Over the past few days, residents of "central" Sydenham will have received a consultation document from LBL outlining details of a CPZ and asking whether residents are in favour of such a plan.
If implemented, this will change the whole nature of parking in our area.
As I said on earlier postings (see above) I am opposed to such a scheme since it is largely driven by the need to raise revenue whilst not dealing with the many road calming and traffic flow problems that most people in this area are concerned about (see the separate discussion on this website on the recent Lawrie Park road accident, for example).
Do any other contributors have views on this subject?
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Admin: This is a continuation of a previous long thread on the Girton Road Car Park charging here:
http://forum.sydenham.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=73
CPZ Consultation
I haven't.nasaroc wrote:Over the past few days, residents of "central" Sydenham will have received a consultation document from LBL outlining details of a CPZ
What is 'central Sydenham'? Surely the council would not want to be accused of gerrymandering the response? If you CPZ one area, it puts pressure on the adjoining area and so on. In other words it forces each area to take a decision they would prefer not to take as a whole.
So LBL please don't feed the conspiracy theorists.
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Pat Trembath
- Posts: 613
- Joined: 2 Oct 2004 10:54
To be sent a consultation form you have to be within the area of the proposed zone.
The exact zone has yet to be decided and is a matter of further consultation and planning if the first vote is positive. But as a rough rule of thumb it is likely to be centred on Sydenham station. Up hill it will end broadly in the region of Longton Grove; downhill at round about Knighton Park Road. The Bromley council boundary and Mayow Park are the approximate other two sides of the zone.
If you live outside these areas you are unlikely to be included in the proposed zone and therefore will not receive a consultation document or a vote.
The exact zone has yet to be decided and is a matter of further consultation and planning if the first vote is positive. But as a rough rule of thumb it is likely to be centred on Sydenham station. Up hill it will end broadly in the region of Longton Grove; downhill at round about Knighton Park Road. The Bromley council boundary and Mayow Park are the approximate other two sides of the zone.
If you live outside these areas you are unlikely to be included in the proposed zone and therefore will not receive a consultation document or a vote.
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Pat Trembath
- Posts: 613
- Joined: 2 Oct 2004 10:54
If you do live in the area specified in the above post and haven't received a questionnaire visit www.lewisham.gov.uk/parking/index.asp for more information or contact Daniel Cairncross on 8314 2582 or Eva Ashley on 8314 2080 of Lewisham's Parking Implementation Scheme
Thanks. Rang them and I am in area but "they are still delivering". Given that they lost our postal ballot and only correspondence to get through from Lewisham is the Council Tax bill I am also not over confident. I am not overly enthusiastic about giving them more control over our street. Do I really want to those vultures of the High Street to nab our milkman?
Did you read that story last week of the Blood Transfusion lorry that was ticketed while actually taking blood? Do we really need all the hassle, paperwork and control that cost us all money?
Did you read that story last week of the Blood Transfusion lorry that was ticketed while actually taking blood? Do we really need all the hassle, paperwork and control that cost us all money?
I think the idea behind the latest parking proposal for Sydenham is that the Girton Road car park will become a chargeable car park, the area around it (and the high street) will become a CPZ - and residents will have to pay for a permit to park outside their own homes. I can see the pound signs whizzing round in the Councillors eyes. The first year of charges would pay for the implementation, subsequent years would be profit.
That is, I assume, unless everyone votes against it, in which case it would stay the same. Hmmm (rubbing his chin) can't see that happening somehow.
As far as the traffic wardens (if that is what they are called these days) are concerned, I have a great deal of sympathy for them - and I am a driver too. They try to ensure that the councils' parking restrictions are enforced, for not a great deal of salary - and often with the threat of both verbal and physical abuse - it's not a job I would be prepared to do.
Okay, they can be 'jobsworths', but then that can happen in all areas of life. They have become a profit centre, so we are stuck with them.
If you stay within the local parking laws, then you will not get a fine - much the same as speeding fines really. That said, when they tell you that a ticket has already issued, so they cannot 'un-issue' it, that is not true, as I had one cancelled in front of me, as I managed to argue my way out of it. If anyone wants to know how I did it, then its a fiver per advice.
As far as the blood donor van being done, I did not read that. Was it in the Daily Mail ? (sound of spitting). If it was, then was it blamed on Tony Blair ?
That is, I assume, unless everyone votes against it, in which case it would stay the same. Hmmm (rubbing his chin) can't see that happening somehow.
As far as the traffic wardens (if that is what they are called these days) are concerned, I have a great deal of sympathy for them - and I am a driver too. They try to ensure that the councils' parking restrictions are enforced, for not a great deal of salary - and often with the threat of both verbal and physical abuse - it's not a job I would be prepared to do.
Okay, they can be 'jobsworths', but then that can happen in all areas of life. They have become a profit centre, so we are stuck with them.
If you stay within the local parking laws, then you will not get a fine - much the same as speeding fines really. That said, when they tell you that a ticket has already issued, so they cannot 'un-issue' it, that is not true, as I had one cancelled in front of me, as I managed to argue my way out of it. If anyone wants to know how I did it, then its a fiver per advice.
As far as the blood donor van being done, I did not read that. Was it in the Daily Mail ? (sound of spitting). If it was, then was it blamed on Tony Blair ?
If a CPZ is implemented, parking bays will be clearly marked out, as will those areas where you may not park. Not only would you have to pay for the privilege of parking in your own street, you will probably find that (especially in the evening, when everyone has returned home), there are fewer spaces to go round than at present.
Often, the rules of CPZs limit you to parking in certain zones/streets, so simply parking in the next street may no longer be an option.
Furthermore, the streets will be crawling with parking attendants, so when you pull up outside your house to unload your shopping or park with a wheel on the curb to stop your car getting scraped yet again by a bus/speeding boy racer, you will get a ticket.
So... If the Girton Rd car park really has to become a pay and display, can't we just wait and see what happens? If and ONLY IF, parking on the neighbouring streets gets difficult is it then time to consider a CPZ. (People might then be more in favour of the idea as it would be an improvement).
Don't forget also, that the £25-or-so a year is the starting amount. What guarantee is there that this fee will not creep up to £200 a year in 5-10 years' time?
The CPZ should be a last resort to solve a problem. No problem has yet been proven to exist.
If this is just to raise revenue for Lewisham council, then they should just admit it, and put up the council tax. At least everyone will then pay a share, not just those who are forced to park in the street. Actually, how about installing a couple of speed cameras on Newlands Park and Lawrie Park Road? That would raise some revenue!
Those who would be affected by this need to speak up. I wonder how many "don't cares" there are from residents in the affected streets who either don't own cars, or have off-street parking...
Often, the rules of CPZs limit you to parking in certain zones/streets, so simply parking in the next street may no longer be an option.
Furthermore, the streets will be crawling with parking attendants, so when you pull up outside your house to unload your shopping or park with a wheel on the curb to stop your car getting scraped yet again by a bus/speeding boy racer, you will get a ticket.
So... If the Girton Rd car park really has to become a pay and display, can't we just wait and see what happens? If and ONLY IF, parking on the neighbouring streets gets difficult is it then time to consider a CPZ. (People might then be more in favour of the idea as it would be an improvement).
Don't forget also, that the £25-or-so a year is the starting amount. What guarantee is there that this fee will not creep up to £200 a year in 5-10 years' time?
The CPZ should be a last resort to solve a problem. No problem has yet been proven to exist.
If this is just to raise revenue for Lewisham council, then they should just admit it, and put up the council tax. At least everyone will then pay a share, not just those who are forced to park in the street. Actually, how about installing a couple of speed cameras on Newlands Park and Lawrie Park Road? That would raise some revenue!
Those who would be affected by this need to speak up. I wonder how many "don't cares" there are from residents in the affected streets who either don't own cars, or have off-street parking...
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Pat Trembath
- Posts: 613
- Joined: 2 Oct 2004 10:54
By now most residents should have received their questionnaires from Lewisham consulting about what the majority of local people in SE23 and SE26 think about Controlled Parking Zones and whether they are needed in our area.
There is a time limit for response of 3 weeks from receipt of the questionnaire. It is therefore important that everyone responds to this within the time limit and urges their neighbours to do likewise.
Lewisham Council has undertaken to donate 5p to the Lavender Trust for every completed questionnaire. The Lavender Trust funds information and support for younger women with breast cancer .
If you have any queries or want further information or haven't yet received a questionnaire and want to know if you are living within a possible Controlled Parking Zone area call Daniel Cairncross on 8314 2582 or Eva Ashley on 8314 2080
There is a time limit for response of 3 weeks from receipt of the questionnaire. It is therefore important that everyone responds to this within the time limit and urges their neighbours to do likewise.
Lewisham Council has undertaken to donate 5p to the Lavender Trust for every completed questionnaire. The Lavender Trust funds information and support for younger women with breast cancer .
If you have any queries or want further information or haven't yet received a questionnaire and want to know if you are living within a possible Controlled Parking Zone area call Daniel Cairncross on 8314 2582 or Eva Ashley on 8314 2080
CPZ
Do you know what the proposed area is?
If it only up to the station area and not Lawrie Park or the surrounding roads, then the problems of commuter parking as in Silverdale will just move to just outside the area causing more hassle there, which is exactly what has happened where I work in Catford, which is now predominantly residents parking as the problems of parking have moved away from the original area around the hospital
as far as I know Lawrie park road has not got the questionnaire, I did e-mail one of the contacts but have not had a response yet?>>>>>
If it only up to the station area and not Lawrie Park or the surrounding roads, then the problems of commuter parking as in Silverdale will just move to just outside the area causing more hassle there, which is exactly what has happened where I work in Catford, which is now predominantly residents parking as the problems of parking have moved away from the original area around the hospital
as far as I know Lawrie park road has not got the questionnaire, I did e-mail one of the contacts but have not had a response yet?>>>>>
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Pat Trembath
- Posts: 613
- Joined: 2 Oct 2004 10:54
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Pat Trembath
- Posts: 613
- Joined: 2 Oct 2004 10:54
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Greg Whitehead
- Posts: 474
- Joined: 11 Apr 2005 15:44
- Location: SE26 5RL
Parking permits for residents eh? If truth be told I'm in favour of them. I had lived just off Royal Hill in West Greenwich for five years and did find them to be a good way of ensuring you always got a parking spot (not that it was ever a problem beforehand but still...)
That said the most pressing point is the volume of traffic on the High St, Westwood Hill and Krikdale caused by drivers needing the South Circular aswell as the school-run at certain points in the day - that ought to be addressed first?
That said the most pressing point is the volume of traffic on the High St, Westwood Hill and Krikdale caused by drivers needing the South Circular aswell as the school-run at certain points in the day - that ought to be addressed first?
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Chris Best
- Posts: 439
- Joined: 6 May 2005 11:37
- Location: Sydenham
On the question of CPZs I must make it clear that as your local Sydenham Ward Councillor I will be supporting the majority view on whether or not to proceed with a CPZ for the area. Lewisham's record on Old Road/Bankwell and Hither Green West where the public did not support extensions to an existing CPZ shows we mean what we say.
It is for individuals to decide whether they want a CPZ or not and the decision is in everyone's own hands. Please return the questionnaire within the next 2 weeks not least because for every form returned 5p will be donated to the Lavender Trust. I must also make it clear that we have not designed any CPZ scheme for Sydenham - there is nothing in a drawer waiting to come out. If the majority do not want a CPZ it will not go ahead!
It is for individuals to decide whether they want a CPZ or not and the decision is in everyone's own hands. Please return the questionnaire within the next 2 weeks not least because for every form returned 5p will be donated to the Lavender Trust. I must also make it clear that we have not designed any CPZ scheme for Sydenham - there is nothing in a drawer waiting to come out. If the majority do not want a CPZ it will not go ahead!
CPZ's
As an active supporter of the first CPZ's in Catford, I would strongly urge local residents to give serious consideration to the benefits of a CPZ. The CPZ's in Catford have brought real benefits to local residents
* ability to park near or even in your street
* reductions in noise and traffic movements in your street
* lower traffic speeds
* re-claiming local streets for local residents
* reductions in rat running
The notion that CPZ's are reveune 'cash cows' is an urban myth put out by those with a pro-car agenda -its not true. Revenue rapidly trails off after the first year.
* ability to park near or even in your street
* reductions in noise and traffic movements in your street
* lower traffic speeds
* re-claiming local streets for local residents
* reductions in rat running
The notion that CPZ's are reveune 'cash cows' is an urban myth put out by those with a pro-car agenda -its not true. Revenue rapidly trails off after the first year.
CPZ
Whilst I am generally in favour of CPZs to stop commuter parking, dangerous parking and rat runs etc to make the streets safer. I would also like to highlight the issues that the local community nursing staff are having. Community nurses, therapists and other social care staff are finding it increasingly more difficult to carry out their duties with the restrictions on parking. It costs the NHS community 100 pounds per year per staff member to purchase parking permits from LBL to allow them to park for two hours to carry out home visits, some of these visits can be to terminally ill, or very dependent patients, they then to have to disrupt their visit to go out and move their cars and change the clocks on their cars every two hours. Some of the community social care and voluntary sector staff do not have these permits to allow them to carry out their work easily....sorry just needed to highlight that issue
CPZ
sory, just another thought, specificually for sydenham, I would hope that the number of pay and display bays that are installed are enough, as there is a lack of these in Zone E in Catford. If there are none in Lawrie Park Road, there will be issues with clients visiting the dentist, people driving to the doctors on the bridge and also into Wells Park, all these things need to be taken into account, including the impact on local businesses, if people cannot park easily then they will go elsewhere!!!!!