Parking Restrictions on the Meadway MEQ

ORIGINAL EMAIL

Dear Sir/Madam/Department,

I am writing this letter in regards to an ongoing concern, many residents on the Meadway (N14 6NJ) have continuously mentioned to me- and now I feel the council need to take this as a high priority matter.

Residents on the Meadway, have raised concerns with parking for the road. One resident particularly mentioned to me that he did try prior to this attempt to contact the council and implement some solution to this matter, but unfortunately Enfield Council did not respond.

The residents mentioned above are having persistent problems regarding parking outside their houses- whether it be cars blocking drives not only on a day-to-day basis, but on an hourly basis, the problem is worsened at evenings when customers of nearby takeaways and commercial shops on High Street (N14) park again on the Meadway blocking drives with scant regard for residents at the end of the road, and also narrow the road sometimes causing near on head collisions which I did witness myself upon going recently to the Meadway, to see the situation for myself.

As this problem shows no sign of stopping, and current CPZ and road markings have evidently from residents behalf (and concerns) frankly not worked, I think it is only right that we look to collectively revise and look at ways of improving restrictions for the Meadway. Residents and myself agree that in the interests of other residents i.e. residents further down, and not at the top end of the Meadway, it would seem logical and safer to impose double yellow lines from the Meadway commercial buildings at the top end, stretching down further where the problem is most serious. The proposal residents are asking for is beneficial for all parties, as one side of the road will remain clear meaning cars can adequately and at good pace travel down the Meadway, but it also eliminates the parking issue in front of drives. May I add to that point by mentioning residents frustration when coming out of their drives, as visibility is obstructed by tight parked vehicles which don’t respect current parking restrictions in place.

My worry, and the worry of residents is that this problem will eventually lead to a collision, that makes this issue potentially fatal. It is bad enough that cars speed above and abuse the 30mph speed limit in place for the road, that makes crossing and pedestrians frightened, but the issue of residents getting out of their drives safely is a bare necessity.

I hope this letter is taken with the most constructive of intentions- and I hope Enfield council will look and review the parking enforcement on the Meadway.

RESPONSE:

Dear Cllr. Ioannou

Thank you for your email copied below. I am aware that colleagues have corresponded with you on this issue in the recent past. I am sorry to hear that inconsiderate parking remains a cause for concern to you and your neighbours at the High Street end of Meadway.

The crux of your difficulties would seem to be the understandable annoyance with drivers blocking your driveway, notably when making short visits to the nearby stores and takeaways. You worry that poorly parked vehicles may also pose a hindrance with regard to traffic flow on Meadway and present a particular danger to residents accessing driveways due to the restriction on visibility. Your favoured response is the addition of extended double yellow lines on Meadway. While this may seem a straightforward request, the process of drawing up proposals, consulting upon them and making the necessary changes to traffic orders makes the introduction of new yellow lines more costly and burdensome than you might think. Given our limited funds, we are only minded to take forward proposals that offer a clear, justifiable benefit.

Traffic Flow

When visiting and considering this issue previously we have not judged traffic flows on Meadway to be high enough that parking offences, when they do occur, pose a serious hindrance to traffic. In any case, existing restrictions already allow enforcement against vehicles parked at the western end of Meadway across the day. Offences can be reported to our parking team by calling 020 8379 6406.

Road Safety

You will see in the mapping below – on which recorded injury collisions since 2012 are marked with coloured dots – that road safety does not appear to be a notable concern near your home. The one incident nearby seems to have involved a driver moving off from a parking position, but you will note that it dates back to 2012. Combining with the one incident opposite the junction makes this set of collisions no worse than the comparable junction to the east where Bourne Avenue meets The Bourne. It seems likely that the presence of the outlets will continue to generate numerous pulling up and moving off incidents, and that these will likely add to the total number of conflicting movements in the immediate vicinity. But it is not certain that adding further parking restrictions will eradicate this behaviour and nor is the current picture overly worrying. Sites that we have been treating in recent years on accident remedial grounds tend to be those attracting 5 incidents per year. In the vicinity of this junction we appear to have a rate of less than 0.5 per year. The clustering of dots on the busier intersections to the north will explain why the spread of incidents near your home is not high on our list for a detailed study, and I hope that, overall, this proves reassuring news.

Yellow Lines to Aid Driveway Access

It is well understood amongst drivers that parking across a driveway without the occupier’s consent is an offence, and those that persist in doing so, even for short periods, represent an anti-social minority who may be similarly unconcerned about parking on yellow lines. Residents are advised to report such offences on the number above on each occasion. It is not essential for any yellow lines to be present to allow this enforcement to be undertaken. We receive numerous requests from residents across the borough for yellow lines to be added at driveways to reinforce this convention, and to afford them better turning space or visibility on road safety grounds. However, we have no evidence that ‘close parking’ translates to a road safety issue and we do not have funding to provide this service for all who seek it. Instead we ask residents to turn in and out with due caution where space or visibility are limited and to use the enforcement telephone number when blocking occurs.

To ensure fairness, we must therefore reject all such requests alike. For this reason, I am not able to take forward your suggestion for double yellow lines in Meadway. Should we find access problems at the junction with High Street then this may be progressed under our junction protection programme in due course. The key difference being that the latter seeks to ensure turning space for fire engines on public roads, rather than at domestic entrance points.

I hope I have made my thinking clear on this issue. I am sorry it does not provide the response you were hoping for.