Forum Topic

Anti-social parking Chiswick Back Common

This Sunday around lunchtime I was walking along Chiswick Back Common towards Turnham Green Terrace when I came across some really bad examples of poor parking. There were numerous cars on the pavement on the side with the double yellow lines and some really inconsiderate people had blocked the end of the footpath that cross the common towards the top of Elliot Road forcing people with pushchairs to squeeze through a narrow gap across mud.This left only room for one vehicle to pass and so drivers were getting stuck. Because of the bend they had often travelled quite a distance and face a tricky reverse back to allow other cars through.This did not seem to be related to activity at the Rocks Lane Sports Centre which appeared to be very quiet at the time.

Anita Blake ● 526d32 Comments

It will be interesting to see this Sunday how things shake out. People may not be aware that the Sainsbury's car park is now free with no purchase required for two hours so available parking bays may be scarce. I'll be on the High Road doing last minute panic buys but luckily, can walk there.

Alison Howard ● 515d

Janice is probably right about the lack of vans meaning they weren't stall holders vehicles although many of the stalls did seem to have quite a small amount of stock that could have been brought in a car. On balance I think there may have been another event somewhere nearby that led to the issues.

Anita Blake ● 519d

Any tell tale signs of cheese littering the gutter or nearby road and pavements?!

Peter Evans ● 520d

I doubt it's stall holders they would probably be driving vans.

Janice Evans ● 520d

I'm not in town this weekend and otherwise would have checked if the problem reoccurred. If anyone passes along Chiswick Common Lane could they say if the issues are happening again today (Sunday 17th)?

Anita Blake ● 520d

No I did not say you are glib. I said that your statement was glib and then explained to you why. It doesn’t surprise me that you are unwilling to try to counter the substance of my statement as it is quite obviously nonchalant and superficial to say that Hounslow Council should spend years and many millions of pounds on highly complex engineering projects that would likely create much worse problems to solve the problem of some people parking badly around Chiswick Common on Sundays. It’s a particularly strong example of the definition of glib.

Paul Campbell ● 522d

You say my comments are patronising and then proceed, in the same breath, to say I'm glib. Sorry Paul, but I'm not interested in being insulted so I'll let you play on your own.

Francis Sheehan ● 522d

Even Paul Campbell realises underground parking is hugely expensive. He spoils his post be referring to motorists ignoring rules, when everyone knows cyclist's win that prize hands down

Maggie Dodge ● 522d

I'll ignore your patronising comments. I am pointing out how glib your statement is that Hounslow should allocate budget to build expensive underground multi-storey car parks in Chiswick without considering the cost, disruption and dubious merits of inducing more cars into the centre of Chiswick when the trend is to do precisely the opposite. In my opinion it is an ill-considered idea that has no legs.The answer to the OP's comments is not to provide much more parking in Chiswick. It is to reduce it and make it more costly and enforce the rules on drivers who ignore them.

Paul Campbell ● 522d

[I just noticed that I couldn't find my post so re-wrote it, hence it's posted twice... apologies].Paul, my house already has a car park underneath (and, no, I don't have a parking bay allocated and, no I don't have a car. Yes, it doesn't concern me).As for your other questions, may I suggest you chill out a little bit? I know you have your little antagonists and you guys enjoy attacking each other, but in all honesty I'm not part of that clique and don't have any intention to.What I'm saying is that other parts of Hounslow borough have multi-storey car parks. Brentford has one - ugly as hell, but there it is - and at least two exist in Hounslow proper. I'd build it underneath Sainsbury's, so that the surface car park can be turned into homes, a park, a big screen where the Giro or Cyclocross can be shown, or all three. Removing the cars littering all those teeny tiny streets in the surrounding areas would enable two cars to actually pass through them, and thus improve flow.

Francis Sheehan ● 522d

Anywhere. A multi-storey car park doesn't necessarily need to be above ground.Then we could get rid of a lot of surface parking, with obvious exceptions for the disabled and deliveries. It'd make streets a lot more spacious without those hunks of metal in the way.We could even pedestrianise something!

Francis Sheehan ● 522d

I'll never forget the sting at the car park opposite Acton Baths one day.  They drove in - all the doors of the car opened - and they all got out and spread out making their way around all the cars in the car park before any of the parents with swimmers could get back to their cars and make a getaway.

Philippa Bond ● 522d

Anywhere? Great give me one location then. Under your house maybe? Or under Chiswick Common or Turnham Green? Once you have chosen your location can you explain to me the cost of your multi-storey underground car park and the scale and scope of the engineering works and their impact? And then maybe how this will help with traffic congestion in Chiswick.

Paul Campbell ● 523d

Anywhere. There are plenty of examples of underground car parks all around the world. Then surface parking can be removed.

Francis Sheehan ● 523d

To be fair to who? The council or the enforcement company?What used to happen (on Bank Holidays) was that the parking on single yellow lines was 'allowed' to build up throughout the morning and then around 11am loads of CEOs would suddenly appear and ticket all the cars that had parked on CHR.Nothing to do with reducing illegal parking and everything to do with generating fines.The way this was done was clearly not fit for purpose.I saw this happen on a several bank holidays.

Andrew Jones ● 523d

To be fair to them, the nature of the contracts the council has with the enforcement companies probably gives them relatively little influence in the way that they operate. They are private companies and revenue maximisation will be their only priority.Of course you could say that the council could negotiate tighter agreements with the sub-contractors but even with the relatively lax arrangement with Serco, they couldn't make it profitable.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 523d

Hounslow used to act in a very cynical manner when it came to enforcing parking restrictions on Bank Holidays ... the way the enforcement happened appeared (to me) to be based on revenue (from fines) maximisation rather than illegal parking minimisation.

Andrew Jones ● 523d

Hounslow did have a plan to impose Sunday parking charges in Chiswick some years ago I think. It obviously would have caused an angry reaction from local businesses and churches but seems to have been quietly shelved.I don't think any local pushback would have particularly bothered the council but the revenue potential of the move may have been reduced. There are obviously ongoing problems with the parking contract and getting attendants to work on Sundays would have been difficult.The extra factor is the markets which the council seems keen to encourage and both attendees and stallholders will value free parking. They appear to be contributing to the issues currently seen on Chiswick Common Road. For the stallholders, the normal two hour restrictions would be very impractical. Also Sunday parking would mean lost potential revenue for the council from the car park which might change the balance when it comes to handing out trading licences.For all of the above reasons, I don't think Sunday restrictions are on the agenda. However, the problem, as some have already mentioned, is not lack of restrictions but lack of enforcement. Sunday is the day when you are always much more likely to see people parked across dropped kerbs or on double yellow lines. This is because the parking attendants are rarely if ever seen on Sunday and these inconsiderate people know that. Hounslow Council could solve this issue immediately by enforcing restrictions not based on revenue maximisation but on the level of public nuisance caused by bad parking.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 523d

Which would mean that anyone coming to visit friends/relatives near CHR would have to pay to park, when currently they don't.

Andrew Jones ● 523d

I’ve always thought that, if the shops on CHR are as open on a Sunday as they are for the rest of the week, then the parking restrictions and enforcement should be the same.

Peter Evans ● 523d

Although there is a huge problem with leaves in the area particularly on Fishers Lane at the moment, this wasn't a contributory factor. People parking on the pavement were aware what they were doing was illegal. The obstruction of the footway near the junction by Elliot Road was not down to any confusion about restrictions just a basic lack of consideration.The problem seems to be arising due to lack of enforcement on a Sunday. I have read that Hounslow have recently appointed a new parking contractor and perhaps they aren't bothering to patrol at the weekends. If they did, they'd have rich pickings.

Anita Blake ● 523d

Maybe the road markings were obscured by leaves, giving people an excuse to park anywhere.

Peter Evans ● 524d

Could I just point out that daughters as well as sons take part in sporting activities? When I was there this Sunday there was no rugby and football on the common and the Rocks Lane facility didn't seem busy as you would expect at that time in the morning. It is the case that the area can be heavily parked in the evenings by people going to Rocks Lane and the parking isn't always exemplary but what I observed on Sunday was on a different scale.

Alison Howard ● 524d

Where do you propose to site your multi-storey car park for Chiswick?

Paul Campbell ● 524d

It’s not just the padel and 5-a-side court. On weekends there are mini-rugby and mini-football lessons on the green (I’ve also seen them on weekday evenings, with portable lamps) and obviously some parents deem it necessary to drive their sons up to where practice is held. Whenever that happens, cars will be littered anywhere.Hounslow centre has a pedestrian-only high road and a handful of multi-storey car parks. I wonder why our car-friendly Councillors have never asked for the latter…

Francis Sheehan ● 524d

Where else would they be able to park with all that they bring? Didnt think that through maybe

Maggie Dodge ● 525d

It may be the stall holders rather than the people at the market as I passed there on Sunday a couple of hours before lunch and it was unusually congested.

Alison Howard ● 525d

That did occur to me at the time but I had just come up from the High Road and the market seemed quite sparsely attended. It was quite a dismal day. I've not heard people complaining about this problem on other market Sundays when there are more people attending.

Anita Blake ● 525d

Its people coming to the antiques market. Hope ive dodge-d the sunday car park moan

Julian Pavey ● 525d

As I said, the Rocks Lane facility didn't seem to be the cause and generally when there is heavy parking at this spot due to football it would be in the evening. I've never seen parking as bad in this location before.

Anita Blake ● 525d

It’s almost a constant, especially when kids are playing football in the park.

Francis Sheehan ● 525d

I noticed this also. It may have been enabled by a lack of enforcement due to the hand over of the council contract although I don't recall ever seeing traffic wardens out on a Sunday that much before.

Diane Brown ● 526d