Agenda item
Deputations (if any)
Minutes:
The Mayor noted that the Council had received a combined deputation from residents of Harlesden Gardens in Kensal Green Ward and that the deputation related to traffic issues and road rage. He asked Councillor Kelcher (Kensal Green Ward) to introduce the residents.
Councillor Kelcher began by placing on record his thanks to the Mayor for all his work during his mayoral year. He stated that the residents would speak on the issue in further detail but mentioned that he, Councillor McLeish and Councillor Hector had all visited the roads in question and that they were fully supportive of the initiative being proposed by residents. It was felt that this would help to aid the traffic problems which were prevalent in Harlesden.
Nancy Strang (resident of Harlesden Gardens) began by stating that she had been a resident of the Harlesden Gardens area for 14 years. She outlined that in the last couple of years the traffic on Park Parade (the local high street) had worsened significantly. She felt that the problems arose in part from the two way traffic systems on three of the roads adjoining Park Parade (Harlesden Gardens, Sellons Avenue and Springwell Avenue), which frequently caused ‘bottlenecks’ of road traffic. She put forward that some of the reasons which contributed to this included: not being able to turn onto the road when another car is coming in the opposite direction; double parking on the road; and cars on the high street using the three roads as a cut through. She also mentioned that there were two bus stops which created a traffic backlog and three schools in the Harlesden Gardens area which contributed to the severe disruption at pick-up times. She also drew Members’ attention to the rise of anti-social behaviour in the form of road rage and that her children had witnessed violent and expletive confrontations between drivers. She concluded that this was an issue affecting all of the residents in this area, and that only one person she had spoken to had refused to sign her petition on this issue.
Amanda McKenzie (resident of Harlesden Gardens) noted that she had lived in Harlesden for 16 years and had been a resident of the Harlesden Gardens area for nine years. She said that the traffic problems were intolerable on the three roads in question, but that they wanted to offer a solution to the Council. She directed Members to a map of the roads, which had been circulated within the Chamber, which identified the possibility of creating a ‘natural loop’ of access to the three roads. She felt that this would assist in easing the traffic flow on these three roads, and have a beneficial effect for residents in the area. She explained her proposals in more detail according to the map, specifying which sections of the roads would be one way and which would be proposed to remain two way. She also mentioned that a similar system had been introduced on Buckingham Road and Wendover Roads in the past, and it was known to be working well. She concluded by asking the Council to consider their proposal find a solution to the problems raised.
Councillor Southwood (Lead Member for Environment) thanked the residents for their deputation and Ward Councillors for visiting the roads in question. She stated that she felt that Council could, and should, do something to address this. She noted that the narrowness of the roads compounded the issue and the presence of the schools in the vicinity caused concern. She raised that she had also been receiving an increasing volume of emails on concerns about anti-social behaviour occurring at school pick-up times. Members heard that the issue raised in the deputation was timely as Council Officers were due to be meet Transport for London (TfL) on the impact of the Harlesden Town Centre Scheme and that there was a perception at this stage that the scheme may have had a negative knock-on effect on traffic around Harlesden. She advised Members that the speed limit for the area was already 20 miles-per-hour but there were other potential things that could be instigated by the Highways department to stop cars parking on double yellow lines. Although it was also noted that any short term measures would require funding and would need to consider any others which might have an effect on the area. She acknowledged the positive impact of the aforementioned systems introduced on Buckingham Road and Wendover Roads and proposed that Councillors, Officers and residents all work together in the short term to develop a sustainable long-term solution to these issues.