kr988

This is my unbiased opinion of the current changes. I?m an ED resident who has to drop my son at school in West Dulwich on the way to work. He will be walking from September to a nearer school and my older son cycles to Dulwich Park regularly so I can see the pros and cons. 1)For cyclists getting to the village from ED it?s much better with a free run down Carlton. 2)Despite Schools not at full capacity and people working from home traffic is really backed up through the Dulwich Village - I?d be very concerned about pollution levels for those walking through the village or in the playgrounds of both The Hamlet Schools. 3)Dulwich Common Road ( toward LL) is backed up with buses at a standstill. 4)EDG was not too bad - maybe because there is no backed up traffic from the junction of MG due to Melbourne being closed today. It must be safer for cars now but still hard to cross as cars are now turning at a speed into MG from EDG with no back up.

I went to the meeting yesterday to try and get my head around the proposals . They are very complicated especially in relation to permits and timed closures and there was a lot of people even within the village sceptical that it would work . The take home message that I felt was that the council want to push thus through , it probably will put many off driving through the village from outside and that the displacement on the surrounding main roads was to be expected and ok because this was their purpose being main roads. The P4 though the village should improve ( not completely convinced ) but didn?t talk about impact of buses including p13 and P4 on Dulwich Common Road and 37 and 42 on EDG which of course will be even slower . When I asked why more buses and routes couldn?t be put in first before doing the changes the answer I was given is that it would far be too expensive. I?m going to email councillors and TFL involved and ask them to take these buses now at peak time to see how slow they already are on roads that are only going to get even busier . I encourage others worried about the impact on bus routes to do the same .

If the proposals were to improve public transport links first by train and buses then people would be much more positive and engaged . As people have pointed out there are some distances that are too far to walk and many are not happy to cycle if it means at some point you will be sharing roads with other motor vehicles. These proposals may worsen the only bus routes available on EDG, the village and Lordship Lane .

Exdulwicher I think I would have a bit more respect for your preaching if you weren?t a car owner yourself , although at least you are honest . Rupert it took my son almost an hour to get home from West Dulwich on the P4 and 37 due to the Village Roadworks which I fear is modelling for what will happen with if the proposals go through . I too will be forced to drive him if delays on public transport get worse due to the changes .

And it?s likely to get worse with more traffic backed up on East Dulwich Grove if Townley and Carlton are blocked off to traffic. Sure this will make cycling more dangerous and bus travel more difficult on EDG. I don?t see the logic ?

No that?s very true .I was just stating that children from from private schools are more likely to live further away and the previous reply had been about their coaches clogging up the road. As someone previously pointed out more children live further away from their state school as well . Unless you work from home or are a stay at home parent or there is a station next to the school how do you get your primary school child to school on time safely and get to work on time in the morning ?

Yes the village and surrounding roads do get impacted by the schools in the area and as private schools have children Living further away than state schools it?s fair to say there maybe more traffic caused by them .However I think that many here benefit indirectly from them as well. I?m sure those on roads next to the playing fields prefer this view than some other development . Whose children here use the sports centre at Dulwuch College the fields on Gallery Road or the pool at Alleyns. Whose children have managed to get a place in a good state primary because places are not being taken up by children going private. Whose house price is protected because of the number of sort after schools near them. This is a complicated debate with many factors for different families and simply saying ?we don?t want these coaches of young children on our road is slightly unfair when you maybe indirectly benefitting as well or saying one persons journey to get their child to school safely on time and then to work when there may not be a feasible alternative whereas I?m allowed to use my car for a journey I feel is essential is also hypocritical.

I think this thread has decended into a back slapping exercise for people living outside the CPZ zone. Arguments about taxes etc are good ones but irrelevant. Why any govt has the ability to decide how much taxes to charge is beyond me but beside the point we are discussing here. Do you want to go into NI and inheritence tax as well? People are bored with arguing as far as I can see. If you live outside the zone and it impacts you then sorry. But to be honest tough! This should be a residents decision - they are not building a dump or a prison here. Feel free to offer as much opinions as you like but don't think people who have asked for a CPZ should get intimidated and back down because people who it should not affect at all if their arguments are valid start throwing there toys out of the pram. Any opinion/petition etc expressed by people outside the zone cannot be taken into account at the expense of those within the zone. If it is we need to take into account the opinion of the entire of London and this desicion to be implemented for every CPZ zone in the city.

What you are asking is for residents who feel parking is a problem to put up with a level of parking stress mainly because you are worried it will come your way. It's been said that it will not be fair to local businesses but the plans make provisions for 30min parking within only a 2 hour window so the truth is you don't want the commuter parking (even those parking and working in local businesses) coming to the streets outside the CPZ area. I don't believe either that some petition signed by people using shops in the area who could have come from anywhere should have weight in the decision process. Should we start a similar one outside John Lewis in Oxford street? We can hammer out the stats till we are blue in the face at each other. You can argue the councils stats are wrong but i've heard the statistical arguments and tend to believe they will be better for someone living within a CPZ as it will increase the likelihood of residents getting a parking spot during the day. And that is the decision at the end of the day -for the people within the proposed CPZ to make. The idea that people within the area should act as a firewall to preserve the fabric of East Dulwich or to fight the power of local government expanding their revenue streams is nonsense and a different issue. I believe from what I've heard that it is better for me, I am willing to pay for it and want to have it as a trial. Sorry guys but if it overflows on to your road then campaign for your own CPZ or put up with it. I will not be the area's sacrificial lamb for a campaign against taxes either. If this is people's real motivation then it should be fought elsewhere. It is not without merit but again don't expect other to accept the consequences of the stand here. Nobody has come up with an alternative to help the streets that are taking the brunt of the burden so don't expect those within the proposed area to back down under intimidation and not try to improve things for themselves.

I've had a read through the posts here and am amazed. There is a bunch of self serving antagonists jumping up and down abusing councillors and residents pretending that they have the moral high ground on an issue. I'm sorry you don't like the answer - but the fact is that the majority of residents in the area have looked at the facts and decided that they want a CPZ. Valid issues have been raised which has been constructive - but at the end of the day the majority of the people living on the roads within the CPZ have considered the pros and cons and decided it will make life better for them in the street they live on and are willing to pay for the change. This should be the end of it - the idea that you can bully people into accepting what you believe is shameful! It is not the case that the council is pulling a fast one or the people in the CPZ "just don't understand".

1)James Barber was asked by numerous residents for this consultation I think it's unfair to blame him for listening to a fair proportion of his constituents. 2) Please make an informed decision by attending relevant meetings and the Grove library this Saturday and the Wednesday after.I do feel that figures are being quoted by the forum to blind people into making a decision that suits them and not the people currently affected by this problem. 3) Apparently Southwark figures for permit take up is between 4% to 40%. Certainly this favours the argument for displacement parking but also means there should be a definite reduction in congestion on roads near the station in a CPZ,if a maximum of 40%of residents want parking in the day and there is no commuter parking. 4) looking at the plans for Derwent at least it looks like most of the road is available for parking with no bays apart from a pay and display ( that permit holders can use) that I can see . Also apparently Elsie and Melbourne are being consulted on whether they want parking bays outside their drives that they or their visitors can use to maximise spaces available. 5) 125 pound a year is about 10 pound a month and if a 2 hour parking restriction goes through visitors and tradesman should be able to work around this without extra cost and hopefully park more easily. 6) I totally understand neighbouring roads objecting because they don't wants to face the nightmare parking that some roads are facing but I am disappointed that some on the forum are arguing against CPZ claiming they don't work and are purely revenue generating.Please go to the meetings and get the facts and make an informed decision.

The problem is as already stated that in working hours on weekdays it is very difficult to find a space to park(i live on Derwent Grove and have a normal size hatchback). This effectively means if you move your car in the day between 9am and 4.30pm it is more likely that you will have to park on an alternative road.You are right in saying that there is a lot of resident cars due to a lot if flat and parking is always tight. However as far as I know we and our neighbours can always park at night and at the weekend. So I can only assume that commuter parking for the station and from people working nearby is putting pressure on the spaces available causing residents not to be able to park in the daytime.None of us ever expect to park outside our house the issue is not being able to park on our street. At the risk of sounding 'emotional' this is a real stress when you have small children or heavy loads to carry . This may happen more than once in a day when you have to park on another road. I do think that many of you on the forum are taking for granted being able to park on the street you live in.Also comments about residents who live near a station should not expect to park on their road is not useful.

Guys I live on Derwent Grove. The last time there was a consultation on this was 9 years ago. A lot has changed in 9 years. East Dulwich station has massively grown as a commuter station to London Bridge. The development happening there at the moment is going to create a lot more office space and with the cost of property pushing people out further and further from central London you can expect much more people commuting from where it is convenient and cost efficient to do so. So, far from not being a problem, commuter parking is already and will become ever more of a problem. I've read here that people living near a station shouldn't expect to be able to park near their house and if they don't like it they should have considered buying further from the station. Can I ask why exactly is it more busy near a station if it's not for commuter parking taking up more spaces? A CPZ was designed in the first place to help residents who face this issue. This is the first time I've heard the argument that people coming to work or park to commute from an area should just be accepted by residents. As regards the poor guys in the music shop and takeaway I'm sorry but why are they not commuting to work via public transport rather than taking parking spaces on roads where some residents find it hard to park? It's normal for people to not be able to park close to where they work especially when it is so close to public transport and if people want to commute to a station via a car then they should go to a station where there is a car park and not disrupt residents near that station. I vehemently contest the posts that say that there's always spaces. If there was why do you think anyone would argue to pay money for a CPZ? I'm sure that in their experience it is the case that they are usually lucky to find a place but by the same token people who cannot are not just arguing the toss for the sake of it. I took a week of last week and had a lot of trouble trying to find a space near our house during the day. I was doing laps of East Dulwich! This has nothing to do with my parking skills or fear of a bit of a walk from my front door. I don't have a tractor either. The fact is East Dulwich is a great place to live with a young family and if you do have kids picking them up from schools and different clubs and stuff is just a normal way ?of life. Throwing a couple of kids on your back and trekking a couple of streets is tough going. I spoke to a good few people on our road last night and most were in favour of a CPZ. There were some that weren't and they highlighted some very good points why they weren't. These were people being able to ring up after parking in the morning and pay for the 2 hours remotely (I'd be rightly cheesed off if it came it and people started finding loopholes that would undermine the effectiveness of it). I've also seen something about loosing spaces and that the council are just using this as a revenue generator and it is cheaper elsewhere. These are all points which should be cleared up and clarified so that the CPZ we'd get actually does the job a lot of people wants it to do. The people I spoke to that were not in favour of it though did seem very pragmatic and were more interested in getting the right deal for us and if we hash this out honestly we can vastly improve the majority of people's living experience.