NEWS - Littleover Neighbourhood Board - 25th Nov 2009

This meeting of the Littleover Neighbourhood Board came together to discuss the feedback from residents to the proposed parking restrictions. It is not my job (or place) to provide the minutes of this meeting here, but I will provide the salient points. As a street representative (for Princes Drive primarily) I am expected to get out and communicate what is happening and canvas opinion generally (so this is all information which is supposed to be in the public domain) - but to save me (and the environment) some paper I'll be putting the bulk of my thoughts in here. I will also be doing a shorter paper mail drop to keep residents informed.


I'm sure you all know the proposed parking restrictions that were advertised at the meetings, online (link: http://www.derby.gov.uk/TransportStreets/MotorVehiclesRoadsParking/Parking/CHPP.htm) and on telegraph poles around Littleover.


These have all been broadly accepted, with the following exceptions:
1. Middleton Avenue - the proposed double-yellow section has been reduced at both ends
2. Balmoral Close - A reduction in the proposed Double-Yellows, so they will make minimal intrusion into Balmoral close itself, and just cover the junction.
3. Queens Drive - There will a small amount of re-think about the double-yellows covering the triangle junction into Princes Drive
4. Chain Lane & Cordon Avenue - Despite a lot of discussion about the "chicane" and concerns over speed and residents being to get out of their drives, the only change will be around The Green, in that residents on Chain Lain opposite the Green will be reconsulted with further options.
5. Bretton Avenue - There has been a separate Bretton Avenue discussion and the proposed single yellows will be re-arranged to mimic the way most people currently park on the road.
6. Princes Drive - A petition was received from the vast majority of residents objecting to the proposed single yellow. After some discussion this was finally accepted and Princes Drive will get no single yellow.


There is also widespread agreement that the majority of residents do want residents only parking, and the proposed timetable will be (subject to the inevitable delays with contractors actually putting down lines etc)...


Mid Jan - this set of proposed lines will go down
Mid Feb to Mid March - traffic monitoring will start to see the effect of the new lines
After mid-march - consultation on residents parking will be commenced.
(I think, even with the best will in the world, we can all expect timetables to slip...)


My impressions of this meeting were that while residents are definitely being listened to, there is a legal process underway which the council must be seen to follow, so local representatives have only a very limited role - any opinions they express based on conversations with residents are considered, but really we need the "legal" backup of written objections to proposed changes.


Also, there seems to be a lot of momentum behind anything that is down on paper, so once a proposal has been drafted out by the traffic engineers, it involves a significant amount of effort to get these changed -- so really the key message (in my opinion) is to get the proposed plan as close to what we want as early as possible! Obviously there is no silver bullet -- no-one can come up with a solution which everyone will agree is the correct way forward, but the closer we can get to a consensus in the initial stages, I think the more productive any meetings can be (as they would hopefully just be ironing out small niggles in the design -- oh optimistic, I know...)


Rory