Tag: Lewisham

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The Mystery of the Double Yellow Lines and the Cycle Path

Residents in Leyland Road and Upwood Road, Lee, were perplexed when double yellow lines and a cycle-lane suddenly appeared on their doorsteps.

They initially feared that Lewisham Council had started to implement the Sustainable Streets proposals even though the final consultation stage hasn’t yet been held.

It turns out the Council was able to do it without a consultation and will now arrange what they call “a retrospective traffic order” – get permission after the work has been carried out.

Julian Hawkins, who lives in Leyland Road, told the Lee Manor Society he queried the new restrictions with Lewisham, saying ” The plans for the CPZ show a resident parking bay outside my house, and the subsequent notice about charging for the free parking bays did not mention any change except for levying the charges.”

He received this reply from the Senior Engineer: “The double yellows were installed as part of the cycle contraflow scheme and, as this is an advisory scheme, the installation of the scheme did not require statutory consultation. 

“The double yellow lines were proposed there to allow a clear unobstructed area of the carriageway for cyclists to enter Leyland Road from Upwood Road. The no-waiting at any time (double yellow lines) restrictions will have a retrospective traffic order created for them.”

Julian said: “I have mixed feelings about the change.  I am a cyclist and support reasonable schemes encourage responsible cycling, but am also concerned about dangerous cyclists. I just saw one on an electric bike doing well over 30 mph along Upwood Road earlier this evening, and I think this would be even more dangerous in Leyland Road.

“Also, it is part of a series of parking restrictions which seem likely to hit many ordinary people hard, starting with parents dropping off and collecting from Colfe’s Junior, and continuing with elderly and disabled people.”

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Lewisham Received 4,000 Responses on Parking Restriction Proposals

Photo for illustrative purposes.

Lewisham Council has provided more information about its plans for new parking restrictions, including possible all-day Controlled Parking Zones Monday to Friday, in five wards including Lee Green.

The Council has told the Lee Manor Society it received more than 4,000 responses to the second stage of its consultation, covering Brockley, Lee Green, Hither Green, Catford South and Telegraph Hill. These were the wards where residents highlighted that they experience commuter parking pressures or issues with pavement parking.

The second stage of the consultation ended on February 3rd.  The Council said a report was now being prepared to go to the Mayor and Cabinet in May, setting out recommendations, including whether or not to proceed to implementation and where.

The Council told us: “Where Mayor and Cabinet decide to proceed to implementation, there will be a further statutory consultation in the summer. This would involve all residents and businesses in the area receiving leaflets with information about the proposals via post, in addition to promotion through the Council’s various communications channels. Residents/businesses can respond to the consultation online or on a paper form.”

The Council said it does not have any estimates of what the income of each scheme would be, as it is still processing the feedback from the recent consultation in order to make more concrete proposals.

Its statement stressed “Our Sustainable Streets programme aims to create better streets for residents, reduce the number of car journeys made in Lewisham and encourage more people to walk, cycle or use public transport.

“With unrestricted parking on 75% of our roads – the highest of any inner London borough – improving parking management and introducing more sustainable transport measures are both crucial for reducing the number of unnecessary car journeys and tackling traffic, congestion, and pollution.

“Income from parking permits is ring-fenced by legislation to fund transport and highways projects. In Lewisham, we are using the income to subsidise concessionary travel, such as the Freedom Pass, for older and disabled people (though it does not meet the full cost of these services).”