Grenside Road school parking

Parking and turning on private land, obstructing residents

Residents of Grenside Road face school traffic and parking issues which need help from Surrey Highways.
Grenside Road is a cul de sac with no turning space, so things can get fraught when large numbers of parents park up on the pavement and neighbouring land, wait with engines running, then try to turn around and drive out.

The private access to residents’ parking spaces and lock up garages is often obstructed by parents parking and manoeuvring and trying to turn around to depart from Grenside Road.

The school’s use of the Grenside Road gates as a secondary entrance is in line with Surrey’s policy of multiple access points. But the road lacks the parking controls expected around a school entrance. There are still no zigzags or special parking restrictions around this entrance, despite the optimistic comments made by an outgoing councillor, before last year’s Surrey County County local elections, about Surrey making safety improvements in Grenside Road.

St George’s Junior School is trying to make sure parents are considerate, but official parking restrictions from Surrey would allow traffic wardens to enforce better behaviour. PPDRA will continue to draw this to the attention of the new County Councillor, Tim Oliver. Action is needed to improve a situation residents find unacceptable.

Meeting with Surrey County Councillor Tim Oliver, 20 Sept 2017

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Issues that matter for Weybridge residents were the topic of a useful meeting between local residents’ groups and the Surrey County Councillor for Weybridge, on 20 September.

Clr Tim Oliver met with representatives of local residents groups in Weybridge, including the Weybridge Society, Portmore Park & District RA and Triangle Residents.

In advance of the meeting, PPDRA circulated a list of Surrey-related things that concern residents of our part of north Weybridge. Most of these were covered constructively in the meeting.

Below we list the PPDRA issues, plus Tim Oliver’s agenda. Summary of some key points covered in discussion to follow.

Summary of PPDRA issues/questions for Weybridge Surrey County Councillor – September 2017

1/ Parking concerns in north Weybridge

Need for effective strategic planning and action on parking (Weybridge-wide, recognising the specific issues of Portmore Park & district, including residents of our increasingly densely populated residential roads near the High Street where most households have no off-street parking, plus shoppers and workers and school runs)
Local reactions to the recent Parking Review, especially Dorchester & Gascoigne Road issues, and lack of action on Grenside Road following our meeting with Margaret Hicks

2/ Traffic flows and speeds in north Weybridge

Keeping speeds low in residential roads
Extending the 20mph limit to the east of Thames Street: Grotto Road, Monument Road etc (region of St James’ School & surrounding residential roads; additional traffic calming, particularly for Grotto & Greenlands Roads?)
Preventing Portmore Park Road / Thames St / Walton Lane becoming a faster & more heavily used rat run
Positive visibility of roundels in existing 20 zone (a few more needed, CIL funding possibility? likewise interactive signs?)
Request for up-to-date figures on traffic flows in Walton Lane/Thames Street and PPR

3/ Any SCC plans to reduce the overall negative impact of traffic on Weybridge?

4/ Safer cycle routes

SCC plans for improving safety of cycling Weybridge (given big spend in other places, and statements of previous Weybridge councillors)?
Particular issue cycling between PPR and Station/Heathside School at Balfour Road and Church Street.

5/ Pavements

Progress of town centre pavement / pedestrian area plans?
Dangerous unevenness on pavements and gradients on drop kerbs (and no way of reporting gradients online)
Continuing issue of missing pavement on one side of Grotto Road, approaching the junction of Thames Street (a crossover of two school runs, with many pedestrians; blind corner for traffic exiting Grotto Road)

6/ Public Footpaths

Excellent to have Broadwater Path FP40!
Gradients/difficult access to parts of FP36 (Grenside Road to River Thames)
Dual use of FP20 (PPR to Minorca) ?
Issues of horse riders on Desborough Island, including churning its unsurfaced perimeter footpath

7/ Road surfaces / potholes

Status of resurfacing vs patching?
Issues of recurrent break-up at high use turning areas (e.g. Elmgrove Road outside Waitrose car park) and bends (e.g. PPR either side ode of traffic islands)
Recurrent dangerous break-up & subsidence around drains (where cyclists have to ride – e.g. in Thames Street))

8/ Impacted gullies causing recurrent road flooding

g. the end of PPR by Balfour Road; Walton Lane (or is that an EBC culvert issue by the canoe club?)

9/ Weybridge Community Hospital

Transport to temporary Walton location (new enhanced bus timetables – is SCC monitoring need /demand/ take–up?)
Rebuilding plans (essential not to lose the local community facility!!!)
Medium term plans?

10/ Town centre improvement initiatives

Weybridge Library building – current plans?
Status of thinking on part-pedestrianisation, e.g. weekend/market day closures at end of Baker Street?
Other positive SCC thinking?

11/ Future housing plans – SCC involvement?

What is the SCC role in the consultation on future housing needs (e.g. in matching plans to infrastructure & community character; some local concerns about the impact of building multiple flats – with transient rentals – on the character of a family residential area)

12/ Possibilities for SCC supporting community & voluntary involvement?

Helping residents take pride in our locality, e.g. through supporting voluntary minor clearing work along public footpaths.

Happily, the PPDRA issues overlapped considerably with the agenda suggested by Tim Oliver:

AGENDA

Introductions

Purpose of the meeting

Library proposals/ walk in centre
Parking review
Park & ride/ Traffic congestion
Streetscape/ High street regeneration
Brooklands business park accessibility
Baker street
War memorial lighting
Road closures information
Road surfaces
Road safety

Future meetings

Local concern at Parking Review recommendations

The long awaited Weybridge Parking Review recommendations have received mixed reactions locally, and disappointment at what was not covered. Here we give an overview of the parking issues, and draft reactions from PPDRA to the recommendations.

When the Surrey County Council parking team presented its Weybridge Parking Review report of recommendations, and drawings to the Elmbridge local committee at its meeting of 27 June for initial approval, councillors at the meeting reported a lot of concern from local residents

SCC reports that “As a result of concerns expressed by committee members, we are currently considering comments received in response to the publication of these proposals, before deciding on what schemes should be put forward to formal advertisement. We are still aiming to advertise these proposals in September.”

At a public meeting on 14 July organised by Cllr Andrew Davis, PPDRA Chair Miles Macleod was invited to attempt an impartial non-political introduction.

Here are the notes from that introduction:

Weybridge Parking Review – An Introduction from PPDRA

Parking is an increasingly serious problem for our town. Weybridge needs:

Reliable parking for residents
Convenient parking for shoppers & visitors
Affordable parking for workers

The issue is that demand for parking spaces exceeds supply.

Weybridge has a particular problem in roads where Victorian and Edwardian homes have no off-street parking, so residents have to find spaces on-street, in competition with workers and shoppers unless there is a CPZ in their road.

Over the years this has got worse, with:

more cars,
new dwellings without private parking (which Government planning law forces Councils to permit near town centres)
progressively more yellow lines and on-street restrictions which reduce overall capacity

Many residents were pleased when Surrey announced a strategic review, which would try to do something about that.

Those who recalled the last strategic review, some 8 years ago, hoped it would be nothing like that – a plan which caused an outcry because it would have reduced parking capacity dramatically in parts of North Weybridge causing displacement to neighbouring areas.

PPDRA welcomed the new review’s aims. Our view has long been that:

residents in individual roads should be consulted on CPZs, within an overall strategy and consultation with wider community
the Councils — Surrey & Elmbridge — should work together to increase capacity
something major is needed to address the shortage of off-street parking in Weybridge

What was our reaction on seeing the Review recommendations? Well, in some ways very disappointed
– where is the strategic thinking? What about off-street parking? And why were some roads entirely ignored?

But it does have some positive points, in some of the changes proposed.

PPDRA DRAFT reactions to the Weybridge Parking Review 2016 report of recommendations

It has some good points:

Trying to address some important parking issues, and consulting residents of the most immediately affected roads – particularly those close to the High Street, with limited private off-street parking (where residents rely on being able to park on-street)
Proposing CPZ changes/extension based on the responses of residents of those roads
Proposing something to help control early evening on-street parking near the town centre (by extending restrictions to 8pm)
Trying to do something to increase daytime short-stay shopper parking (by allowing it in some sections of CPZ roads)
Addressing known safety issues around various junctions

And bad points:

LONG TERM

Failing to take a strategic view of Weybridge parking needs, and on-street vs off-street capacity
Particularly failing to address the issue of public off-street parking shortage

IMMEDIATE

Ignoring roads east of Thames Street (e.g. Grenside Rd, Grotto Road, West Palace Gardens, Old Palace Road)
Not assessing the impact of displacement parking from CPZs
Not being effective enough in increasing short-stay shopper daytime parking capacity (e.g. Oakdale Road daytime spaces count)
Doing nothing to assist long-stay worker parking

There is a fair overlap between our views and the views from the Weybridge Society, but where we differ is that PPDRA does not think that all changes should be put on hold while the strategic issues are sorted out – there is a parking crisis in some roads near the High Street, which needs urgent action.

Weybridge Parking Review – further local consultation

Residents of some roads in the area between Weybridge High Street and Portmore Park Road have been asked for further views on parking restrictions in their roads. PPDRA is pleased to see that Surrey is consulting residents in these roads, as this is an area of particular parking stress, with very limited private off street parking and a high demand for spaces from shoppers and (where restrictions allow) workers.

PPDRA’s view has long been that Surrey should listen to the needs of residents of particular roads about restrictions in their road. We also believe that Weybridge needs more off-street parking, although this review does not appear to be addressing that strongly (but we await the report).

We understand that an aim of the Surrey County Council Parking Team in this review is to ensure that residents are able to park near their home, while also trying to allow the possibility of some short term parking for shoppers at times of day when spaces are available — overall seeking to reduce unnecessary restrictions so more on-street parking spaces are freed up.

There is an opportunity to give views online via the SCC website until 3 June via the Weybridge Parking Review page, which lists the specific roads they are interested in. The wording does not make it clear how SCC will process the views submitted by people who live in other roads.

The survey asks where you live, and how you find parking in your road. Then it asks about parking in Cedar Road, Elmgrove Road, Holstein Avenue and Oakdale Road, saying
The feedback we’ve had shows that currently, a lot of the roads with existing residents’ bays are not being fully occupied during the day, so we’re thinking of changing some or all of them from the existing ‘Monday – Saturday, 9am – 6pm, permit holders only’. Please let us know what you think about the following options.

It offers various options. The survey subsequently asks for views on introducing residents’ parking in other nearby roads — Dorchester Road, The Crescent, Gascgoine Road, Mount Pleasant, and St Albans Avenue — that do not currently have residents’ parking schemes, and whether you are a resident of one of those roads. It also has a general question about views on parking in our area.

Overall, it seems thoughtfully put together, and focused on specific local needs.

We understand that a report is due to be presented at the 27 June SCC Elmbridge Local Committee meeting. This is scheduled for 4pm on 27 June 2016, in the Council Chamber at Elmbridge Civic Centre, Esher.

An agenda and copies of reports should be available a week before the meeting, on the SCC website Elmbridge Local Committee page

Weybridge Parking Review – PPDRA Response

On 17 January 2016, PPDRA sent the following to the Surrey Highways Parking Strategy & Implementation Team. It draws on extensive local discussion by our committee, input from residents at meetings and via a survey, and discussions with local groups.

PPDRA submission to SCC Weybridge Parking Review

Portmore Park & District Residents Association (PPDRA) recognises that Weybridge needs adequate parking for residents, shoppers, visitors and workers, if our town is to thrive. We also know that this is a difficult balance to achieve.

The PPDRA committee broadly welcomes the principle of reducing parking restrictions to help increase capacity, where that is possible and desirable, so long as

a good balance of priorities is achieved (especially the balance between parking for residents, shoppers and workers)
safety is kept as a prime consideration.

We welcome the principle of consulting residents of individual roads about the specific needs of their road, especially where residents are being displaced from limited parking spaces in their own road.

PPDRA believes there is a very strong need for more public off-street parking, priced more affordably, and convenient for Weybridge town centre. This is a view which has been widely expressed by local residents in our community meetings and surveys. Cheap or free short stay parking in particular could help the town centre thrive. Affordable long stay off-street parking is also much needed, within reasonable walking distance.

We recognise that allowing on-street parking can have positive outcomes beyond a simple increase in parking capacity, especially in potential rat runs. Traffic speeds in our local residential roads are a major issue. Parked cars can be a positive natural form of traffic calming: for example, Portmore Park Road and Thames Street are unclassified residential roads which without parked cars might become high speed rat runs for through traffic.

Thames Street and Portmore Park Road include schools and a church, which have different parking needs and impacts on the community, meriting additional thought about how best to enable the required mainly short stay parking nearby. PPDRA has met with St George’s Junior School 3 times a year since 2002, liaising on issues including how best to manage school run drop off and pick up parking. We have also discussed parking issues with representatives of Christ The Prince of Peace church and other local groups. We note that Thames Street has recently faced issues of excessive obstruction caused by inconsiderate parking at the upper end between the junction with Grotto Road and Monument Green.

The most serious parking issues locally arise close to Weybridge High Street. The Portmore Park and District area of north Weybridge has a fair density of mainly Victorian homes with no off-street parking. The lack of private off-street parking is a particular issue in roads adjacent to the High Street, where shoppers and town centre workers look to park their cars. The result has been that residents of these roads, returning from a school run or shopping journey, risk finding nowhere to park within walking distance of their home. Hence many living in these roads favour residents’ parking schemes.

PPDRA has long supported the principle that Surrey County Council should consult residents of individual roads about specific residents’ parking schemes for their road.

The PPDRA committee also recognises the need to permit short term shopper and visitor parking in such roads, with a good level of churn, so long as it allows for the needed level of daytime residents’ parking. It is not good to see ‘residents only’ parking zones with few parked cars in daytime, when shoppers can find nowhere to park and when local shops are in need of footfall.

Further from the High Street, many homes in Portmore Park & District have private off-street parking. For roads where there is no issue of residents being displaced from essential on-street parking, as a general principle the majority of the PPDRA committee would favour only minimal restrictions, simply where safety issues demand double yellow lines on dangerous corners. However, we appreciate that there is concern among residents in some roads (particularly Wey Road and Round Oak Road) about potential displacement of parking into their roads if CPZs are introduced elsewhere, and we feel this issue needs careful consideration by Surrey.

We are aware of specific issues in Radnor and Glencoe Roads where there is a very high density of houses and almost no off-street parking, and Church Walk which has very limited parking. Some residents of these and other roads rely on their parking being able to overflow into on-street parking in Portmore Park Road.

PPDRA would be happy to contribute further on any way possible to help support Surrey County Council (and Elmbridge Borough Council) in finding ways to achieve adequate parking for Weybridge residents, shoppers, visitors and workers.

OPINION: Parking in Weybridge

Parking is a hot topic for our part of Weybridge. Many residents and traders feel there are simply not enough spaces near the town centre. Limited availability of off-street parking is a major factor, and PPDRA and others have been pressing for improvements. What should Elmbridge Borough Council be doing?
GUEST OPINION: The first in a series of guest opinion pieces. The following article expresses the views of the author, and does not necessarily reflect the views of PPDRA. Responses are welcome. Interested in contributing an opinion piece? Find out more…

An opinion by Mike O’Sullivan, Wey Road resident and PPDRA Committee Member.

Surrey CC seems to be getting its act together; will Elmbridge BC join the drama any time soon?

Most of us realise that public parking in Weybridge, in fact throughout the whole of the Elmbridge borough, comes in two forms; “on-street” i.e. on roads, and “off-street” i.e. in public car parks. Perhaps, less well-known is that each element is administered by a different local authority.

As the principal highways authority, Surrey County Council (SCC) duties broadly concern the free flow of traffic. Accordingly, it is tasked with the responsibility for the on-street parking element, including the imposition of restrictions such as yellow lines, time limits etc., whilst it falls upon Elmbridge Borough Council (EBC) to provide and manage off-street space in the form of public car parks. EBC also, confusingly, is subcontracted to enforce any restriction imposed by SCC.

Technically, parking on any publicly-maintained highway is not permitted. However, on such roads where no restriction exists, it is “tolerated” by the powers that be, and it is this on-street element that has continued to be such an emotive and unresolved issue in Weybridge for many years, with still no sign of improvement for the foreseeable future.

Until now, SCC has carried out an annual review of on-street parking through its consideration of the multitude of applications it has received throughout the previous 12 months from residents and/or resident organisations for restrictions to be imposed; either to reduce highway hazards, impose time restrictions, or facilitate resident parking within a particular road or roads.

Without going here into the detail of the decision-making process for these applications, which process has its own, arguable imperfections, SCC has recently recognised that this piecemeal approach has often merely shifted a particular problem from one area or road to another. [See Editor’s note 1*]

It is therefore hoped that the holistic, Borough-wide review procedure recently announced by SCC and approved by EBC (mentioned in the latest PPDRA Newsletter, and also to be found elsewhere on this website) will lead to an improvement in the status quo. (Newer residents may be interested to learn that an attempt was made by SCC to introduce a Controlled Parking Zone throughout North Weybridge in 2008, but a flawed consultation process, together with the inability of residents to reach a consensus on the various measures suggested, led to it remaining unresolved and was eventually dropped). [See Editor’s note 2**]

Although attempts to improve on-street parking can only be viewed as a sticking plaster over a widening wound, I believe SCC should be credited as seemingly being the only one of the two authorities in the mix that is actually doing something…anything, about alleviating the present, dire situation. However, it cannot be expected that “on-street” management by SCC alone will solve EBC “off-street” inadequacy.

The elephant in the room for me – and I believe for many others – is Elmbridge Borough Council. A North Weybridge Ward Councillor recently advised PPDRA that he was not aware of any active plan within that Council to increase public off-street parking in Weybridge. From my viewpoint as a concerned resident, I have seen no interest in, nor action, plan or policy being shown by Elmbridge Borough Council towards its responsibility to provide sufficient off-street space so desperately needed to accommodate the growing volume of long-term/commuter parking, and so help alleviate the present on-street problem.

Is it too simple to link this “off-street” inaction with the root cause of the present “on-street” parking chaos in our town? I personally don’t think so, yet as far as I can see EBC continues to leave SCC to manage the issue as best it can with minimal assistance.

I think it is about time that Elmbridge BC got its act together on this, and I intend to assist PPDRA on behalf of its local residents to lobby for some positive action. Personally, I do not think our Borough Council can simply be allowed to remain sitting on its hands and appearing to ignore its responsibilities here, whilst raking in car parking charges (did you know that they’re going up again in April?) and expect our local streets to absorb the overflow and inconvenience.

Should this article resonate with you, you might wish to contact the Elmbridge Councillor responsible for Highways and Transport at: dmitchell@elmbridge.gov.uk, let PPDRA have your suggestions for a solution at contactus@portmore.org.uk and take a topical opportunity to question your local candidate(s) in the run-up to the General & Local Elections.

Mike O’Sullivan

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*Editor’s note 1: Local on-street parking restrictions, and the proposed new Elmbridge strategic parking review, are agreed by the Surrey County Council (Elmbridge) Local Committee, which is made up of SCC members and Elmbridge Borough Councillors.

**Editor’s note 2: Along with many local residents, PPDRA opposed Surrey County Council’s 2008-9 proposed North Weybridge CPZ scheme (which was offered as a take-it-or-leave-it package), since it would have imposed a significant reduction in the overall total of on-street parking spaces – leaving some residents with simply nowhere to park – with new restrictions in almost every road, including putting yellow lines along the whole length of Portmore Park Road, which residents feared would also increase rat-run traffic flow and speed. In SCC’s consultation on their 2008-9 CPZ scheme, nearly three quarters of all responses from North Weybridge residents were negative about the scheme proposed by Surrey. However, the consultation failed to ask what it was that people opposed. Were they against the specific CPZ scheme that Surrey proposed? And if so, why? Which aspects of it? Or were they against the principle of making a large part of North Weybridge a Controlled Parking Zone?

PPDRA recognises that there are strongly felt needs for parking control in some roads adjacent to the High Street, and believes that the forthcoming review is an opportunity for Surrey to conduct a more effective consultation, and arrive at a scheme which meets the needs of our local community – a scheme which makes much better use of available on-street parking space than the 2008 proposals.

In the Editor’s view, any on-street parking review must be properly coordinated with a review of off-street parking needs and provision – something that was attempted in a joint initiative by Elmbridge Borough and Surrey County Councils in 2008 when they commissioned consultants to produce a draft Elmbridge Parking Management Strategy, covering the whole of the borough. The draft was commented on in detail by EBC councillors via a Parking Management Strategy Task Group. There are several aspects of this which are relevant to the new proposed review, so PPDRA intends to put more about this on our website in the coming weeks.

Weybridge parking review – hope on hold?

People hoping for early action on chronic parking issues which afflict some roads in Weybridge may be disappointed at new plans from Surrey. The idea is sound – a strategic parking review looking at needs as well as restrictions, seeking to free up spaces – but the timing and interim arrangements have left some residents feeling badly let down.

Despite previous talk of Weybridge getting an early review, we have been moved down the queue, behind Cobham. That may mean waiting until 2017 for changes.

Frozen out for now?
Until after the review, Surrey propose not to act on local parking issues unless there is an ‘irrefutable serious road safety implication’. The current system for making numerous changes yearly – to deal with specific local problems soon after they arise – will cease. This would mean proposals to deal with pressing parking issues in Dorchester Road and near the top of Thames Street being left in limbo.

So where does that leave Dorchester Road residents who were given hope of early action when they took a petition to Surrey (see PETITION RESPONSE DORCHESTER ROAD. WEYBRIDGE FOR INFORMATION)? They would love to know.

Consultation
More positively, the SCC ELMBRIDGE PARKING STRATEGY EXECUTIVE FUNCTION REPORT — presented to the Surrey County Council Local Committee on 23 February 2015 — proposes a high level of consultation, using an external consultant to engage with local groups. PPDRA is determined to ensure that local Weybridge views get a good hearing.

There is a strong feeling locally that there is an overall shortage of parking in Weybridge town centre, and better collaboration is needed between Surrey County Council (responsible for on-street parking), Elmbridge Borough Council (responsible for some off-street parking) and businesses (also responsible for some off-street parking).

Surrey County Council Proposals

So what has Surrey proposed? Well, the SCC Elmbridge Parking Strategy Executive Function report prepared by Rikki Hill has a promising start:

Reasons for Recommendations. In the past, reviews of parking have tended to be reactive in nature and concentrated on where parking was not desirable and so should be controlled or restricted. A more strategic approach would allow us to also consider where parking is needed and how those parking needs may be met.

But the analysis suggests a longer than anticipated wait for action on local issues:

2.8 Adopting this new more holistic approach to reviewing parking will mean that it will not be possible to review the whole of Elmbridge at the same time. We would therefore need to review each area within the borough on a rolling programme and it would make sense to start with the Cobham area (including Stoke D’Abernon and Oxshott) as the Cobham Chamber of Commerce have already collected a considerable amount of information about the needs of local businesses and the amount of existing private off street parking spaces.

2.9 Taking into account the number of possible problems that have been brought to our attention in the last couple of years, we should then look at Weybridge, followed by the Moleseys and the Dittons, then Esher, Claygate and Hinchley Wood. We should finish with Walton & Hersham, as this is where there has most recently been a comprehensive review.

2.10 The aim would be to complete the reviews in all the areas within the next three financial years after which we would review our strategy and consider whether to start the process again or adopt a new approach.

2.11 As there may still be parking issues that arise outside of the above programme, where there is an irrefutable serious road safety implication, we would want to continue with a smaller version of the current review system to deal with these.

The parking issue in Dorchester Road probably doesn’t have “an irrefutable serious road safety implication”. A case might be made for safety improvements at the top of Thames Street, but our previous experience of arguing for restrictions on safety grounds — at the end of Grotto Road — was that Surrey County Council really wanted evidence of someone being seriously injured (“anyone can say a road is dangerous, but we need to see evidence”).

The root of the issue north of Weybridge High Street is that parking by non-residents has been squeezed out of adjacent roads by restrictions (including residents-only parking). So Dorchester Road and the top of Thames Street have become the nearest accessible places for town centre workers looking for spaces, leaving some residents with nowhere to park. And now Weybridge has a new supermarket with no on-site staff parking spaces.