Parking problems

[Pally]

Hey WELCOME BACK Eagle!!

[stuart]

Controversially... I can't say it really bothers me. I live on one of the supposedly problematic roads and it's not a huge deal.

But for those of us who have to travel up your road its a huge deal. And too often a dangerous one. I noted whilst walking up Silverdale yesterday garages that weren't being used whilst the road was crammed with cars 'garaged' for free occupying a public space for personal use and denying use for the reason its there for hours, weeks or even months on end.

That's why if we are to allow permanent parking (say > 2 hours) people should jolly well pay for it rather than sponge off the rest of us.

This would encourage those with garages to use 'em, those with off-road space to use it and those with neither consider the benefits of shared car use. Then everyone would benefit from more open roads and a somewhat prettier and less crammed environment.

Stuart

[coll]

I wanted to bump this up as I don't know if this is relevant here or elsewhere. There is a man who lives on the corner of Bishopsthorpe and Silverdale in the block of flats. For the past year he seems to be running his car repair/tyre or towing business on the actual street. He has a white two truck and about 8 to 10 cars that are in various states of repair. They are parked along the northing side of Bichopsthorpe. He has them on jacks, most are loaded with tyres and have their own tyres flattened. He will often put clamps on the cars so they can not be moved and will put bins or equipment in the road to save 'his' space when out. Needless to say he single handedly has a huge impact on parking in the area.

In the past week it has become far worse. He has taken to openly repairing many cars during the day, he parks his car in a way that it blocks half of the road then parks his truck on the double yellow line. I witnessed a man yelling at him yesterday because he had blocked his car in. The man's reaction was dismissive and made no real effort to move his car out of the way until the man really lost his temper.
I understand that running a business out of a public highway is not legal. I phoned the council but they did not know what to say other than writing to Lewisham Council Highways and Pavements.
I took some photos yesterday but not sure I should be adding them here. Has anyone seen this or have any thoughts?

[Eagle]

Report him to Police .

There will never be enough parking places in Sydenham . Too many people have cars who do not really need them , especially now supermarkets deliver.

[mosy]

I think it probably is a matter for the council as traffic violations have been decriminalised. Perhaps give them a call and ask them exactly what rights (if any) the council has to do "something" about the volume if the vehicles are not causing an obstruction and are not abandoned vehicles as such since no vehicle has any more right than another to be on a public highway. I'd have thought there'd be a remedy against both blocking-in of other cars and self-clamping at least, but no point me guessing.

It doesn't sound as if polite requests would get far so it's better to find out what effective tools the council could employ.

[JRobinson]

licencing - if he's working on the public highway, then he's 'probably' not got the correct licences, or premises, if he's changing oil, etc there will be discharge of chemicals onto public highways, or into drainage system, there's environmental, health and safety, running a business from a council property? business rates/taxes? etc, etc. all sorts of ways it could go.
if he's blocking the footway, or carriageway that's an offence, unless he has the right permit/notice/licence. If the works he's doing are damaging the FW or CW that's also an offence.
he's probably also doing work for cash in hand, so that won't be declared income to HMRC.

that's how they got Al Capone - unpaid taxes.