New Measures to tackle boot sale congestion

Councillors to consider plan to deal with chaos at Chiswick School fund-raiser

Councillors are being asked to consider proposals to tackle the congestion problem arising from the Chiswick Community School car boot sale.

The monthly fund-raising event has proven exceptionally popular raising up to #40,000 per annum for the school's PTA but has caused increasing disruption in the area which increased stewarding by the organisers has failed to eliminate.

About a year ago, the school paid for a series of single yellow lines and accompanying parking restriction signs, valid only on the first Sunday of each month, on Staveley Road near the school entrance and at the junction with Burlington Lane. (Refer to the attached map). Unfortunately, as drivers are accustomed to associating single yellow lines with weekday parking restrictions, this initiative has been only partially successful.

The school also pays each month for Council Parking Attendants to patrol the restrictions, however despite issuing parking infringement notices there is often a high incidence of illegal and/or inconsiderate parking.

The above problems came to a head on Sunday 5 October when fine weather and the closure of another car boot sale in Brentford combined to encourage particularly large numbers of buyers and sellers to attend the Chiswick sale.

Marshals were subject to abuse by gridlocked motorists and there were reports of fights between drivers, requiring police intervention.

Following complaints from the Griffin Brewery Sports club an urgent meeting took place involving representatives of the sports club, the school, Friends of Dukes Meadow, the Horticultural Society and the Council. This meeting drew up a series of proposals which are to be presented to Councillors at the Chiswick Area Committee meeting this Wednesday.

The proposals include the following recommendations

• The single yellow restrictions adjacent to the school gates would be replaced by double yellow lines. These double yellow lines would be extended the full length of the northeast side of Staveley Road between Burlington Lane and Great Chertsey Road.
• Double yellow lines would also be placed on the approaches to the mini roundabout at the Riverside Drive/Staveley Gardens junction, to maintain sufficient carriageway width to allow two way traffic at all times.
• Additional signage would be provided for the other areas currently marked in single yellow lines.

If accepted the proposals would go out to consultation with a final decision to be made in January. The cost would probably be met by use of Section 106 funding from the Council.

If congestion problems persist, one-way traffic system on Riverside Drive would be consider, to be brought into operation on car boot sales days only, by the use of lock-down signs. This system has been employed successfully in support of Boat Race days and a recent Fun Run.

November 7, 2003