Reader's Letter: We need action not procrastination

Good luck with that. I’m sick of complaining to the local counsellor, all he says is it’s not his job, it’s someone else’s. Do they not learn? How many people have to die like on the bypass before someone finallygets off their arse to sort it?

Robert, the Wilmslow ward councillors and representatives from the town council have a meeting with Cheshire East Council on Wednesday to get an update on the parking survey results, the feasibility study/business case for a multi-storey carpark and the yellow lines. The latest information I have is that the lines are scheduled to go down on Alderley Road and Bedells Lane during the first week in March. The ones on Knutsford Road have been delayed due to concerns raised by residents during the consultation.
We had hoped to get the lines done in November but we didn't achieve that. The council doesn't do that type of work in town centres in December due to impact on Christmas shopping traffic and then it is a case of minimising the risk of bad weather and the availability of the lining gangs. I'll post an update after Wednesday when I know more.
Mark, sorry your councillor is not helping (hope it isn't me!). All of the Wilmslow ward Councillors are involved in the process so should be able to give you the latest state of play.
However, the process is painfully slow and it is as frustrating for the councillors as it is for any other resident.

Despite the previous Conservative councillors publicly complaining to the Police & Crime Commissioner about this problem in November 2018, when we were elected in May 2019 we found out absolutely nothing had been done to get yellow lines installed.

Therefore we had to start from scratch. Since then, your new Residents of Wilmslow councillors have secured the funding from Cheshire East, got the roads surveyed and the scheme prepared. The proposals have gone through the set legal process with considerable consultation with local residents who were concerned these parked cars will be pushed onto their roads.

However, the yellow lines are now approved, the work to install them has been tendered and the team is booked to paint them in six weeks time.

Sorry for your long wait on this, but it is not because your new councillors are ignoring you. Far from it as the new yellow lines will demonstrate when they soon go down.


Cllr Mark Goldsmith
Residents of Wilmslow
Cheshire East & Wilmslow Town Council

Whilst CEC have pledged to tackle climate change (an issue that has yet to be addressed successfully by the worlds greatest scientific minds) it does seem a smidge beyond their capabilities. Perhaps they could gradually work their way up to changing the climate with slightly less ambitious projects such as addressing our parking issues.

I have also noticed the return of vehicles to the area mentioned.

Apparently this website is reviewed by Cheshire East Council workers quire frequently so hopefully a response will be forthcoming sooner rather than later.

Note I said hopefully!

I would like to raise the issue of the dangerous and selfish parking that is taking place on Altrincham Road.
The police are doing nothing despite the double parking making it difficult for the emergency services to get through quickly. The pavements are blocked and don’t allow access for pushchairs and the children going to Gorsey Bank school. A neighbour witnessed a guide dog lead the owner on to the main road as the pavement was blocked by a parked car. These cars are left all day on a daily basis. The parked cars are obstructing visibility and make pulling out from our drives dangerous. Number plates have been reported to the police and their advice is to contact the Council, as it’s a Highways issue. The Council however, say it’s a Police issue. So the situation is not being addressed and resolved. Altrincham Road needs at least a single yellow line before a serious accident happens.

Looks like this urgent issue has been 'parked up' of late - but just maybe above comments made suggest, laying down of the overdue yellow paint, might - just might - finally be making an appearance??

Agree 100% with everything that Helen Sweeney has written: well said Helen! We live on Altrincham Road and the situation is getting worse by the month. We have a number of cars that seem to take their turn parking outside our house, all day from 08.00 to 18.00. We have given up leaving polite notices on the windscreens; totally fed up with them all! Not sure what the answer is or who to turn to that will take the matter seriously.
Attn: Cllr Mark Goldsmith, anything you can do to kick-start to support on this / having single yellow line?

It looks like something is being done at last. Good that. Next is to where these cars will shift to and create more unsociable problems for the residents. They are building simple multi car parks at the airport every week. Surely we can now copy this around the town, as well as park and rides further out?

Good luck with getting your lines installed but there are numerous in Handforth, including double yellow that are totally ignored by car users as there is NO enforcement.

Glad the councillors are moving things forward. There seem to be related problems in the way that the bike lanes are getting parked on - talking to children from Handforth last night who would like to cycle to the High School, they are saying it is feeling increasingly dangerous - and would welcome a way to either cycle up the pavement or another route to get up to Station Road in Wilmslow safely too. And of course, if we had more buses and an integrated system like London, would everyone be using their cars? There is a bit of a climate issue out there.....

I note that Wilmslow High School are going to expand , and increase the number of pupils , apparently due to the number of new houses being built in the area , there is no mention of the increased parking issues that this will create , it was blatantly obvious that the congestion in Leaside way and Glenside Drive , suddenly reduced when the school was closed during the holiday period with almost no cars parked , leading me to believe that , Wilmslow High School , sixth Formers , and Parents manouevering around Leaside Way early morning and around Three in the afternoon ( drop off time )are the cause of annoyance and inconvenience to residents who live there . Now the proposal to increase the number of pupils attending the High School is Obviously going to make matters worse , Cheshire East are just burying their head in the sand and not addressing the parking problem for local residents, me and one of my neighbours recently counted 22 cars parked on Leaside Way right up to the bend And on to Glenside Drive , some of which were double parked , making life difficult and dangerous for residents if emergency vehicles require access , we have already had a fire situation at the access to this small development causing difficulties for Fire Appliances and residents accessing those properties, due to inconsiderate people , some blatantly double parking along Leaside way with absolutely no regard for the people living in this cul-de-sac situation ! Action should be taken now to restrict parking by those attending Wilmslow High School, and others , before a serious situation occurs !

I put my hand up to stand as a councillor for Wilmslow West last May to try and help solve our chronic car parking problems amongst other local things. To me it was going to be a straightforward case of examining the situation and then applying solutions as I have done in business for 30 years.
I soon realised that the public sector does not work in that fashion, the system is much slower, many more people are involved and things take much longer as this is taxpayers' money which should be spent carefully. All your Wilmslow councillors were at yet another meeting at Cheshire East this afternoon and we have been working very closely with the senior officers to get those yellow lines down on Alderley Road as quickly as possible. Every day I am embarrassed at seeing those wretched traffic cones all along this main route through Wilmslow.
These long-awaited "no parking" yellow lines will now happen in the near future and I for one will be the first to cheer - I apologise for the wait but this is due to the "red tape" which we are trying to fight against.

Cllr Iain Macfarlane
Residents of Wilmslow
Wilmslow West & Chorley

I see that my photograph taken in early August 2018 is still proving useful.

The Honda still parks along that section of road every day.

Hi folks, I said above that I'd give an update after the parking meeting.


So to summarise, we discussed the parking survey, the parking restrictions on Alderley Road etc, increasing the parking capacity in the town, and the parking survey results.
The parking survey report will apparently be published in the next few weeks on the Cheshire East website and it sets outs out the plan for parking over the short, medium and longer term.
In the short term, the main activity is to get those lines down on Alderley Road, Bedells lane and knutsford road and the gangs to do it are apparently booked to do Alderley Road and Bedells lane in the sort of timescales i mentioned above. Knutsford road is delayed a bit but I'm assured that that it is still to be undertaken.
The third aspect is the increased capacity, for which the preferred option is a new multi storey car park at Broadway meadows (although the council is still open to other options). The high level business case has been produced and the plan is for it to be considered at some board meeting at the end of February (I don't have my notes with me but I think they said the 24th) to get agreement for the next stage (working out demand - how many spaces, the procurement strategy and then the development of plans and the planning process). Fingers crossed it gets approved. Now you know as much as us!


On the cycling routes issues mentioned above, Wilmslow has been awarded a significant amount of money to improve/provide cycling routes and I believe the council are working on plans as we speak (although I've not yet been involved). I understand that there will be a consultation on it (probably later this year but I can't remember exactly when). For your information, the council has a very enthusiastic "cycling champion" in Cllr Suzie Aker-Smith so if you want anything to do with cycling progressing, I'd get in touch with her (details on the Cheshire East website) and pretty certain she'll do anything she can to make it happen.


On Wilmslow high and Leaside/Glenside, I'm well aware of the problem. I spoke to the head of the school on Tuesday and asked him to again reinforce to his pupils the importance of responsible parking. At the end of the day though he has limited parking available to the 6th formers (as they were called in old money) and he can't stop them parking on the streets. They are pushing for the kids to use more sustainable travel means and, hopefully, the situation will improve as a result of the Wilmslow high expansion plans (if it goes ahead) and the changes with respect to parking in the town but it won't happen overnight.
Think that's all for now. Hope that's useful.

I work 14 miles away and commute by bicycle in all weathers. It takes about an hour each way, keeps me fit, saves loads of money and I'm not destroying the planet.

We don't need to wait for politicians or policies, or more car parks. What we need is for some more people to take responsibility for their own actions, to stop making excuses and make more of an effort to do the right thing for themselves and the environment.

@James.....good for you!!
Have to say though, there is a bit of an irony.....in my view there are so many cars on the road, cycling in rush hour is plain dangerous for the cyclist. Even if I could cycle to work, not sure I would take the risk- especially not this time of year.....!!

The point about the time of year is very relevant.
At this time of the year, anyone using a bike to get to work will be travelling in the dark at one end of day. Some will be in the dark at both ends of their working day.
If the non expert cyclists are to be happy doing this, the cycling routes need to be safe - and this includes clearing leaves regularly in the period Oct-Jan - and well lit. And this comes at significant cost and this cost will be a on-going cost. Laying a tarmac track without a commitment to maintenance will be a waste of money.

Back in the '80s I used to regularly cycle from south Wilmslow to my office in Cheadle, about 9 miles each way. Back then there were no flashing LED bike lights, just 'Never Ready' golden glows, not too reassuring on a dark wet night on the A34.

Amazingly I survived unscathed several years of this before my work took me further afield and inter-city trains and aeroplanes replaced the bike. But I was young and invulnerable back then. In pre-bypass days the morning traffic on the A34 was mostly stationary so not much of a threat. But in the evening by the time I was returning, that wasn't the case. I had a few close calls, but at that age I saw it as a challenge and dealt with it.

The UK roads are still pretty cycle-unfriendly compared to places like Denmark, France, and Holland. But it's better now than it was back then. And cycle lights have come on leaps and bounds!

@Vince.....omg....you cite your close call’s like a badge of honour!! You realise x2 cyclists die a week on British roads ??

It's like lion taming, Matthew. You have to be fully aware that these things will kill you in an instant and hardly notice. But you are smarter than them. It's a young man's game.

“Like lion taming”.......I like your style!!

Where does the council expect the people who currently park in the Broadway Meadow car park, to park once work begins on the multi-story?
Are there any plans for a temporary site?

Julie, there will have to be. That's part of the planning bit.

Royal London? When they move out there will only be "Office to Rent" signs and tumble-weeds.

Glad to hear that yellow lines are to appear at last along Knutsford road. However, I hope the Council get round to. Cleaning the gutters first of the autumnal dead leaves. Has Cheshire East Council scrapped the vehicles with rotating brushes. It looks like it as gutters are disgraceful along ALL the town's roads.

Great news. Planning Application just submitted for long stay car park close to the town centre but out of sight of the road. 90 cars off the pavements and it can happen soon if CE support.
Let’s see if they are serious about sorting this crisis.

Mike

It might help if you mentioned you are the applicant for this new car park, so readers can decide if your comments are altruistic or financially driven.

Cllr Mark Goldsmith

Say planning consent were to be given for a privately-owned car park, how long does it have to be before a change of use application could go in for, say, construction of two houses?

I am perplexed as to why it matters who provides the parking as long as the problem is solved.
With respect the public sector has not as yet been able to provide sufficient parking to remove long stay vehicles from residential roads or off pavements on main arterial roads.

Every car I can see parked on Victoria Road has a parking ticket today (Wednesday 29th. January); it's something I notice because it's an extremely unusual occurrence; once in a while someone makes an effort to "police" the parking restrictions but the road is generally used for all-day free parking because of the lack of enforcement.

I worked out a while back that it's probably cheaper for the many people who park all day on Victoria Road to pay the occasional parking fine than it is for them to pay for parking in an all-day car park, assuming they can find a space in such a thing that is.

Unfortunately any "parking survey" will indicate that Victoria Road is time-limited free parking for shoppers and other visitors, which is simply not the case. What the official parking restrictions are and what the actual parking habits are are two different things. The people disadvantaged are the occasional shoppers who might want to visit and spend money in Wilmslow, but find there are no parking spaces for them when they try to visit.

Maybe there will be some yellow lines on Alderley Road soon, but I've given up believing the promises made by councillors, past and present. I'll take it as a nice surprise if they do appear.

Regarding cycling and taking 'responsibility for their own actions'(James MacDonald), if there were dedicated cycleways many more people would become virtuous environmentally kind citizens. Quite simply the roads are too dangerous for most people to contemplate cycling which doesn't mean by implication that they do not take 'responsibility for their own actions' in regard to the environment and their health.
A nationwide investment in cycleways is what is required, it would cut pollution and improve health, probably saving as much money in the long term as the cost of the provision.