8 September - Today is the day
In
general I have always been against Controlled Parking Zones, too often just a
money making exercise. My view was reinforced by former Cabinet Member Peter Craske who
in 2011 tripled the not too unreasonable price of a permit from £35 and then attempted to
justify it with a whole series of lies.
He actually said in Council that his aim was to maximise the value of CPZs - to the Council obviously.
He also claimed that the administration fees were £240 for every parking permit issued.
And
a load of other things. It never did cost £6 a foot to paint a white line.
Nevertheless I voted in favour of the CPZ (AW1) introduced today. I think my
comment on the consultation response was along the lines of I was on the fence
but as all my neighbours are in favour I will go along with it. I would not be much
affected if Bexley Council and the Police properly enforced the old rules.
With one exception the Police incorrectly said that blocking roads was a Council matter
while Bexley Council refused to ticket a vehicle I reported which was
overlapping my neighbour’s drive by eight inches. The excuse was it would look
“a bit mean”. They have however penalized others one of which (Photo 2) was over
the boundary by fewer than two inches. Meanwhile Deputy Director Kevin Taylor is
happy to see roads illegally blocked.
He believes his staff can do whatever they like while on duty.
The new CPZ spans two distinct areas. The so called Priory Gardens Estate of
251 houses and 68 flats approved in May 1984 before people hating Mayors were allowed to limit domestic parking facilities.
Some similar and adjacent developments came along later, squeezed between Abbey Road and the
railway line and all pre-Khan so with adequate provision for car parking.
There are few houses on Abbey Road which divides the CPZ but they like those in
nearby Kingswood Avenue and Elstree Gardens were probably built in the 1920s and
1930s when car ownership was almost unknown. It is not always possible to turn one’s front garden into a parking bay. (Photos 3 and 4.)
Which Council clown thought those residents would welcome a CPZ in the way Priory Gardens has? I have yet to meet a resident living there (here?) who is
not rejoicing this morning. The roads are clear and quiet. Much quieter because
commuters no longer drive up and down looking for another non-existent space.
It is not the same further east where residents are complaining to their Councillor. Mine was
first noted as pushing for this CPZ in 2022 and
knocked on my door in 2023 seeking support for her proposed consultation. Earlier this year, through her Transport Users’ Committee
membership, she welcomed AW1 being the first of the newly proposed CPZs to be installed before all the others in the pipeline.
Probably she responded effectively to all the Priory Gardens residents being badly affected by the Elizabeth line and Elstree Gardens etc. residents said
nothing because they were not seriously affected. Now they are biting the Belvedere Councillors on the bum.
But what are Councillors to do? if Elstree Gardens etc. are excluded from the CPZ every Elizabeth line commuter will descend on them. There is no obvious answer.
The AW1 CPZ seems to be
plagued with inconsistencies some of which have already been featured here.
A few have been corrected with all the Priory Gardens flats being given arguably illogical but identical signage.
The boundary between the old AW CPZ and the new AW1 is now correctly marked (Photos 5 and 6 below) but if you pass right through it from West to East all the roads to the left have
repeat signage (Photo 1) but none of those on the right. Why?
A fair number of yellow lines are still incomplete. (Photos 7, 8 and 9.)
Will the CPZ make a difference? It already has. (Photo 11.) There were fewer commuters to be seen as soon as the signs started to be uncovered a couple of weeks ago.
Nowhere did the Council tell visitors the CPZ start date.
Speaking
of visitors, most residents will have to shell out a fiver if one of their
friends drops in throughout the six hour restriction period. The permits are valid for only five hours. (Photo 12.)
My view and that of my neighbours is perhaps a narrow one. Every one of us has off
road parking facilities. Those without in older houses are having to pay dearly to park their car.
The first tickets were issued at 1:45 today and I was disappointed to see that a van that had not moved in nearly three weeks (Photo
10) did not get one. Apparently it has a permit and is one of allegedly nine vehicles owned by the same resident!
Will the Civil Enforcement Officer numbers be increased to cover the extra workload? Not according to the one I spoke to. Extra work but no extra pay.
You will note that the four hour restriction on the free bay in Abbey Road is driving commuters away. It is usually full by
7 a.m. and all day. No advantage whatsoever to anyone. No one
other than squirrels and foxes live there. A prime example of bloody minded vindictiveness by Bexley’s rotten Council. (Photo 5 and below.)
It is much the same further east where the very few houses that front Abbey Road
are deprived of their parking spaces, photo below, for no reason that anyone can fathom. Bonkers, but it is Bexley.
Did someone say that CPZs are all about the money?