Covent Garden London
The heart of London's West End
Resident Parking
Every year the 'Residents Parking Game' takes on new twists and turns. Remember though, the aim of the game will always be to find an empty, legal parking space.
With the development of the 'virtual reality' version in 1998, developments were promised in 1999 mainly because of two initiatives: Clear Zones, and resolutions following the residents meeting with Camden in early 1999.
Clear Zones has not yet been implemented. Based on the first draft of the plans, however, there are some concerns that a totally new element will be introduced to the game. This seems to involve a 'one-way system vortex' in which residents searching for a parking bay will become trapped in streets with no exit, destined to drive forever - or at least until their tanks run dry, which would unfortunately negate the laudable, emission-reduction aims of Clear Zones.
In all seriousness, it is undoubtedly difficult to come up with measures to make it undesirable for through traffic to use Covent Garden whilst enabling efficient circulation in all directions for residents. Current discussions should aim for a compromise which slightly tweaks the current plans, so that we don't have to drive literally miles to get from one side of Covent Garden to the other.
The meeting with Camden in February 1999 was set up by resident car owners in the area who felt that something drastic needed to be done - particularly about the widespread abuse of residents' bays by visitors, and the resultant inability to park. Many residents had received multiple tickets over the previous year due to having to park elsewhere when their bays were hijacked, while the hijackers often received no penalty. The organisers were surprised by the large response to the suggestion of a meeting: over 25% of those leafleted came back, and with strong feelings.
The meeting involved both the Camden officer responsible for parking enforcement, and Apcoa, the current contractor for parking wardens in both Camden and Westminster. Two main resolutions came out of the meeting: the ability to call Apcoa at all times, and clamping. Apcoa made available a mobile telephone number on which residents can reach the duty supervisor out of hours, which means that a unit can be summoned fairly quickly to deal with illegal parking. The number is 07467 253 229. The second decision was a hard one. Ideally vehicles should be removed by a tow truck. However, Camden has small resources for tow trucks at the moment. Two trucks are available for a wide area, and lifting vehicles is a time consuming operation taking about an hour per car including journey time to and from the pound. Clamping is of less immediate use, and indeed immobilises an illegal parker for longer. However, it does act as a deterrent. It was decided to experiment with clamping - on the basis of not more than one clamp per street to maximise deterrent but minimise cars being left for a long time. Although intensity of service has been variable, clamping has definitely helped.
Other changes during the year included a new officer at Camden: Keely Woods. Keely has a lot of experience in the enforcement area and is responsible for the contractors involved in enforcement in the CA-C zone. In her first few months she has already been of help, including the no mean feat of dealing with the rogue demolition merchants after the fire in Shelton Street (the ones so sure that the residents' bays placed conveniently outside the warehouse should be theirs free for a few months). Keely practices what she preaches on Clear Zones too: at a sign of trouble she jumps on her bike and is at the scene by pedal power. We look forward to working with her more.
Next year there will be a new, 'Who wants to be a millionaire?' Millennium version of the residents' parking game. With questions like "Where is there left to park, now that all the bays have been suspended on Shorts Gardens again?" or "What is the best phrase to use to get a delivery van to move out of the last bay in CA-C before your children die of overheating?" you may need some help. You may:
- 'Phone Apcoa. The mobile phone bill will be high, and nobody will actually get moved, but your sad satisfaction will come from a modicum of justice in the form of a yellow ticket sticker or a green clamp within the hour.
- Go 50/50 on parking on a non-res bay. If you're lucky, you may escape, but if you're not it's £40 or more.
- Ask the audience. An audience will undoubtedly have gathered while your vehicle is stopped in the middle of the road and you are causing a blockage as you try to get a miscreant to move out of a residents' bay. Appealing to such an audience is not recommended, however, since no one believes that anyone lives here and a sympathetic ear is rare.
Despite the jokes, things generally improved for residents in CA-C in the second half of 1999. We certainly have a long way to go, but with continuing dialogue with Camden and the enforcers, we hope to see further improvements in 2000.
Amanda Rigby
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