Borough Street Parking Matters - UPDATE 25 June '08 - Windsor Now - Discussion Areas - The Royal Windsor Forum - Message Board

RSS
Email

0 Kudo

Borough Street Parking Matters - UPDATE 25 June '08

Author	Comment
thamesweb	Borough Street Parking Matters - UPDATE 25 June '08	Lead	[-]
Posts: 1307 (01/18/07 04:29:11) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	17/01/2007 Borough Press Release The Royal Borough is setting out its timetable for taking over parking enforcement throughout the area and it looks as if the first phase could be up and running this time next year. A report to next week's cabinet (Thursday January 25) underlines the lengthy procedures involved but says that once the borough becomes a Special Parking Area with council responsibility for all parking enforcement, there will be widespread benefits for the wider community. Cllr Simon Werner, lead member for public protection, said council officers had been working on the proposals for decriminalised parking enforcement (DPE) for some time and, while he was disappointed that the process took so long, he was excited by the prospect of the council having the power to crack down on people who parked on yellow lines, flouted parking restrictions and caused grief for everyone. He said: "We currently have a totally unacceptable situation where drivers show contempt for the law because they know that police resources are deployed elsewhere. However, I am confident that with the council in control of parking we will see a return to consistent enforcement and the freeing up of our streets from illegal parking for the benefit of businesses and residents alike." The cabinet report explains that decriminalised parking enforcement (DPE) i.e. no longer under police control would enable the council to design a borough-wide scheme that would: * co-ordindate all on and off-street parking under one authority * be flexible and adaptable to meet the needs of individual areas * be consistently enforced by the borough team * be more locally accountable * allow specific residents' parking schemes to work better * bring better management of all available parking spaces * free police resources to deal with the prevention and detection of crime. Cllr Antony Wood, lead member for traffic and transport, said DPE would bring immense benefits for local residents, for example in Windsor where the current Windsor Traffic Regulation order 2002 enables the council to enforce only paid for on-street parking not adjacent waiting restrictions. He explained: "This means that drivers who find they can't park in residents-only areas just abandon their cars on nearby double yellow lines because they know that police don't have the time to give them parking tickets. We have serious problems in Windsor caused by the lack of uniform enforcement and we are now experiencing similar problems in Maidenhead town centre. DPE will give the council the tools to do the enforcement job properly and fairly across the borough." Next steps Given cabinet go-ahead next week, council officers will forge ahead with the submission of a detailed proposal to the Secretary of State at the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions likely to be within the next two months. Once the scheme design has been brought together in the spring the council will start on a widespread public consultation to ensure that local people can have their say about the proposals. Once public feedback has been taken into account there will be a further report to cabinet in the autumn. Parking enforcement staff training is scheduled to start in October and phase one of the scheme introduced at the beginning of next year. Next week's cabinet meeting is also being asked to agree to set up a small member working group to work closely with officers on the preparation of the DPE scheme. Last Edited By: thamesweb 06/25/08 07:28:14. Edited 6 times.
thamesweb	Re: Borough Timetable for Parking Enforcement	#1	[-]
Posts: 1307 (01/18/07 04:39:52) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Not before time! *Quote:* ...free police resources to deal with the prevention and detection of crime... ...but given that hardly any time has been expended by the police in enforcing parking regs up to now, there will be little, if any, change in the prevention and detection of crime!!!
thamesweb	Re: Borough Timetable for Parking Enforcement	#2	[-]
Posts: 1307 (06/04/07 01:34:54) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Interesting development today, 4th June, where a police officer was seen in Springfield Road actively noting details of those vehicles parked on double yellow lines. Sadly he came too late to catch the inconsiderate loon who last night parked so far out beyond the apex of the junction that it was impossible for a larger vehicle to make a left turn, but it is interesting that some sort of attention is being paid at last. In case the officer goes away with the wrong impression, so far today (10.30am) it has been a light day for illegal parking in the Springfield Road area. I saw only five vehicles on doube yellow lines. It is often far worse. Perhaps he would like to look by on a more regular basis and get a more accurate record of the problem.
thamesweb	Re: Borough Timetable for Parking Enforcement	#3	[-]
Posts: 1307 (06/11/07 01:03:39) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Further to the above, I have received the following information from RBWM: *Quote:* The Borough has spoken to Thames Valley Police about the level of illegal parking currently within its boundaries. They have responded by ensuring that Police Officers and Police Community Support Officers undertake some parking enforcement as part of their duties. Once the Special Parking Area is enforceable the Boroughs Parking Attendants will take over the enforcement of all parking within the Boroughs boundaries and any illegally parked vehicles will be ticketed. Prior to the SPA coming into force we will be warning offenders of the forthcoming changes in a press and awareness campaign prior to the end of 2007. A final report is scheduled to go to Cabinet on 26 July 2007 at which time all final decisions are expected to be made. The recent change in Councillors has not altered the proposals. Once the Cabinet have made their final decision, it is expected that the formal SPA Application will be made to enable the proposed implementation to take place. The current proposed implementation date is 14 January 2008 when the majority of enforcement responsibilities which currently lie with the Police will transfer to Borough Parking Attendants.
thamesweb	Parking Enforcement - Press Release Jun 28th 07	#4	[-]
Posts: 1307 (06/28/07 01:54:38) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Safer, fairer parking for all - Council crackdown on illegal parking set to start January 2008 26/06/2007 The Royal Boroughs plan to make parking safer and fairer for all road users looks set to start on Monday January 14 2008. From then the council will take over responsibility for parking enforcement from the police and a 16-strong team of trained parking officers will be out and about on local streets, making sure that drivers park sensibly, safely and lawfully. A report to next weeks planning and environment overview and scrutiny panel (Tuesday July 3) sets out recommendations from lead cabinet member Cllr Colin Rayner for taking forward the complex procedures involved. The meeting will give panel members the opportunity to discuss the proposals before cabinet takes a final decision on Thursday July 26. Given cabinet approval, there will be a final submission to the Department for Transport to turn the borough into a Special Parking Area with council responsibility for all parking enforcement signalling a red light for drivers who flout the law and park on double yellow lines, in residents parking bays and in restricted waiting areas. To ensure consistent and fair enforcement throughout the borough, the council will need to expand its existing parking team from six to 16 and take on five additional administrative staff. However, the aim is for enforcement to be self-funding within a short time. Cllr Rayner, lead member for highways, transport and environment, said: We are totally committed to ensuring safer, fairer parking for all through the councils enforcement of parking regulations. Good progress is being made through the maze of red tape and complex preparation that needs to be done before we take over responsibility from the police and we aim to be up and running by January 14 next year. Local people will notice a difference from day one. The high profile team will be on the streets and in town centres, where the thoughtless, selfish parking of some road users is currently causing serious issues for pedestrians and businesses and demonstrating utter contempt for the law. Under the proposed slogan Safer, Fairer Parking for All, the new scheme will bring a number of significant benefits, including: Co-ordination of all on and off-street parking Prevention of and action on illegal parking Better management of available parking spaces Adaptability to meet the needs of individual areas Consistent enforcement by the borough team Local accountability Better integration and operation of residents parking schemes Improved environment as a result of better traffic management Police resources freed up to deal with the prevention and detection of crime. The new parking officers will also have a positive impact on the appearance of local streets by helping with enforcement action against litter louts and by reporting graffiti, potholes and other issues to the relevant council departments. When the overview and scrutiny panel has discussed the report next week it will, with any panel comments, go to cabinet on July 26. Recruitment for the additional team members will aim to have them in place by November so that they will be fully trained for the scheme to go live in January 2008. A major publicity campaign will start in the autumn to ensure that residents, businesses and all road users are aware of the enforcement changes ahead.
thamesweb	Re: Parking Enforcement - Press Release Jun 28th 07	#5	[-]
Posts: 1307 (06/28/07 01:56:27) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	No mention of times of day... Does this include evening parking enforcement?
caz	Re: Parking Enforcement - Press Release Jun 28th 07	#6	[-]
Posts: 3 (09/01/07 10:43:41) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	about time too should have been done years ago these people buy houses in the town centre knowing full well that there is not enough parking spaces and insist on parking on double yellow lines and on the pavement they also park across peoples driveways (I should know we reciently had some idiot park across my mother-in-laws drive even though my husbands van was parked there luckily after a number of phone calls to the police the car was towed away trouble is this wasn't a one off the usual excuses we've had is... came in late and couldn't find anywhere to park) Well tough buy or rent a house without adaquate parking and take the risk after all Windsor does not stop at the Clarence Rd roundabout pay approx 100,000 less have a bigger house with off street parking and only a 10min walk further to the town centre etc hopfully the wardens will be out so early and late they can ticket all the drivers who think they are above the law.
tranceboy81	Parking	#7	[-]
Posts: 12 (09/06/07 03:45:11) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Sorry but I disagree with Caz. I fully understand the frustration of having somebody parked at the end of your driveway. This is completely unacceptable. However, I don't feel that this is a problem, caused, in the main by residents. Residents have a right to park in their own town, in front of, or near to their houses. The town itself suffers from a lack of visitor/shopper/tourist parking which in turn over-flows into resident areas. The sooner they build the park and ride in Eton Wick, the better. Kick the tourists and shoppers out into out of town parking. Create more parking for residents and restrict access to the town centre to those cars with resident permits, taxis and buses. Don't even get me started on the coaches!
thamesweb	Re: Parking	#8	[-]
Posts: 1307 (09/06/07 06:10:46) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	*Quote:* Kick the tourists and shoppers out into out of town parking That is not the official view of the Windsor shop-keepers. Their representative body wanted to knock down a number of houses in Arthur Road, including Camm's house, and build (another) large car park by the railway arches. There was also a plan to build an unsightly double decker car park at the far end of Alexandra Gardens. Plans also scrapped. The parkers who should use the Park and Ride are the staff in all the shops and offices who block spaces that could be used by their customers!! Surveys in the past have shown that a high percentage of cars using the central car parks are there all day. They could easily be a few minutes train ride away on the far side of the river. They are already happy to park in the outlying residential areas - York Avenue for example - and walk in, so it can't be an inconvenience to them. It is not acceptable to suggest those that want to 'pop into Windsor' to get a few things should be shunted out so far, especially if they then have to lug heavy shopping about. If you can get the tourists to park a little distance out of town and have a fun ride in, over, along, or actually ON the river, so much the better. The central area residential parking problem needs a totally new approach. 1. Stop building new houses adjacent to the town centre, unless they have MORE than enough parking spaces within their own grounds. I.e. at least one space per bedroom, preferably 2 minimum. 2. A similar approach to offices where no new developments are permitted unless a minimum of one parking space per employee is provided within the grounds - and at the same time the office space is licensed for use by only the number of staff for which parking spaces are available. 3. Whenever properties come up for sale, the borough should purchase selected ones, demolish them, and set up local landscaped (charged for) parking places for those living nearby. There are a number of other ways to share out parking and improve availability such as making streets one way to allow additional parking spaces, parking at right angles to the pavement, charging significantly more for cars whose length exceeds a standard parking space, (we need to talk several hundred pounds a year here, if not thousands) reducing pavement widths, or removing pavements on one side of the road completely, purchasing roadside areas of front gardens where space permits and so on. Grab the problem by the scruff of the neck and MAKE it go away. Not just hoping! In a few years the problem will actually go away when the government finally wake up to the fact that serious legislation is required to change the public's attitude towards personal, often large and polluting, transport cubicles. Whatever happened to the Bubble Car!
caz	Re: Parking	#9	[-]
Posts: 3 (09/07/07 12:12:13) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	so Tranceboy81 if some idiot parked across your driveway (if you have one )which ment that you could NOT get your car/van off your driveway in order to go to work I suppose you would say 'hay ho poor driver couldn't find a space within a 5min walk or so from their home never mind I'll just loose a days pay so that they are not inconvienced'. Nobody (unless they have a driveway) has the God given right to park directly outside their house on the public highway As I said before,buy/rent a house without off-street parking take the risk that you may not be able to find a legal place to park your vechicle (after all if anyone with a taxed insured and MOT'd motor parks outside your abode there is nothing that you can do about it) did you know of the problems that not only delivery drivers but also the refuse and recyclers have when it comes to doing their jobs due to the inconsiderate parking on double yellow lines, on bends and pavements yet these are the first people who are on the phone to say that their goods have not been delivered or that their dustbins haven't been emptied. As a driver of a taxed,insured and MOT'd vechicle when I visit friends in the town centre I shall park legally where I can (even if it is direcly outside someones house) at least I know that when I drive home a few mins over the Clarence Rd roundabout that I shall pull into my own driveway and park direcly outside my own house.(unlike my poor mother-in-law who lives in the town centre and can't always get onto her drive)
tranceboy81	Parking	#10	[-]
Posts: 12 (09/10/07 08:05:34) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Not at all. As you will see above, I think if somebody parks across your driveway that's completely unacceptable. I simply believe that as a town centre resident of Windsor and an owner of a fully taxed, insured and legally permitted car that I have a right to park in the town which supersedes that of tourists, commuters, shoppers and short term visitors. Legally of-course, and certainly not across anyone's driveway. Even though he was completely in the wrong, I sympathise with the resident who was unable to park outside his own house and was forced to do what he did. I don't see why I should have to move house simply to park near my home. As the council and greedy developers continue to cram more flats into the town centre the problem gets worse. What we need are ample areas of resident-only parking enforced with a zero tolerance policy towards non-residents parking in these areas. Couple this with cheaper/ample parking for shoppers and a park and ride within a sensible distance of the shops/castle and we might be onto a winner.