jimlad48

The hyperbole on display here is astounding. Right now in many parts of the area, it is not possible for people to get parking, be they visitors or residents due to the sheer number of cars (which evidence suggests are often commuters) dumping their vehicles all day long. The visitors that are so vital can't currently be certain they will be able to park as a result. A CPZ merely means you have to pay a small amount of money if someone wants to visit you during working hours of the CPZ. The upside is that you will be able to get your friend to park, your delivery can go outside and the tradesman will visit. Speaking as someone who repeatedly had cancelled deliveries or repair work because there was nowhere within a half mile radius to park, this is a price well worth paying. The utter hyperbole that imagines that in London the bulk of poorly paid people commute by car, and thus a CPZ will form a barren wasteland of closures is nothing more than hysteria. Where is a single piece of evidence, of any form that shows that places are shutting because there are CPZ in place and people have to use public transport to commute instead? I suspect there is none because no businesses or schools or hospitals or any other place have had to shut as a result. I remember before our consultation a local nursery tried to rig the ballot by encouraging non residents to vote, claiming their nursery would have to close as all their staff drove by car to work (despite when they published the locations their staff commuted from clearly showing that almost all of them lived on major rail/bus routes). This nursery is still going strong and the local businesses that complained 5 years ago about the CPZ nearby being implemented on them would force them close are still going strong. The level of lies, deception and falshehoods propagated by opponents of a CPZ, without a single fact or shred of evidence to support them is just depressing at times.

Rupert - in our area we found that the one thing that split opinion the most was the 2hr/all day debate. If I recall correctly, opinion was roughly 50/50 each way and it was only a small majority vote in favour of the all day. What I would say though is that having gone through areas which have a 2hr CPZ, they are actually extremely quiet too. Anyone who is an all day user won't park there because they know the 2hr requirement to move their car, and also know they can't park anywhere else. Given the overwhelming majority of people commute, they wont' park in the zone because they know they will be ticketed. We found when the signs went up, even before enforcement began, there was a real drop in traffic. Drivers are instinctively warned off by parking signs. I'd also point out that people parking in the 2hr zone who move the car, will instead realistically flock to wherever they can park all day and not move the car twice a day. If you don't believe me, then go visit some 2hr CPZ areas, like the one near Denmark Hill during the day a few times to see how busy it really gets.

BrandNewGuy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > jimlad48 Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Most car commuters could and should use public > > transport like others do. > > Clearly not something you believe in for yourself. > Finding a parking space is only a 'nightmare' if > you're driving all the time. I dont actually own a car. I used to, then when I deployed overseas with work, sold it as I was going to be unable to use it for a long period. When I got back the parking was so bad, I didnt bother getting a new one. As I use public transport or run to work, I am comfortable saying that car commuters are a problem.

penguin - you assume they all drive. They really dont. There are too may cars for too few spaces making residents lives a nightmare. Most car commuters could and should use public transport like others do. Your hyperbole is utter rubbish.

randNewGuy Wrote: --q----------------------------------------------------- > Jimlad48, your figure of a 60% increase in spaces > is bollocks, quite frankly. I live 8 mins walk > from ED station and I'd be hard pushed to identify > more than a sprinkling of commuters - jamming the > roads from 6am? Nonsrnse. Southwark figure is based on repeated traffic surveys by council of areas pre and post CPZ. In our area we used to be quiet till local CPZ went live, then it went mad. I knew residents who were being stalked by commutters who knew they left at a certain time and wanted their space. All a bad memory now, but a nightmare then. I know and have met many residents near East Dulwich ststion who are fed up already with parking and are dreading the next CPZ that will make ED last place before central london with free parking round here. They have begun their campaign for a CPZ and I suspect others will follow soon too...

Okay, lets try and quash some fake news. Firstly, Southwark CPZ are run to a very different system to Lambeth or other CPZ. To be able to buy a permit, you need to be a resident in the specific zone and registered online via Southwark Parking. This requires you to prove that you are resident in the streets covered by a specific CPZ. If you are not a resident, you are not eligible to park in a CPZ unless a local resident has purchased a permit on your behalf for the day. It is not possible for non residents to 'game the system' in the manner described above, as you would need to log in via a local residents details and book parking for your car under the Southwark system. Such activity is almost certainly illegal. If you do not live in the CPZ area, then unless a resident has paid for you to have a daily parking permit, or you park in a pay and display area then you will be liable to be ticketed. Its really very simple. There is no backdoor, no means to abuse the system and no way of cheating the two hour limit. Unless you physically return to your car, move it to somewhere else and come back two hours later you will be liable to get a ticket. CPZ generally have a small number of pay and display bays that anyone can use, non residents pay an hourly price while residents with a permit can park for free. If you park outside the pay and display without paying or a permit, you will be liable to be ticketed. Our area saw streets jammed from 6am to 9pm with cars day and night before the CPZ arrived. These cars turned up in the morning and left after work. Clearly commutter cars, we've not seen them since the CPZ began and they've not been replaced by new cars. We have more parking spaces than ever. There will be a 60% increase in parking spaces - most days we've got most of the roads in the CPZ as being 70-80% empty compared to day long 100% occupancy a few short months ago. Commuters and those not willing to pay to park in their area are the problem. A CPZ will make them vanish very quickly and make your life safer, quieter and easier.

The problem is, all the people who say 'but X can't visit' forget that right now they probably couldnt get parked anyway. Where we were, it was regularly taking residents up to an hour to find a parking space in any of the roads where they could park within a half mile radius. All this talk of 'but Mrs Miggins won't be able to come round' forgets that right now there is unlikely to be anywhere for her to park. A CPZ gives you that parking space to come over - so definitely a plus for peoples social lives!

Loz Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > CPZs only currently work as they push the people > who are too poor/cheap to buy a permit out of the > zone. When everywhere close by is a CPZ, those > cars will return and you'll be paying good money > for the same old problem. > > And by then, you'll be stuck with it and you'll be > paying ?100+ a year to *not* be able to park your > car anywhere close. Really? Where is your evidence base for this assertion? What proof do you have of it? Why if this is true have Southwark repeatedly found that CPZ implementation leads to a 60% fall in parking on streets with a CPZ? ?125 is not an enormous amount of money, and if you want to run a car in London you already require sufficient income to cover the runnning costs and insurance. If ?125 (barely ?2.50 per week) is too much for you, then why do you have a car full stop? The 'too poor' myth is just that - I've not seen any areas where the imposition of a CPZ leads to a flood of new cars. Its another one of those tired myths peddled by opponents of a CPZ which is baseless and not supported by hard evidence.

kford Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > "Already places like Pellatt road are reporting > increases in pressure, and this will only get > worse as the Dog Kennel Hill zone displaces into > your area." So CPZs force residents to demand a > CPZ, right? Bonkers. > > Also, any CPZ near LL will have to have a shared > or separate business permit allowance, which will > reduce spaces for residents significantly. Not really - the spaces are the same and owners will qualify for a small number of permits.

You don't need to buy a book of permits and lose them. You can buy online on the day when you know someone is coming, so its easy to arrange. Also note that CPZ size varies by borough. Lewisham, where I used to live had huge CPZs, so parking was often under pressure if there was a specific area that was popular or easy. By contrast Southwark tends to introduce much smaller ones, often only covering a few streets (ours covers about 15 in total), so the number of users is reduced. Southwark have found statistically there is a 60% drop in traffic post CPZ implementation, and coupled with quieter roads means you rarely have problems parking. I'd look at our street now and realise the only times we experience parking issues is during the weekend when it reverts to free parking. What people need to realise is that in the past it made perfect sense to not need a CPZ when large swathes of Southwark were free parking. Now you're in a position where ED is the last bit that doesnt have one, so is the only place drivers can go to. Already places like Pellatt road are reporting increases in pressure, and this will only get worse as the Dog Kennel Hill zone displaces into your area. If you don't get a CPZ, you will find the parking problem immesurably worse than it is now.

Given I live in a CPZ where parking spaces have shot through roof, tradesmen are delighted they can park and people everywhere are praising it, I'm happy to be a convert. There are lots of ED residents fed up of suffering from appalling parking problems, which will only get worse as the Dog Kennel Hill zone enters use in a few weeks time. Suddenly ED will be the last free parking area before central London. Always delighted to help residents secure the quieter, safer easier life that a CPZ offers and end the misery of parking chaos caused. Its the best thing that happened to our street in the last few years - if you want one, you are not alone in wanting one and help is available to let you get one.

For those of you keen to see a CPZ to alleviate parking concerns, you will be delighted to know that Southwark now has a form online to request a CPZ. This helps them map demand to where they may need to put a CPZ in place. All correspondence is recorded, so it is helpful to them to know where demand is strongest. If you want an end to parking misery, a 60% reduction in traffic on your streets, more parking spaces than you've seen in years to park in, and safer, quieter and better streets to live in, then fill this form in. It could help start making a life changing difference for your local area. https://forms.southwark.gov.uk/ShowForm.asp?fm_fid=822 If anyone is frustrated with parking and wants to know how to get a CPZ campaign going, then please contact me directly - I helped deliver the Toastrack CPZ and am only too pleased to pass on all the tips about how to run an effective campaign to get a democratically voted for CPZ implemented. You are not alone in being frustrated about parking, and all it takes is a few people to make an amazingly positive impact for all. Please PM me if you'd like to chat about how to end parking misery on your roads for good.

Once cars get abandoned on a street for more than a week, its always worth running a quick check on the DVLA database to check they are insured. If not you can report them to DVLA and they'll take action. We found a lot of cars left for ages had their insurance/MOT lapse and had been dumped.

This morning was 'interesting' when I was coming down the steps onto platform 3 at 8.39 and one 'gentleman' decided to run up and start kicking the crap out of another 'gentleman' and a full blown fight broke out while a train was pulling into the platform. Someone braver than myself tried to break it up, I took the view that the risk of being stabbed or caught up in an unpleasant incident was too great. This station is increasingly a dangerous place to be.

Louisa Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I don?t get why anyone would feel the need to park > their vehicle outside someone else?s house, and > potentially leave it there for days or weeks at a > time. Often large vans which block out the light > to a persons home too. It?s just pure ignorance. > > I get that parking is at a premium, and if you > live on nearby roads you often need to park your > vehicle in places you wouldn?t normally because so > few spaces are available near your own front door. > But, there is absolutely no excuse for parking > your vehicle outside someone else?s house for > extended periods. It may not be illegal, but it is > highly ignorant and confrontational. > > Louisa. We saw this a lot on the toastrack. A combination of a very local car repair business using free parking as a dumping ground for long term projects blocking up one street and other problems too. We saw builders leave their cars for 2-3 weeks during summer holidays, and heard of other people who used toastrack to park long term becasue they didnt want to pay parking charges in their part of London (often north of the river!). Add this to commutters as well and the only people that didnt seem to be able to park long term was the residents!

I do think people with the smaller CPZ dont get how much of a deterrent it will be - they've written it off before it starts, which is a shame.

tomskip Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If you are regularly affected by someone who does > this routinely (such as the lady in Heber Road) > then I can't see the harm in moving the bins or > cones out of the way to park. They don't own the > road outside their house as everyone says. > > But if you are trying to park someone that is not > your home address and you see bins reserving a > space, can't you give the home owners the benefit > of the doubt? They might be reserving a space for > a removals lorry or delivery or skip and it might > be the only time they have ever put bins out on > the street in this way. > > It's pretty arrogant and anti social to just move > them and park anyway just because you feel > entitled to that particular spot. Given the state of how bad parking is in many roads, it may well be the only spot going. Knowing plenty of locals who had to spend 45 minutes to an hour circling looking for spaces pre-CPZ (in an area surrounded by CPZs) with young children, babies and shopping in tow, I would happily move the bins. The only time I wouldnt do it is if a note is on bin saying why it is there (e.g. delivery planned etc) - thats perfectly reasonable, but if you're going to block the road, at least have the courtesy to say why.

DadOf4 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > "The suggestion that CPZ reduce parking spaces is > yet another tired myth in the long list of > hyperbole deployed by opponents of the schemes." > > It isn't. The overall number of available parking > spaces will drop. This was certainly the case > southwark consulted around ED station a few years > ago. > The consultation took a count of cars daily in the > area (the exercise was done to try and show the > number of commuter cars). I cant remember the > figures, but there was a significant drop in > available parking spaces with the proposed scheme > > Having said that, of course one of the objectives > of a CPZ is to stop "outsiders" parking, which of > course may outstrip the overall drop in spaces for > the residents Sorry, that is absolute rot. Let me talk you through the process in simple terms. The street will retain the same number overall of parking spaces. We lost practically none - we gained several disabled bays (esential for many residents), and some areas went from 'free' parking to pay and display - but this was on the same street. The only area I can think of which lost any theoretical spaces was one street which had a high level of driveways, where yellow lines were put in (much to the delight and relief of residents who were unable to move their car off the drive due to it being blocked by inconsiderate commuters who knew the traffic wardens didnt police the street). CPZs do not mean less spaces. You are peddling a lie. Southwark are clear that there is a 60% drop in traffic when a CPZ is introduced. So unless they are reducing spaces by 61% there will still be more than enough spaces for everyone who is able to park there. Given the utter nightmare of life in a non-CPZ street, I cannot recommend enough campaigning for a CPZ to make life more bearable for everyone who lives there. Anyone needing advice on how to start a CPZ campaign for East Dulwich, then please let me know - I helped lead the toastrack campaign and would be more than happy to help you campaign to make life quieter, safer and easier for you and your fellow residents.

We've just become a CPZ and actually found they didnt decrease parking space overall. We saw a roughly 60% drop in road useage primarily because the commuters were no longer parking. Also, CPZ permit holders can park in both CPZ and PAy/Display bays, which many forget.The suggestion that CPZ reduce parking spaces is yet another tired myth in the long list of hyperbole deployed by opponents of the schemes. Our CPZ encompasses 9 streets roughly and there is now acres more space than before because of the shutting down of commuters and other long stayers who abandoned their cars on our road. I find it hard to comprehend how people could push the barefaced lie that CPZ means less parking spaces. Southwark is clear, repeated surveys of CPZ areas over many years always show a 60% reduction in cars using the area. How this can magically lead to less car parking spaces is beyond me. As for bins - we had this particularly before we got the CPZ. My general rule was if a note was on the bin saying 'please don't move delivery due' then I'd leave them. If people were daily pegging out 'their' spot, I'd move the bins on the grounds that no one has the right to a reserved specific space.

Realtimetraintracker - bit more geeky, but jolly useful.

The red cross symbol is a protected symbol under various international conventions - in the UK it is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Defence to ensure it is appropriately used and not employed in such a manner which could call into question its validity for its role on the battlefield as a symbol of protection. Given their lawyers have in the past been extremely hot on any misuse of the Red Cross symbol, to the extent of asking pantomime nurses to not wear the symbol, it is unlikely that the RC would endorse anyone collecting for money wearing their symbol. (The things you learn in obscure jobs!) I strongly suspect it is a con. If it happens again it may be worth trying to get an image and reporting it to the Red Cross as their lawyers, I suspect based on prior experience, would be keen to pursue.

I wait for the DVD nowadays! Too many people on phones, talking, rustling and thats before sitting through upwards of 20-30 minutes of adverts before you even get to trailers. Thanks but no thanks!

I come back from Westminster to Camberwell area and find heading down river, then cutting across black prince road, down through kennington to Oval and then along new road works well - you could then cut up camberwell grove and into ED.

I think real pressure needs to be applied to this - this station serves 20,000 people a day, yet there is no fire escape. It is a death trap and in the event (god forbid) of a fire or incident has potential to become a Grenfell tower level of fatalities - there is only one way out. We have to fix this NOW, not in four or five years time. Can we get media, MPS and others to work together to shame the owner into doing the right thing?

There are a few of them that congregate outside Denmark Hill station now, blocking the entrance and generally making a nuisance of themselves. Not local, and only there for a couple of hours at a time. I wish they could be moved on, its intimidating and uncomfortable to walk past, and doesnt help solve problem of homelessness. There was one outside Sainsburies the other day too on Camberwell road, so they are spreasding about. I always work to assumption that if begging wasn't profitable, people wouldnt do it - so the sooner people stop giving money to them, the quicker the problem goes away.