CPZ X Parking Consultation - HWA concerns

Richmond Council is currently running a parking consultation on “operational amendments” within CPZ X (most of Hampton Wick).

The council says in its consultation letter that:

These amendments are to, in summary, modernise the existing layout of the zone to align with up-to-date regulatory requirements, primarily comprising updates to parking bays and yellow lines.

To be clear, the council is not proposing to change the operational hours of the CPZ which was the main focus of the consultation of two or three years ago – but it is planning a lot more double yellow lines in Hampton Wick!

Considerable unease

However, the Hampton Wick Association has considerable unease about the proposal to convert such a significant number of off-peak single yellow lines (SYLs) to double yellow lines (DYLs). SYLs allow residents and visitors to park during off-peak hours—typically between 6:30pm and 8:30am—which benefits working people returning home and supports the night-time economy, including local pubs and restaurants.

The prospect of losing quite so many off-peak parking spaces and the sweeping nature of this change has raised concerns. The typically cited reasons – “safety” and “access” – seem somewhat broad and it’s difficult to see how it’s justified to convert such a large number of SYLs. While we recognize there can be issues on Sundays and agree that some spaces may need changing to DYLs, the scale of the proposed changes is worrying.

For example, at the end of Park Road near the Foresters, five or six off-peak spaces (SYLs) are slated to be converted to DYLs. The reasons given are “to maintain access at all times” yet this feels slightly disingenuous, especially considering that about ten years ago, after HWA discussions with the Parking Policy Manager, the SYLs were actually extended to provide more off-peak parking.

What’s changed since then? Losing these spaces would significantly impact local pubs and restaurants. Of course, if a van parks on the pavement, then access is compromised but that is the case the full length of Park Road (and others), it’s not practical to prevent all parking so why this particular stretch?

This isn’t just about Park Road—it seems to affect up to 16 other roads in Hampton Wick as well. Has any work been done to estimate the total number of off-peak spaces the community would lose? In some cases, could the restrictions not be limited to Sundays rather than apply throughout the week?

Of course, in certain cases, the changes will be justified, but the scale and approach are causing concern.

The consultation letter also states:
At the same time as implementing the changes, we will be replacing all existing signage and refreshing all line markings within this scheme.
We will also be asking what this scheme will cost if implemented as proposed.

We are writing to our local councillors and providing feedback to the consultation ourselves.

If you have views on the proposed changes then we recommend you also make a representation by the closing date, this coming Thursday 26th March.

Click here to give your comments.