Photo by oO-rein-Oo on DeviantArt
Everyone knows that parking in London can be a bit of a problem. Space is scarce and you have to compete with a whole host of other cars for that premium spot.
Yet living in Harrow, space is not a major issue. There are plenty of car parks in the town centre and plenty of room for all the shoppers descending on to the high street and shopping centres.
The problem comes when you move out of the town centre into residential areas, particularly those near tube stations. The roads surrounding stations such as Northwick Park and South Kenton are a haven for commuters. Free parking right next to tube lines that run straight into central London. This can cause havoc for the people who live in these streets. Nipping out to the shops at 9am is not a wise move, as by the time you’ve got back a businessman on his way to the city will probably have taken your space. The amount of cars parked on narrow streets creates problems for drivers in general. Having cars parked in every available space on both sides of the street can create traffic problems and leads to unnecessary knocks and scrapes to people’s cars.
The obvious answer to this problem is to introduce residential parking permits to the affected areas. Permits could be allocated by the council free of charge to people living in the affected roads. If ticket officers regularly patrolled the area, drivers would soon realise it was no longer an acceptable place to park. This already takes place in the roads surrounding the town centre to ensure shoppers do not interfere with the lives of the people who live near there.
Why has the same not been done for the streets around the tube stations?
This would ensure that residents would not find it impossible to park their car during the day thanks to the large number of commuters.
The problem is not just restricted to the residential streets. There has recently been a problem with the University of Westminster car park situated next to Northwick Park tube station. Commuters have been parking in the university car park meaning fewer spaces for staff and students.
If a residential parking scheme was introduced it would be essential that Harrow and Brent councils worked with Transport For London to ensure there was a good level of public transport to and from the main tube stations.
For example, a more regular bus service running from Northwick Park tube station would hopefully mean more commuters would be happy to leave their cars at home, safe in the knowledge that they would not be waiting long for a bus. This would also mean less traffic on the roads meaning everyone’s journey home would be quicker.
All this begs the question as to why Harrow and Brent councils have not taken a tougher stand on parking around tube stations when there are such effective schemes in Harrow town centre and around the Wembley complex. Surely if they can be successful in these areas, the same procedures could be implemented around tube stations in residential areas.
By Lynne Sloggett
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