North Kew Parking Consultation

Overview

The Council is consulting residents and businesses in the North Kew area on the implementation of a new controlled parking zone (CPZ).

Background

This consultation follows consideration of a number of issues across the area including:

1. Petitions received by the Council from residents of Gloucester Road and Kew Green concerning the difficulties finding a parking space near to their home.  It is understood that these concerns are primarily caused by the parking of non-residents’ vehicles such as all-day commuters, visitors to Kew Gardens / the River Thames, and other long stay parkers.
2. The new Brentford Football Club stadium and flats development over Kew Bridge which, when completed during 2020/21, could place considerable additional pressure on parking space in the North Kew area.
3. Major events held at Kew Gardens which result in additional pressure on parking space in the North Kew area on these occasions.
4. The recent suspension of all parking spaces along the west side of Kew Road between Lion Gate Gardens and Kew Gardens Road to extend the operational times of the existing northbound cycle lane from 8am to 10am to ‘at any time’.  This is in response to the Government’s call for urgent action to help offset the reduction in public transport arising from the need to support social distancing.  The Government believes that this should be achieved first and foremost through encouraging more walking and cycling.  The Council will soon formalise this arrangement through the implementation of an experimental traffic/cycle scheme in Kew Road with a view to a more permanent arrangement in the future.

In January 2020, a public meeting and exhibition was held at St Anne’s Church, Kew Green to discuss the parking issues around the North Kew area.  The meeting was well attended and provided the opportunity for residents to ask questions and express their views on this matter.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for parking space in the North Kew area was very high with little or no parking spaces being available in parts of this area at certain times.  As the lockdown eases, the demand for parking is not only expected to return to high levels but to increase as Kew Gardens returns to full operation.  This could be exacerbated by the opening of the new Brentford Football Stadium (expected later this year) along with the completion of its associated residential development as mentioned above.  With the suspension of the parking spaces in Kew Road, it is likely that parking displacement will occur in the North Kew area and other parts of Kew as drivers look for alternative places to park.

Parking proposals

The Council does not usually express a view about whether parking controls should be introduced and how they should operate. However, taking these exceptional circumstances into account, it is the Council’s view that parking controls should be implemented across the whole of the North Kew area to provide priority parking for residents, businesses and visitors. Details of the proposed scheme are summarised as follows:

• The Council is of the view that parking controls should apply every day between 10am to 4.30pm as a minimum - effectively an extension of the existing parking scheme in parts of Kew Green (Zone KC) which has provided a degree of priority parking for residents since 2005. The questionnaire contains options for days and hours of operation, including evening controls until 10pm, should residents feel that a higher level of parking protection is required
• Within the scheme, parking space will be provided for residents, businesses and visitors
• An option to apply the parking controls when there are major events on in the area outside the schemes’ operational hours, particularly those at Kew Gardens and Brentford Football Club (Event day zone).  This is an alternative to simply extending the days/hours each day into, say, the evenings throughout the year. For more information, please click here.
• Provision of coach ‘drop off’ & ‘pick up’ areas and a taxi rank outside Elizabeth Gate as vehicles are no longer able to park on the west side of Kew Road to use the gate entrances in this road.  The Council is in discussion with Kew Gardens concerning these proposals, including the parking for coaches away from Elizabeth Gate when not being used for this purpose. Restrictions to prohibit coaches from entering residential roads are also being considered
• Introduction of one-way working on the western arm of Kew Green to manage traffic flow and to reduce the risk of congestion during ‘drop off’ and ‘pick up’ periods at Elizabeth Gate
• The installation of double yellow lines in certain areas to ensure safe and unobstructed vehicular access.  The Council has received complaints from the London Fire Brigade concerning the difficulties it has experienced in gaining access for its vehicles in Gloucester Road and Cambridge Road.  Double yellow lines are also being proposed to provide passing points and adequate sight lines at junctions. You should be aware that, irrespective of a CPZ being implemented, proposals for double yellow lines will need to be progressed to implementation, including those for Gloucester Road and Cambridge Road because they are required for safety and access reasons
• A preliminary design for the scheme has been developed, taking into account comments received from residents, Kew Gardens and the results of recent resident parking usage surveys.  It is accepted that the surveys were not conducted during normal times, but since the parking conditions are likely to worsen in the future, it was important to progress this matter in as timely a manner as possible.  It is expected that the CPZ will provide sufficient parking availability for residents, their visitors, and businesses with some provision made for short-term visitors to the area such as those going to Kew Gardens and the local pubs/restaurants.  You can find the preliminary design here. If you require greater detail, please make use of the magnification tool.
• For those who wish to retain the ability to park in front of their driveways / dropped kerbs, the only option is to have no markings there (i.e. no bay or yellow line).  Residents and their visitors may park in front of their ‘unmarked’ driveways / dropped kerbs at any time, including during the operational days/hours of the CPZ, provided a valid permit is on display.  Unauthorised vehicles can be reported to the Council’s enforcement team. For those who do not wish to park in front of their driveways / dropped kerbs, and would prefer to remove any ambiguity over who can park in front of their dropped kerb, the clearest deterrent to unauthorised drivers would be to retain the existing, or mark a new, yellow line.   Please tick this option on the questionnaire / online survey as appropriate.  Any decision to apply this change would be done experimentally and reviewed at a later date. Please also note that parking is not permitted in front of entrances accessing multi-occupancy dwellings, even when a valid permit is on display.
• A review of the scheme after 6 months of operation to ensure it continues to provide adequate parking for the community including an assessment of the operational days/hours.  These can be extended into the evening across all the zone or in certain sections only, as required, but would incur the highest permit charge

Whilst the Council would like new parking controls to have the support of residents, it also needs to consider the effect that existing and future parking issues can have on an area, particularly on the traffic conditions (congestion etc) and air quality.  We know that parking controls are not supported by everyone but we hope that you will understand the reasons for the Council’s approach on this occasion.

The Council is also consulting all properties within existing CPZs, Zone KA and KB, on the possibility of extending the operational days/hours (currently Monday to Friday 10am to Noon) to primarily address the likely displacement of vehicles from the suspension of parking space in Kew Road into these zones.

How to respond

Please give us your views by completing the online survey below. If you would like a hard copy of the questionnaire, please contact 020 8891 1411 and this will be posted out to you along with a pre-paid envelope for your response.

Should you wish to make any additional comments, including support for alternative times / arrangements, you may do so by emailing KAKBKewReview@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk 

What happens next

All feedback on the consultation will be considered very carefully before a decision is made on the way forward.

Further information

For details of the parking usage surveys and parking charges, please refer to the North Kew Information Sheet here.  Further information, including details of the other consultations being carried out in Kew, how a CPZ works, all parking charges and the decision-making process, is available on the Council’s website: 

https://www.richmond.gov.uk/north_kew_parking_study

www.richmond.gov.uk/controlled_parking_zones