Do the scooter parking wardens still scoot around FH? If so have a word. We had issues on Waldenshaw Road after the CPZ went in, I had a chat with one of the attendants and gave them the time the errant car parked there and they were around the next day. May be worth a try given the car seems to park there on a daily basis.
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If someone wants to really get serious about this issue.
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/civil-enforcement-officer
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What happened to me last night really takes the biscuit.
I have a dropped kerb and without it would not be able to enter or exit my property as I use a walker for mobility problems.
Arriving home in a cab, a young neighbour on a moped pulled up on the side of the cab driver, pointed to my sign, which says please do not obstruct the driveway, and asked the cab driver to move so he could use my dropped kerb. Not wanting to make a fuss, the cab driver acquiesced,; the moped rider then rode over the dropped kerb on to the pavement and proceeded to ride at speed on the pavement to the property in which he lives, regardless of the fact that children playing (and others) often come out of an alleyway onto that part of the pavement.
When I subsequently remonstrated with him, including pointing out that a young man had asked an old woman to move from her own access to her own property, he merely said that he had asked politely!
This is definitely worse than the parking. Iāve had a moped drive towards me and my partner at speed on the pavement. He swore at us when we remonstrated. I think police may have done something if I had gotten the plate.
Perhaps someone should point her to this topic so that she may see how she is being represented in the community, and her vehicle is marked for anti-social behaviour.
It would be interesting to see, but something comparable didnāt work for the Very loud music on Dartmouth Road.
Oh yeah, I had a quad bike drive towards me and my kids, not a care in the world. We jumped aside pretty sharpish.
I too have come perilously close to being run over on the pavement. Drivers are so used to treating the pavement outside Kirkdaleās Woodman pub (as was) as a highway that a driver came barrelling down the hill and straight across the carriageway and onto the pavement straight at me one evening that she only managed to stop within a few inches of me. As a reflex my hands had splayed out on the bonnet. The car had stopped that close. The female passenger laughed.
This photo is of that same stretch of pavement on Wednesday.
Oops that photo doesnāt appear to have uploaded. Iāll try again when I can get to my PC.
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Money is the only thing that talks. Donāt approach these individuals. You wonāt achieve anything and you put yourself at risk.
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The unavoidable conclusion is that something was decided privately behind the scenes. No working groups were decided upon at the assembly meetings, and the streets to be included in traffic surveys were, again, selected by a process that has not been made public. NB the announcement of working groups was made remotely between assembly meetings, not at one of the meetings.
I do not see the logic in this statement:
No-one has asked for āwardens on every corner, every minute of the dayā. This is hyperbole and should be ignored.
LeoGibbons is only person on this thread that appears to consider the current policy on illegal parking in Forest Hill as āhit and missā. I think this viewpoint is not representative of the public whatsoever. I, personally, donāt see any active policing on illegal parking. There is no hit. The disconnect of what we are told and the reality of the situation has created a lack of trust.
Why donāt we start with a hit and miss policy, which would be an improvement on the current lack of service?
The only solution, we are told, is a CPZ. Why is this agenda being pushed?
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I donāt think the CPZ agenda is being pushed.
I think there is a specific area which some people refer to as Forest Hillās third car park where it is reasonable for the residents to ask for controls. I donāt think it just about parking, people want clean air and a pleasant place to live. Unfortunately most people donāt want a CPZ but feel that something needs to be done.
People just treat roads in a CPZ differently.
When you drive into Waldenshaw road you see the controlled notices, you know you are entering a controlled zone and you are fair game for the wardens if you break the law.
When you drive into Thorpewood Avenue, you know it is the free car park and if you canāt find a space, you can just park over someoneās driveway and if all the driveways are already parked over, then turn around and park on the pavements on Darmouth Road. It is the wild west and I think the residents are fed up and want some control.
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My perception is that a CPZ is being pushed. Selling parking permits is a nice little earner for Lewisham. All a CPZ does is decant the problem onto surrounding streets. Following the āimprovementsā to Dartmouth Road, weāve already seen the decanting of through traffic onto upper Kirkdale. The ULEZ and the changes that are about to happen on Sydenham Hill, together with the pinch point of the mini roundabout at the top of the hill, can only make traffic flow even worse.
Lewisham needs to look again at its policy of encouraging ācar freeā housing developments. If you think parking and traffic flow in the area is bad now, just wait till the ācar freeā development at the Windmill and the almost ācar freeā developments at the police station and Mais House are completed. By ācar freeā Lewisham mean ācar park spaceā free. They tell me they canāt prevent leaseholders registering cars at these new so called car free developments.
Why canāt schools educate to make it as socially unacceptable to drive children to school as it is to smoke around children, or to drink and drive? After all, London children are in the very privileged position of having free travel on public transport, unlike in most of the rest of the country. And if parents really are as uncaring of neighbourhoods and the environment, then surely schools can arrange marshalled drop off zones, such as American schools do.
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They are probably trying, but I donāt think schools should have to get into law enforcement on the roads. They cannot be held responsible for the behaviour of parents. If traffic offences are being committed, then law enforcement is required. If there are no specific offences regarding blocking driveways, there are plenty of general public nuisance or obstruction offences that the police could use. You have to wonder whether Councillors, Lewisham parking service managers, and local police ever talk to each other.
I agree.
Schools already have a tough-enough job trying to teach basic manners and respect to the little darlings, let alone trying to communicate the vagueries of common decency to some of their parents who are completely devoid of any sense of social standards or responsibility.
Itās getting scary out there.
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Emma - can you message me privately. I will explain more then. I am in Thorpewood & very actively trying to improve the situation. Thanks, Sian
I would have hoped that with even very young children being taken out of school by their teachers to go on climate change demos that they could have been taught to educate their families too. I got screamed at (and I do mean screamed at) by some very venomous little girls out on a march with their teachers recently, when I was waiting patiently in my car at a junction while they streamed past. I was quite shocked. Being educated that theyāre part of the problem too and that there are things they can do to help - is a much more positive message than abusing others.
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Marymck - I LOVE your message. Most of us in Thorpewood do NOT want a CPZ, we just feel it is the last resort. I completely understand your point re- pushing the problem elsewhere, and completely understand & endorse your point re- educating parents about driving kids to school, marshalled drop-off points etc. Very well made points. Thank you.
However, it is not just school times that cause problems in Thorpewoodā¦ it is also commuter parking & parking from adjacent places (Otto Close etc). But educating parents from the school could be the first stepā¦
To be fair, the police have plenty of other more important issues to deal with. Schools could, at least, learn to be civil to the neighbours, not completely defensive and less confrontational.
There IS already a specific offence regarding blocking drives IF the offending vehicle is preventing access to the public highway (no offence to stop an owner entering their own drive). BUT the key is that unless this offence is policed (by parking wardens) then the truth is that the offending vehicles will continue to see white lines across driveways (& in some cases, double yellow lines) as their own private parking places. A CPZ will be the same - without a warden, nothing will change.
All is needed right now is a few parking tickets to be given out, the word will soon get aroundā¦ and you know what - there are always spaces on Kirkdale, not so far away that the little darlings could not walk thereā¦ no idea how far they have to walk to get homeā¦
Hi marymck
Were you given a reason or explanation about why they ācanātā enforce? Can you remember who told you this?