Parking Woes For Southfield Residents

Bay suspension dates altered with marker pen but council still refuses to grant leniency over PCN's

Lib Dem’s Gary Malcolm has blasted Ealing Council for turning down his proposals to reduce ‘unfair parking tickets’ issued to residents of Southfield Road.

A number of residents contacted Cllr Malcolm when the council put notices up which they believed were not clear and meant that a great number of parking spaces were lost because a utility company wanted to do some work in Southfield Road.

However, more CPZ spaces were suspended by the council and the method used to inform residents, according to Malcolm, was too little, too late.

One resident stated that he had received a parking ticket for parking in the Zone R CPZ, for which he has a valid parking permit. He explained how he had parked his car on Southfield Road last Sunday evening noting the signs on the trees which stated that the parking bay had been suspended but that the suspension had finished the previous Friday.

On Monday morning around 9.15am he not only found that he had been given a ticket but that the parking bay suspension signs had been changed – with a marker pen – to include the Monday and the subsequent few days.

Cllr Malcolm’s motion to the council stated that “current arrangements for parking suspensions are not consistently delivering a good service to residents due to many residents not knowing there is a suspension; many organisations (including utility companies) starting works early or finishing works late; handwritten suspension signs often looking unprofessional and unofficial; or two sets of non-emergency works taking place on both sides of the same street. For all parking suspensions from now on, the Council will revise its practices writing to residents (using electoral registration data) to inform them of non-emergency works and erecting better, clearer signs.”

The council voted against changing the current procedures at this week’s meeting.

Cllr Malcolm said: “Many residents have been treated badly. They are having parking spaces taken away for longer than they should have; some are receiving parking tickets because the council does not adequately inform residents about these parking suspensions. It is sad the Conservative council did not agree to my plans which would help residents in the area by making sure the council contacted residents about these parking issues.”

July 17, 2008