Residents fight to beat 'parking crisis'

Petition aims to get Stile Hall Area CPZ rejection overturned

A group of disgruntled residents have banded together to overturn a Hounslow Council decision not to extend the Controlled Parking Zone in West Chiswick.

After months of trying to persuade the local Conservative councillors to provide a CPZ in Wellesley Road, Stile Hall Gardens, Oxford Gardens and Cambridge Road, and surrounding roads, nearly 100 residents have signed a petition demanding immediate action.

In June, the Chiswick Area Planning Committee rejected the advice of council officials and decided to leave the area free for commuters and office workers to park their cars, insisting the local residents were 'able to cope'.

It was, in fact, a decision that enraged many living in these streets, who have been complaining for months that the traffic build-up during morning and evening rush hours is destroying the fabric of the area.

Now residents are demanding the committee reassess the advice it was originally given and initiate as a matter of urgency an extension of the CPZ into the few remaining roads that lie open to abuse by commuters.

In a letter sent to all the councillors on that committee, Grant Feller, a resident of Stile Hall Gardens who petitioned his neighbours, said: ''For the vast majority of us who live in the western part of Chiswick, the increase in congestion and the numbers of commuters who use our roads as a free car park has seriously damaged the quality of our lives.

''What we hold in common is a feeling of abandonment by you, our elected officials. Several months ago you rejected a proposal by Hounslow Council to make these last remaining streets in the area a Controlled Parking Zone. You rejected that advice because, first, not enough residents told you they wanted a CPZ and, second, the lack of response probably meant the problem wasn't that bad. This petition is a clear sign that you were wrong to think that.

''For now, we believe urgent action is required - the scheme has already been researched by officials, guidelines have been drawn up, money has been spent and my understanding is that a portion of the budget has been set aside to get the scheme underway. With your help and guidance there is no need to wait months and months for this to be sorted - hopefully, even at short notice, it can be added to the forthcoming planning and traffic committee agendas and be debated.

''These committees have already corrected the botched scheme to provide metered and controlled parking around Gunnersbury Station; it is time to correct this mistake now and give us back some normality to our daily lives. It will help us, it will help the emergency services who use our roads frequently but find parking sometimes restricts their access, and will help to cut down on the pollution and commuter traffic in the borough, all of which are stated aims of the council.''

September 29, 2004