, No-parking zones adjacent to, or opposite, dropped kerbs in narrow roads, Marked on-road parking bays, Marked pavement parking bays, Free, marked bays for ‘Residents–only’ parking in certain short or narrow No Through roads to guarantee access for emergency vehicles.
Ealing Council Officers have pointed out that we are the only area in the Borough near a Station that is without a CPZ. I don’t see that this alone is a reason to introduce a CPZ since each area is affected by different circumstances, and requires a range of different solutions.
Residents at Public Meetings have mentioned the Leisure Centre effect. This is where people travelling to the Northolt Leisure Centre, and finding the Car Park full, then park in the surrounding streets. This problem will exist even with a CPZ, since Leisure Centre users will be able to park in surrounding roads before and after the CPZ Operating Times.
If you travel to an area with a CPZ, you immediately notice the lack of available Pay and Display bays and a shortage of Stop and Shop parking places in shopping areas. CPZ areas become places to avoid. We already have a poor selection of shops, and a CPZ will undoubtedly encourage more of the ones we have, to re-locate to a parade outside a CPZ area where their Customers can stop long enough to buy a newspaper or drop-off the dry cleaning without either buying a parking ticket or receiving a parking fine.
I would encourage Mandeville residents to respond to the Council’s CPZ Consultation by completing and returning the CPZ questionnaire, visiting the CPZ Consultation exhibition and emailing/telephoning/writing to the Mandeville Ward Councillors to express their views. The Council have chosen to consult about the introduction of a CPZ in a small area of Mandeville where they believe that they will find support. CPZ’s tend to displace Commuter parking to an area immediately outside the Zone, so if a CPZ is introduced in a small area, it is very likely that it will be expanded later to a wider area.
In summary;
Residents will need to buy a Parking Permit to park within their section of the Zone. This section may not include local shops where local drivers will be required to use Pay and Display or Stop and Shop bays.
There is no guarantee that Residents with a Permit will find a space to park in their road, or even within the CPZ zone.
There will be fewer spaces available within the zone for Residents to park than at present.
You will need to buy Visitors Parking Permits to give to your friends, family or visitors (such as a central heating or washing machine engineer). Your Visitors will not be guaranteed a place to park near your home.
Civil Enforcement Officers (formerly usually known as Traffic Wardens) will be employed by the Council to patrol the CPZ zone and enforce the parking restrictions by issuing Penalty Charge Notices.

I ask for your support for a ‘No’ vote.

Contact details for Mandeville Ward Councillors;
Councillor Chris Summers email; chris.summers@ealing.gov.uk 07758 374 826 c/o Labour Group Members Room, Ealing Town Hall, New Broadway, London, W5 2BY.
Councillor Ira Iskanderian email; ira.iskanderian@ealing.gov.uk (020) 8825 5173 C/o Labour Group Members Room, Town Hall, New Broadway, W5 2BY.
Councillor Eileen Harris email; eileen.harris@ealing.gov.uk (020) 8578 9839 113 King’s Ave, Greenford, Middlesex, UB6 9DF

Advertisement