Moped antisocial behaviour

[Mops]

I wondered if anyone had any ideas, or had had any success, discussing moped issues with the local council or the police?

I live on one of the roads off the north end of Lordship Lane. I appreciate my road is permit free, but it is entirely residential in nature but for the huge number of moped and motorbike delivery drivers we have seen arrive to our street in the last 18 months.

I understand delivery driving is a valuable source of income for many people, but I am becoming increasingly desperate as the behaviour becomes more antisocial. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas I could pose to the council, so I?m going with a solution rather than just moaning?

The drivers who regularly park on my road often rev their engines needlessly, sit with their ignitions on, litter cigarette buts and food wrappers, chat very loudly until gone 11pm, spit on the pavement and sometimes sit on my neighbours and my front walls. This keeps me awake at night, interrupts my work and means I regularly clean up after them on the pavement.

This is all somewhere between a nuisance and antisocial but, more worryingly however, I have had moped drivers dangerously drive down the entire length of the pavement straight at me. I was also the victim of an attempted moped mugging outside of the co-op last year which really shook me up, as they drove into me and another woman. Unfortunately at the weekend I saw a Yard Sale moped delivery driver intentionally rev and speed up to scare a homeless person crossing the road with his duvet

I am also concerned by the moped drivers? repeated parking on double yellow lines, as often pedestrians cannot see oncoming cars around the bikes/ mopeds and vice versa; drivers using the road to drive towards lordship lane cannot see the pedestrians crossing on their way up/ down the high street. There is a huge amount of pedestrian traffic from parents with strollers and/ or young families with small child on this road and I?ve seen mopeds and cars almost hit strollers being pushed out into the road or young children countless times, where vision has been obscured by mopeds parked on double yellows within 5 yards of the junction.

I asked the moped drivers politely after one such incident whether they could move to the loading pay or the area without any yellow lines, explaining they?re there for safety (I.e. so visibility isn?t obscured at junctions). One of the moped drivers then followed me into Bon and took photos of me, saying he?d circulate them to his mates so they knew who to come for and that they know where I live. I reported this to the police, but still when I leave my house this same guy says ?I know where you live? when I walk by and his mates all jeer at me.

As a young woman I find this incredibly intimidating and it makes me scared to go out alone. I really want to find a solution which enables me to sleep at night/ not be nervous when leaving the house, but which also means they can keep doing their jobs and don?t feel antagonised by me, but I have no idea what to suggest to the council. Would it be reasonable to ask for parking to be made available on the commercial road (I.e. lordship lane)?

[Chick]

Phone the police and keep phoning them until they do something. You shouldn't have to put up with this crap. Or if you can find out who their employer is complain to them very loudly, they wont want the bad publicity. Please keep on at the police that's what they are there for.

And create hell with the council.

[alice]

There?s a police meeting in Barry Road tomorrow might be worth you going.

[alice]

There?s a police meeting in Barry Road tomorrow might be worth you going. More info will be on their Twitter

[Mops]

Thank you, chick!

Also sorry for all the typos in my original message. Clearly writing this at the end of my tether from my phone!

I?ve spoken to the police and the local council several times unfortunately. The police have come to my house after the two documented dangerous driving/ attempted theft incidents. I?ve also spoken with the local businesses but they?ve said ?they can?t control their drivers?. Bit disappointing to say the least!

Everyone seems to say it?s someone else?s job (council vs highways vs police vs private businesses vs licensing vs parking review).

If anyone else feels the same way, has witnessed this behaviour or has seen dangerous driving/ near misses caused by parking obstructions, please do contact the police and council! I am guessing only volume of escalations will get any response or action.

[Mops]

Thanks Alice! I?m not a twitter user but I?ll attempt a trusty Google. There I am calling myself young? !

[rachp]

If you haven?t already, I would approach your councillors (probably James McAsh is your best bet as he?s a Goose Green councillor and by far the most responsive in my experience). I?m sure the restaurants won?t take on the behaviour of drivers but the companies such as Deliveroo can?t wash their hands of it- either if you approach them directly, or if the council has links in- I?m not sure how it all works. I live off lordship Lane too but thankfully we just get the odd lone driver parked up, rather than large groups congregating causing the kinds of problems you?ve experienced. And I wouldn?t worry about people not being able to do their job because you complain, the model is far too successful for that to be an outcome, but these orgs do need to find a way of managing the anti-social behaviour.

[MrsPyne]

This sounds awful for you. Agree that you have to keep on at everyone every time there is an incident.

In particular I think it is a police matter if someone is harassing you constantly to the extent that you are stressed/scared when leaving your own home. Isn't this precisely where the safer neighborhood teams are meant to come in?

Also, maybe contact Helen Hayes? She might help you cut through the bureaucracy and she supports treating street harassment of women as a crime - apparently from September police will have to identify and record misogynistic harassment of women.

[Mops]

Thank you Rachp and MrsPyne. I have gone on a bit of a spree and emailed everyone under the sun I can think of/ find online.

Unfortunately I have been emailing Cllr James McAsh and MP Helen Hayes about this since July 2021. I have also spoken to UberEats, Deliveroo and Yard Sale Pizza.

I have now, this evening, redirected my emails to another Southwark councillor, Cllr Catherine Rose, who is the cabinet member for transport, parks and sport. Fingers crossed she can help!

In addition to my police reports/ crime reference numbers, I have also filled a neighbourhood concern or whatever it?s called with the Goose Green Ward PCSO.

What a night eh!

In other news though, it seems Southwark council have used my original July 2021 complaint to James McAsh as an excuse to implement permanent motorcycle parking on my road (Frogley Road). The mind boggles: speaks up about dangerous driving, anti-social behaviour and harassment from moped drivers? Is given moped parking outside property?!

[first mate]

Mops this is disgraceful.

I cannot imagine how upsetting and intimidating this must feel. It is appalling but not surprising to learn that your local councillor has not intervened but has instead opportunistically used your complaint to further a pet agenda.

I very much hope that the SNP meeting can help and support you. Have you spoken to your neighbours? Is there anything you could do as a group?

[rachp]

That all sounds horrible, I can?t believe people that represent household name companies like Deliveroo, can behave like this and there?s nothing to be done about it, either by the companies themselves or by the authorities. I do recall a long time ago that one of my neighbours was complaining about the riders on our street (I think they were sitting on her wall etc) and I know she was trying to escalate it. I will try to find out if she ever got anywhere with it and if so, who she dealt with.

[JohnL]

Is this a dark kitchen ?

I asked on another thread how you link complaints like this to licensing when it comes up. ?

[Mops]

I don?t think it is; I think they?re moped delivery drivers collecting from local restaurants and delivering through Deliveroo/ JustEat / UberEats etc.

[CPR Dave]

Sorry to hear this and to hear what an underwhelming response you've received from our representatives.

[Mops]

Thanks Dave.

Latest response from James McAsh (despite him being copied on a years? worth of emails to the highways team which have not been replied to!):

Thanks for your email. I am not sure why you were not given advance notice to comment on this proposal but I hope that the highways team will consider it, despite it being after the deadline.

It may be that proper motorcycle parking will alleviate some of the problems you have identified, if it makes it easier for the highways team to regulate it. That seems to be the implication from the screenshot below. I am not sure but hopefully they will be able to comment.

As for escalation, have you considered taking out a complaint? The complaints process is outlined here: https://www.southwark.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/complaints-comments-and-compliments/making-a-complaint

[CPR Dave]

Hopeless

[Sue]

Mops Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> As for escalation, have you considered taking out

> a complaint? The complaints process is outlined

> here:

> https://www.southwark.gov.uk/council-and-democracy

> /complaints-comments-and-compliments/making-a-comp

> laint

The council do deal quickly with complaints about their own processes/lack of action/lack of respoonse to emails etc, so to be fair that course of action might be worth pursuing whilst you are trying other things as well.

I do feel for you, what a horrible situation.

[rachp]

I agree with Sue, I recently made a complaint after a long chain of inaction and that did prompt a pretty quick response.

[Mops]

Sue, Rachp - thank you!!

I filed a formal complaint and I believe James McAsh may have to, and the proposal for motorcycle parking is being postponed pending further investigation.

I appreciate it may still be revived, but thank you for the advice to go the formal complaint route!

[Sue]

Fingers crossed for you, Mops x

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

rachp Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I can?t believe people

> that represent household name companies like

> Deliveroo, can behave like this

Deliveroo is a pretty "aggressive" company to begin with. The riders are not employees (because then they'd be entitled to a wage - the horror!) so just about anyone can sign up to be exploited if they have a pulse, a phone and a bike.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jun/24/deliveroo-riders-suffer-setback-in-court-battle-for-right-to-unionise