Parking on Abbotswood Road

[Ladygooner]

The residents have a problem with people parking at the top end of Abbotswood Road by the car wash and the football ground. There was never a problem before Sainsburys put a 2 hour limit in their car park. Do people park there for the station? Or do Sainsbury's staff park there now? The increased parking has led to difficulties driving down into the estate as we are now reduced to one lane in and out and it is difficult to see oncoming traffic due to the shrubbery on the bend. We need to sort this out before there is an accident.

[ratty]

Damn right LG. I have nearly ploughed into people there on a number of occasions now. I never go fast on our estate, rarely hitting 10mph, but the corner is so blind that it is treacherous.

The local tories are looking at this I think, but we need something doing, however, yellow lines will just push the traffic nearer our homes so I don't know what the solution is. TARA (Talbot and Abbotswood Residents Assoc) have been looking at it).

I just came home and nearly wiped out a mother and her two children. :(http://forums.clubrsx.com/images/smilies/driving.gif

[kford]

And residents' permits wouldn't be fair - you'd just be paying for a problem caused by others, unless the permits were free for residents of that street, as they are in Australia.

[ratty]

Agreed kford. Dunno what the answer is but something HAS to be done before someone is knocked down or worse.

[Ladygooner]

If we knew the reason why people were parking there now we might be able to solve the problem

[jumpinjackflash]

There is a huge match today at the dulwich grounds - Dulwich v Dover. If you live on Abbottswood then don't be surprised to find random cars parked all over your street. An annoyance I know but just to let you know (don't shoot the messenger!).

[SeanMacGabhann]

so where do y'all park when you travel away from Dulwich?

Does everyone email ahead and ask for local resident pre-approved parking spots?

[jumpinjackflash]

Sean, not sure if that question is directed to moi, but I am neither a Dulwich nor Dover fan - just use the gym regular and know from staff and regulars (and a couple that live on Abbotswood) that the fans piss off all the residents by parking on their road. I once parked my car in the car wash one evening to later find that some idiot had parked his big Merc across my car. There was huge match that night apparently. Took me about 10 goes of driving/reversing to squeeze myself out. Managed to find a lip liner in my bag and I wrote the word 'PRICK' on a piece of paper and placed it under his wipers. Made me feel better anyway.

[SeanMacGabhann]

Twasn't directed at you jumpinjackflash, or even LadyG who started the thread - I'm just not sure what the problem is

An influx of cars, for whatever reason, require somewhere to park. The guy (let's assume it was a guy) who boxed you in was an eejit for sure - but the thread is about the extra cars needing parking and the impact on the area in question - which I understand... but what I don't understand is people who already own and use at least one car, complaining about it

Where would you have the fans park? Are there reasons why they don't park there? Me being me I would go by PT, and i know that LadyG often uses PT as well - but unless we (as in we collectively as a society) start to restrict car usage more, then tackling it at this micro level is futile in the extreme

[Ladygooner]

I have no problem with the influx of cars for the football match - glad to see the match is well attended and when I moved here 10 years ago I expected it. The problem is there could well be an accident soon on Abbotswood Road caused by cars parked down one side of the road on a blind corner - no one used to park there before Sainsburys put their parking restrictions in place.

[SeanMacGabhann]

I hear you - but that is a problem for drivers and pedestrians alike - a dodgy junction/passage has been created by, in this case, extra cars parked

Both drivers and pedestrians should be alert and not assume that any corner is "ok" - When I lived in a village in Devon I used to drive back in the dark winter evenings and because of the layout of the tiny square in the centre there was the worst blind spot I have ever seen - it just has to be accounted for. Environments change

The most obvious aid from third parties would be one of those wide-angle mirrors you get at blind spots

[ratty]

A journalist from Southwark News was in Abbotswood at lunch time and we had a chat about the problems. And just to clarify, I am not complaining about people parking on the street, more the fact that cars are allowed to park in such a dangerous position. Not a problem I suppose if instead of a car you ride a high horse instead.

[SeanMacGabhann]

touch? ratty...

well.. up to a point. It's just, to my mind, the high horse position appears to be the declaration of something as dangerous, when it's just a logical outcome. AND unlikely to be construed as dangerous if it were to apply in other areas. Unless we lived in those other areas

Why d'you suppose a journalist was in the area at lunchtime? Random journalistic curiosity? Or at the behest of a particularly persistent phone call from a concerned local?

Look - I'm not disagreeing with anyone else on this thread - an area has become more dangerous because of an increase in traffic. But the default position of "something has to be done" usually contains a subtext of "by someone else"

The solutions are:

curb traffic generally (which will affect most residents of the road in question in ways they don't like)

Drive more carefully (but then EVERYONE is a careful driver themselves.. it's other people...)

Stop non locals parking there (y'aint from around here are you boy?)

Will someone have an accident at this spot as a result of the current situation? Very possible - but it's a tiny, tiny, tiny meaningless blip in the statistics of car-related deaths every year - so... you know.... most people can live with that. Right?

(and no - it can't be dealt with "one locality at a time" -if it could most people couldn't easily travel to other parts of the country without some other local bod saying - you can't park THERE! etc)

[Bookworm]

When Sainsbury's sent out their letter last year outlining their plans for the extension (even though, by then, work had already being going for quite a while), I was one of a number of people who took them up on their suggestion of emailing with concerns. Since then, all those who contacted them have received a number of letters outlining the latest developments. The last one was dated 21 January 2008. Under "Other issues" it says:

Parking on Abbotswood Road

Owing to abuse of Sainsbury's customer car park for communter parking, parking controls were introduced in July of last year. Some residents have commented that they believe that more cars have been parking along Abbotswood Road as a result, which can cause visibility problems for drivers at the junction with Edgar Kail Way.

Whilst this problem is outside of Sainsbury's remit, the Company is keen to help wherever it can. It is therefore proposed to make a financial contribution as part of the new planning application towards the introduction of yellow line parking restrictions on Abbotswood Road in the vicinity of the junction with Edgar Kail Way. Of course, the ultimate decision to introduce any addtional parking restrictions rests with Southwark Council.

LG - I was told a while ago that because the car park had lost a number of spaces due to the extension, Sainsbury's staff no were no longer allowed to park there and so were parking along Abbotswood Road. The Sainsbury's letter says the problem is due to commuters, which is a word that applies to their own staff. The problem is just as bad on Saturdays and Sundays when there are plenty of spaces in St Francis Road for train/bus commuters to park in, so I think the term commuters is being used broadly.

[Ladygooner]

Thanks Bookworm - I got the same letter from Sainsburys. The aim of this thread was to see if it was commuters on Sainsburys staff parking there and as you suggest it seems to be staff. I feel a letter coming on to Sainsburys!

[ratty]

It's Sainsbury's staff LG - or so my missus tells me and she should know cos she is home all day. They even sit in their cars for to have a ciggie!

Yellow lines is a piss take though because that will just lead to people parking further down the road where the houses are and increase the risk to children / animals etc.

I am going to take up arms!

[Lewis]

Hello,

I have to agree that what ratty and ladygooner say about parking here is absolutely spot on. The new road layout, combined with the parking restrictions in Sainsburys car park have created a severe traffic problem (which to be fair they now partly acknowledge in the latest correspondence) and the people most adversely hit are the local residents. Parking along the slip road is clearly dangerous. I am rather sceptical about Sainsburys claim they had to tackle "commuter parking" and I think Sainsburys need to clarify whether they provide staff parking in their car park?

Although I am not the ward councillor here, I have taken an interest in this issue since I became aware of it, and I have every intention of making representations to Planning when the new proposals to install a roundabout are submitted and to try and tackle this parking problem along the slip road once and for all.

Give me a call if you want to tell me what you think.

Lewis Robinson

07815 208066

[Bookworm]

I spoke to the person whose name appeared at the bottom of the orignal letter, at the end of June last year and he seemed very surprised that I had rung the head office number and reached him. I was then contacted quickly by someone from the consultancy firm who were dealing with the whole project. I explained that the only real issues I had were to do with safety because of the parked cars, negotiating drivers going to the carwash then having to drive across two lines of traffic to get out of Abbotswood Road. He was very polite but I'm not sure that he realised how dangerous the situation was(and still is). I told him he needed to visit at a weekend, not at a quiet time during the week. In a polite and roundabout way, I was told that more people were using Sainsburys than live on the estate, so their needs took preference. They also had to prioritise for the buses. They would try the layout for three months and then reassess. I wonder if the reason they have suggested putting the roundabout in is not because of safety or because of complaints from the residents but because it takes ages to get in and out of their car park at weekends and their customers are complaining. It was a ridiculously dangerous road layout from the beginning.

[mrstripey]

Just bringing this back to the top partly because I've only just managed to register (!) and also because the consultation period is currently under way (it closes 21 days after the 13 Feb).

I've got no particular disagreement with the proposed changes to the Sainsbury's store itself, and the installation of a mini-roundabout should help cars getting out of the estate (though it will be interesting to see if people adhere to proper roundabout rules!).

As for the parking at the entrance to the estate, to my mind it only really becomes an issue during football matches and on Sunday afternoons when there's a general scrum of traffic getting to Sainsbury's around closing time. I think putting a yellow line down there would just force more cars onto the estate and simply shift the problem along a few hundred metres to the detriment of residents.

Does anybody have confirmation that Sainsbury's workers are not allowed to use the car park? If so it's extremely disingenuous of Sainsbury's to recommend introducing on street parking restrictions if the problem is caused in part by the company itself.

For anybody who has not recieved the planning info from Sainsbury's or the council then the Planning Permission reference is 04-AP-1276 and the Planning Officer in charge is Helen Goulden on 020-7525 5349

[Loz]

Sainsburys have been taking the urine sample quite a bit of late. Anyone else noticed they have kindly set up their employees smoking area outside their own grounds on the corner of the football club? The place is a constant mess.

As far the blind corner parking is concerned, this used to only really be a problem on match days. Since the changes, it's everyday with Sainsburys employees being pushed out the car park. Of course, it was originally made worse by the Southwark Parking Clowns who stopped everyone parking with two wheels on the pavement, citing 'safety', ironically.

Yellow lines will probably only push the problem around. Short of a gated estate (puts on flame proof jacket), I'm not sure of a good solution here.

[SeanMacGabhann]

solution?

careful driving

drive less

job done

[Loz]

> careful driving

12 years of accident free driving

> drive less

I generally drive once a week. Maybe twice.

And you know what? That blind corner is still dangerous...

[SteveT]

Hey ratty where did you get your smiley drivey?

[Lewis]

Sainsburys latest planning application is due up in front of Planning Committee this month. If Abbotswood Road residents want a copy of the letter I've submitted about the problems here, let me know and I'll post it to you. I will be attending the meeting and will post the date when I hear more.

Lewis

[lynxse]

Another example of just how much Southwark Council loves to broker chaos on our roads! The Homenase battle led to a public inquiry and all of the ruling have been ignored. Fat chance of Southwark actually caring about local residents!