Most of us that live in Foresthall Park have noticed that the development is increasingly busy.
As more people move in – they will bring more vehicles (probably an average of two cars per household) and, from time to time, they have visitors. We have a frequent bus route along Walson Way (510), soon will have a new primary school and live close to an international airport. It is a challenging mix.
Because of these factors it is highly likely that over time car parking space will become more and more of an issue; undoubtedly causing safety concerns but also tension among residents. Safety is a number one priority for everybody but it is also important we keep our development looking tidy and are courteous to each other.
The Foresthall Park Residents’ Association is aware of car parking/traffic as a major concern and is voicing the issue with relevant stakeholders. However, getting measures implemented is a slow process.
In the short-term we think the most impact can be made by the residents themselves and appeal to your better nature to bear the suggestions below in mind which would be in all of our interests.
• Utilise parking spaces – all properties have parking spaces/carport/garage and we would encourage people to use their own spaces rather than the surrounding roads whenever possible.
• On Walson Way and narrow streets – try not to park dead opposite a car parked on the other side. I’m sure many of you have had a close call with an oncoming bus or car because the road has been restricted.
• Try not to park vehicles close to junctions and pedestrian crossings – this impairs visibility of pedestrians and drivers alike. This is especially dangerous with high sided vehicles.
• Do not park fully on the pavements or grass verges – we echo the editorial published in this month’s Link magazine. Pavements are for people! There are instances where people are fully parking (all four wheels) on the pavement. This not only restricts pedestrians but damages the pavement.
• Do not obstruct, hinder or park on common accesses – many houses on Foresthall Park share common accesses. These are the “stippled” areas detailed on your freehold deeds. For the most part – these should be kept clear allowing free access in and out. Of course, when receiving deliveries loading/unloading it is unavoidable this will occur.
• Airport and commuter parking – this has been raised as a concern by some residents. The lack of parking restrictions, proximity to the station and regular bus service to the airport make Foresthall Park and attractive location to park. Any action would require evidence that this is a significant problem and we would need to gather evidence to this effect so we would invite residents to monitor and report such instances to the Residents’ Association so we can get a better idea of the scale of the problem.
Generally most of our list is already within The Highway Code and should be common knowledge! We look forward to your feedback.
Best Regards
S.Berry (Chairman)
Hi Steve, I have seen many examples of selfish or lazy parking! My only suggestion to ease further problems is to introduce resident’s parking bays?
The entrance to Bentley Drive is a nightmare. Parking spaces are definitely not being used sadly.
In our general meeting in July, parking bays were mentioned although I’m not sure there was any consensus (beyond all agreeing that there was an issue!). I agree that is a potential solution although I think we have to be careful with this one. There is a cost involved in putting bays in and if restricted to residents it would have to be policed. In doing so, we’d lose the grass verge and bring traffic even closer to the pavement and pedestrians. And, whilst it’s far from ideal, right now, the parked cars do slow the traffic down quite effectively. I also think that the development would lose some of it’s aesthetic quality if we put in lots of parking bays. Of course, this is just a personal opinion and it would be good to hear from more residents.
Hi Steve,
I was thinking – to get residents parking only it doesn’t necessarily mean the grass verges have to disappear? It could just mean that to park along Walson Way and other trouble spots you need a residents permit. In East Herts (Bishop’s Stortford) the cost is £34 per year for the first permit and £68 for the second, which isn’t prohibitive. It’s a option if things get a lot worse and probably only possible when the development is more or less complete. Again I encourage all to contribute to the discussion.
Best John
Airport parking has already been experienced in Livings Way with one car being parked for three weeks! We have also noted lots of weekend parker’s including a camper van in full view. Parking permits maybe the easy response!
I am having problems with airport parking their car outside my house as we are quite near the bus stop. They are obviously getting the bus to the airport and leaving their car for 1-2 weeks. I have noticed that some residents have plaques saying “no airport parking”. Can I get one of these, if so, how do I go about getting one?
i agree with Annie, Bently Drive is also a big problem for me. 4 x 4 parked right on the bend completely restrict the view of oncoming traffic and I have seen many an accident waiting to happen. Why do they not use their parking spaces at the rear of their property? I think we need double yellow lines along Bently Drive.
I also totally agree with both Annie & Jennie. The combination of the parked vehicles the gradient and the bend in the road on Bentley Drive creates a very hazardous environment. An accident waiting to happen. I personally often find it very difficult to enter the development through this pinch point and often find I have to carry out various precarious manoeuvres if I’m unfortunate to encounter any oncoming vehicles at this location. If not addressed this situation will only worsen as the volume of traffic entering & leaving the development increases. It would be nice if a solution could be found.
Yes – agree too. Whilst there are broader concerns around traffic and parking, it strikes me that some restrictions around the busier junctions and crossings would be a good first step towards improving sight lines and making it safer for road users and pedestrians. We have a Foresthall Park Working Group Meeting with the Parish Council in early Feb and I will bring this particular example to their attention.
Interesting reading, we live in the older houses on the opposite the Estate on Forest Hall Road. Original plans had Forest Hall Road speed restricted, which we believed had been approved and then to our surprise when the Road was changed from a country lane to a two way road the national Speed limit was kept from the bridge up to and just past the bend just before Walson Way, surely a reduction in speed here will make the road safer especially with the parked cars at the Start of Walson Way and also safer for those pulling out of Bentley Drive. But then again we made this point at the planning stage and obviously it was considered safety was not an issue.
Walson way has been built without the facility for on street parking. Maybe double yellows down one side of the road might help.
I live on Walson Way and as much as I hate to say it, I fear it will take an accident for the powers that be to really hurry up and change something.
I hope they are not just waiting for the school to open to analyse data.
The sheer amount of vehicles passing through has increased to a point where Walson Way is now a main road. (Buses manouvering, speeding cars and parked Vans etc)
My idea would be to run a single line through the development on one side of the road at various hot spots. (Playground, main bend and school.) I would also like to suggest one of those ‘give way to oncoming vehicles areas’ where only one vehicle could pass. This will slow traffic down and coupled with one side of the road being clear at hotspots, pedestrians and residents will have a much better view and sense of the moving traffic which increases safety.
Meanwhile I have noticed one of those black wires in the road just by the roundabout at Church Road to Walson Way… Does anyone know if this is indeed a traffic data capture device?
Make sure you all air your views at the meeting on the 16th.
I think we need to be careful with suggestions of restrictive lines to stop parking. I live on Walson Way oposite the junction up to Mountfitchet School and would very much like to continue to park outside my house – much the same as everybody does. Introducing lines sets a prescedent for the H&S gurus that will only end in the entirety of Walson Way being double yellow lined. The blindingly obvious solution would be to have recessed parking in place of the scrub land ‘verge’ currently in place. It’s not a nice verge and simply narrows the road needlessly as well as catching all the builders rubbish – there would still be ample footpath width. An earlier post claims that parked cars do slow traffic, but in my experience, only when the buses hit the parked cars….. Sensible bays in tandem with some traffic calming (such as right of way points as in Thorley) may work. We should defend our right to park outside our houses as it’s one reason we choose not to live in a town centre and avoid proposals that suit individual houses but blight other residents. None of the problems with parking or visibility would exist if the planners had made the road the right width for a bus route in the first place.
We need to be careful with putting double yellow lines on access roads (like Bentley Drive) as this will only push cars to park on narrower side roads (such as Felstead Crescent), which are not wide enough for any permanent on-street parking. I would favour a relatively moderately costed permit system as this would (i) encourage people to use their allocated parking spaces and/or their garages; and (ii) prohibit airport parking. Somewhere in the region of £30-£50 would seem appropriate.
I’m frustrated by the laziness off residents not parking in there alotted bays and garages. I’m aware some people have 3 or more cars, but
My Belief is that cost would be a deterrant against this in the form of free permits upto 2 exceeding this a cost. I’m sorry but parking on walson way, foresthall road is absolutely dangerous especially the bends. I would hope common sense and social responsibility to the community would prevail before some tough action. The tough action would be permits and a ban of parking at anytime on these major routes. The issue then is the side roads and this would have to be single yellow lines. We as a community then have a cost, the cost of a traffic warden to police it and the paperwork for permits? So please use your common sense and park in the bays and if you can’t get in your garage, isn’t it time maybe for a car boot sale, maybe this could be a fundraiser for the association?