Parking around New Beckenham Station
The meeting on the plans for a controlled parking zone on the Copers Cope side of the station did not go well for our residents. The proposed scheme is complicated. Zone 1, nearest the station, will include short, medium and long term pay and display parking, Zone 2 will allow commuter parking by season ticket and zone 3, the furthest away but surprisingly close to Beckenham Junction Station will be free parking. Residents will be able to buy Residents Parking tickets on Zones 1 and 2 for around £35 - cheaper than most other schemes.
The idea, quite simply, is to displace commuter parking. The council admitted that some of that displacement will come over the bridge to Kings Hall Road and Lennard Road. However, the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Cllr Colin Smith, the person who foisted the daft and dangerous traffic scheme on Kings Hall Road, refused to take into account the views of those on this side of the line.
The knock on effects of the scheme could be widespread. We cannot drive out commuter parking altogether. Not everyone can live in walking distance of a station; they have to park somewhere. We do need to discourage unnecessary commuter parking and road safety must be a priority. But, at the moment, a sort of balance has established which this scheme will upset. And the consequences might not just effect those nearest to new Beckenham. We could also see an increase in the use of Kent House Station. The position will be worsened by plans to introduce a parking zone around Clock House Station as well.
The consultation forms and plans are due to go out in a couple of weeks time. I have put in a formal request that Kings Hall, Lennard and Aldersmead Road will be included. However, Cllr Smith has said that responses from those roads will not be allowed to over-turn the wishes of Copers Cope residents.
If residents in Copers Cope vote for this misguided scheme, how do we react in the Kings Hall area? Do we want to ask for a parking scheme of our own? How long do we wait to see how it works out? We may actually find that we can absorb any extra parking without the drastic measures they are proposing for Copers Cope. We shall oppose the details of this scheme but without hope of success. We do need to also know how our residents want us to react.
Comments: 8
: 0
Sadly it has been the attitude of many local councils for a number of years now that has seen a lot of suffering for the motorist. Whether that be down to parking restrictions, speed humps, car-parking charges, removal of zebra crossings or this absurd policy of obstructing the road by either narrowing the carriageway or by building in huge traffic islands or other dangerous obstructions. We have almost got to saturation point now... nearly every road has been restricted, almost every parking scheme has been implemented, nearly all the policies are in place... ect, ect... fortunately it is not all doom and gloom. I was in a Harrow suburb a few weeks ago and was amazed to find a very motorist friendly parking scheme in place at the local shopping parade. Motorists park free for 20 minutes. They press a button on the parking meter and a ticket is produced saying what time they arrived. You put the ticket in your window and pop into the shop, buy your goods and return to your car. If you need longer than 20 minutes then you can put some money in the meter and park for up to 2 hours if you need to. So I think local authorities are beginning to see the light, I hope this wasn't just an isolated occurrence of sensible thought in Harrow and that more councils start to think like this.
It seems to me that the attitude of the councils is that people only use their cars for fun and that they don't actually need to be able to drive around so it is perfectly acceptable to block up the roads, slow down the traffic and otherwise increase costs and reduce the effectiveness of the motorcar. If it comes down to green principles then it is important to point out that we don’t really have all the facts on global warming and that it is a bit unfair to cause such disruption to peoples lives on the basis of an idea... furthermore... it would be more environmentally friendly to allow traffic to flow smoothly and to actually reduce the number of speed humps to prevent the excessive use of fuel that is required to move off from a standing start or to accelerate between speed humps... likewise less wear on mechanical components would reduce the amount of pollution from the manufacture, distribution and disposal of components such as tyres, brakes and suspension bushes... It is in fact very un-environmentally responsible to encourage heavy traffic and premature replacement of motorcars and mechanical components.
I would much appreciate it if you were to discuss my views with your colleagues and you’re welcome to contact me any time if you think I can help with anything.
I don't think Kent House will be that affected as the trains go to Victoria as opposed to City and West End. Anyone using parking at Kent House can probaly justify a 4 wheel drive!
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