Parking Strategy Update

The final, legally-required consultation on a formal Traffic Management Order for new parking permit areas has now gone live.

Jake, Jill and Chris have been working hard with residents, businesses and council officers to try to find a solution to long-held problems around parking in Carshalton. This final consultation is the culmination of that work and they are extremely grateful for the input from residents and businesses throughout the process. The Lib Dem-run Council takes consultation extremely seriously, so has run a very long and detailed process with residents to make sure final proposals at this stage reflect their wishes while balancing the needs of local businesses. Below you can find out about specific permit areas being proposed in this consultation. Please note that this consultation will be running until 4th January 2021.
Three new permit areas are being proposed:

CA1- Covering Wallace Crescent, Wilmot Road and the northern part of Carshalton Park Road

This proposed zone would operate Monday-Friday, 8am-6:30pm. The council have made this decision to split the previously proposed large Talbot Road area zone into two separate permit areas, with varying times. Jake, Jill and Chris believe that this would be a preferred option rather than the previous larger zone, as it takes on board very strong resident feedback in the Wallace Crescent area. Responses and informal feedback in that area strongly preferred a larger window of operation for a permit area, while other roads within the previous proposal were much more mixed. They also believe that this will solve longstanding resident complaints about lack of parking capacity in the area, freeing up space for local residents.

Please note that residents of Rayner Close, while not formally in the zone- as the road in a Private Road- will be eligible for permits.

CA2- Covering Talbot Road, The Square, Carshalton Place, Brookside, Cator Road, and Seymour Road.

This proposed zone would operate Monday-Friday, 9am-11am and 4-6pm only. Following on from the previous decision to split the Talbot Road zone, this part of the previous zone has been proposed to have much narrower hours of operation. This was done due to the complex nature of parking issues in this area and in recognition of the needs of businesses on Carshalton High Street. As such, this proposal is a compromise based on feedback from residents and businesses. Jake, Jill and Chris are committed to helping our High Street and the traders on it and this proposal would allow them greater flexibility while still delivering on our commitment to residents to implement their feedback which requested a permit zone in this area.

CB- Covering the southern part of Carshalton Park Road

This proposed zone would operate Monday-Friday, 8:30am-6:00pm. This zone is focused on eliminating commuter parking around Carshalton Beeches station. This is consistent with the approach taken around other rail stations in the borough.

Jake, Jill and Chris are keen to hear your views. You can respond to the consultation and see more information here. The consultation will run until 4th January 2021.

Parking Strategy Update:

Where We Are Now

Jake, Jill and Chris have spent the past year talking to residents about the parking situation on their road. Late last year, proposals were put forward for roads in half of the ward, stretching from Sutton Grove and Kings Lane in the west, to Mill Lane in the east of the ward, and between Banstead Road in the south and Brookfield Avenue in the north. This was Stage 2 of the Parking Strategy, asking for feedback on proposals ahead of a formal consultation at Stage 3 on final recommendations.

For most roads in this phase of the Parking Strategy, there were no proposed changes- as residents were very clear that they have no major parking issues on their road. This was particularly the case in the Harrow Road/Oxford Road area. In this part of the ward, the only proposed change focused on extending yellow lines on Cambridge Road, near the junction with Carshalton Road to allow greater clearance for buses. Equally, for the areas around Brookfield Avenue, Milton Avenue and Kingsley Avenue no major changes were proposed, except for yellow lining of certain areas at the Milton Avenue/Brookfield Avenue junction to formalise rules that residents said were unofficially being followed. This was proposed here so that enforcement action can be taken in future if those unofficial rules are not followed.

For other parts of the ward, there were several different proposals being put forward to try to deal with issues that residents had raised. These were organised into several different coloured zones.

Green Zone- Paid CPZ.
Roads: Sutton Grove and Waterloo Road
Councillors Recommendation: To NOT go ahead
This proposal was for a full paid Controlled Parking Zone operating from 8am to 6:30pm. This means it would require paid permits for residents to be able to park here. Only residents living in the zone would be eligible for permits to park here.

Based on clear feedback from residents here, Jake, Jill and Chris have recommended to officers that this proposal NOT go forward to the Stage 3 consultation.

Blue Zone Free CPZ.
Roads: Ringstead Road, Carshalton Grove, Byron Avenue, Byron Avenue East, Byron Gardens, Cowper Avenue, Harold Road, Florian Avenue and Orchard Way

Councillors Recommendation: To NOT go ahead

This proposal was for a non-permit parking scheme involving marked bays and single yellow lines. The single yellow lines would have one hour of operation, outside which anyone could park on those lines. Permits would not be required to park in the marked bays at any time. Based on firm feedback from residents in this area, Jake, Jill and Chris have recommended to officers that this proposal NOT go forward to the Stage 3 consultation.

Yellow Zone Paid CPZ
Roads: Rossdale, Alma Road, Shorts Road, Colston Avenue, West Street, West Street Lane, North Street, Rochester Road, Mill Lane, Station Road, Palmerston Road, Gurney Road, Grove Mill Place and Papermill Close

Councillors Recommendation: Alter proposals from a CPZ to a PPA in the Mill Lane area up to West Street for Stage 3 and for the proposal to NOT go ahead on Colston Avenue, Rossdale, Alma Road and Shorts Road.

This proposal was for a full Controlled Parking Zone in the roads listed from 8am to 6:30pm. This means it would require paid permits for residents to be able to park here. Only residents living in the zone would be eligible for permits to park here.

The feedback to Jake, Jill and Chris showed support for this proposal was very mixed, with some roads clearly wanting it and others clearly not wanting it. It also contains roads where, upon reflection, a paid CPZ would not adequately deal with the parking issues presented. This is particularly true in Colston Avenue, Rossdale, Alma Road and Shorts Road. In this area, Jake, Jill and Chris have asked that the proposals be scaled back and changed. We have recommended that the scheme not go ahead on Colston Avenue, Rossdale, Alma Road and Shorts Road for that reason.

Jake, Jill and Chris have spent several months speaking to residents in the Mill Lane area where feedback has been very divided. We took concerns from those who were opposed to the proposal back to Council officers- who have suggested that instead of a Controlled Parking Zone, a Parking Permit Area go forward to Stage 3. This is very different to the CPZ proposal as it is much more time limited- focusing on a two hour period of operation and would not lead to yellow lines being placed in front of dropped kerbs, which was a major cause for concern on Mill Lane. Speaking to residents in the Mill Lane area, Jake, Jill and Chris have found substantial support for this compromise solution and will therefore be recommending it go forward to Stage 3. This new proposed Permit Parking Area would cover roads from West Street to Mill Lane, including the roads coming off of Mill Lane.