Can Elm Grove & the council find a parking solution? (From The Argus)
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Can Elm Grove & the council find a parking solution?
10:14am Sunday 25th September 2011 in Blogs
Aren't they pretty?
Once again parking issues in Hanover and Elm Grove have got everyone's pants in a twist. Cars parked behind yellow lines on the pavements were decorated with flyers this week. First by a pretty little yellow one from the council, with a warning stating they would receive a fixed penalty notice after 3rd October if they parked illegally. Then by the Hanover and Elm Grove Local Action Team inviting them to a meeting Monday 26th September to object.
The council have turned a blind eye to the pavement parking in Elm Grove up until now claiming 'the situation is now becoming just too dangerous'. On the face of it, one can't help thinking this is a tit for tat reaction to residents overwhelmingly rejecting the controlled parking zone and successfully managing to stop the scheme from being implemented. However, when you dig deeper into the issue (or read Argus Community Reporter Roy Pennington's reports) it seems the Hanover & Elm Grove Local Action Team have been lobbying to get 'some' of the dangerously parked vehicles penalised.
Therein lies the problem. How on earth can you make a parking ticket stand for a few of those who have parked behind yellow lines, albeit obstructing views for turning vehicles, and not for others? Living on Brading Road, I can see the problems from both angles. My heart was in my stomach some mornings on my way to work with the leap of faith I had to make to turn out of my road. But I know that all the displaced vehicles will make it harder for me to park. Whilst we're not using the car hardly at all while I'm on maternity leave, when we do need it I'm not thrilled at the thought of being forced to park a distance from our front door with a toddler and baby to organise.
The action team have quite clearly stated they want a sensible solution (what exactly, no one seems to be talking about) and the council have waded in quite heavily with the penalty notice warning. I look forward to hearing about the meeting and any creative ideas for making parking safer and convenient – I shall unfortunately be at home seeing to my 7 week old.
Whatever your views, locals should attend the action meeting at The Hanover Pub, Monday 26th September, 7pm.
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Comments(3)
Big Matt
says...
9:34pm Mon 26 Sep 11
jpws wrote:Quite right jpws. I've yet to see an unbiased piece on this come from the Argus. Also they didn't turn up to the residents meeting last week even though they said they would. All the information so far seems to be have come out of the councils press office. Looking at the utter huey that was printed on the yellow notices (pictured) I wouldn't say that this is the most reliable source of information.
Claire, you're quite right. As a Brighton resident for over 20 years and someone heavily involved in the last fight against the CPZ I am totally amazed at how the Green Council is seeking to underhandedly force a CPZ by essentially evicting 300+ cars from Elm Grove. Where will people go but into the surrounding streets causing chaos. Anyone who lives locally will know the problems. The last 3 months have been relatively easy to park in Hanover and Elm Grove. With the students returning on mass this weekend, just watch the problem reach overload in just a few days. White van man and American Express workers (working in Brighton and leaving their cars in Hanover/Elm Grove to avoid paying extortionate parking fees), as well as students swell the number of people parking at least 2-3 fold each working day. The council should be working with local residents to fix problems, not create them. I'm sure none of us pay our council tax expecting our council to try and find ways to make our lives more difficult.
Everyone who can come should come to the meeting.
Would be great if the Argus covered the story, but since Bill Randall is so closely linked with them, I'm sure we are unlikely to get the kind of coverage a local free press would give this story.
According to this leaflet parking close to trees is dangerous and likely to cause an accident. Also they quote accident figures but I know first hand that one of the accidents included in the statistic was not near a parked car. It was a child running across the traffic lights outside elm grove school without waiting for them to change.
It's an insult to the collective intelligence of B&H residents that they expect us to swallow such drivel and misquoted statistics.
I thought
says...
11:02pm Sun 2 Oct 11
jpws says...
4:22pm Sun 25 Sep 11
Everyone who can come should come to the meeting.
Would be great if the Argus covered the story, but since Bill Randall is so closely linked with them, I'm sure we are unlikely to get the kind of coverage a local free press would give this story.