More Parking Misery for Residents Near Westfield

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Date set for new parking restrictions to come into force

New restrictions preventing non-residents from parking in the streets immediately surrounding Westfield at peak periods will come into force at the end of the month, the Council has confirmed.

From 30th November, streets in parking zone G will be reserved for residents only between 2-4pm and between 6.30-8pm on Sundays, as is already the case on Saturdays.

The new restrictions follow two weekends of parking misery for residents, as Westfield shoppers have clogged the streets, using the normally quiet side roads as a free car park.  

Last Saturday and Sunday there was a constant flow of cars circling the grid of streets directly to the south of the shopping centre, waiting for a parking space to become available. Some double parked temporarily as they waited.  

“On Sunday I returned home at 5pm and joined about five other cars who were circling round for about 15 minutes before finding a space. I really think residents' bays should be protected. One or two pay and display bays, clearly marked, and the rest should be residents' only,” said Sterne Street resident, Sasha Bates.

Another resident said both Saturday and Sunday had been bad: “This weekend was worse than the first, as shoppers that may have been put off by first weekend’s madness decided to brave the crowds. There was also a football match on at Loftus Road which brought added congestion to Wood Lane. In Macfarlane Road it was impossible to find any parking due to shoppers taking up all the bays, and the traffic flow was a nightmare – non existent. There were tailbacks, angry motorists and even angrier residents due to the inability to leave/return home and the constant honking of horns and verbal abuse that was suffered,” said Dominic Thomas of Macfarlane Road.

Motorists parked anywhere and everywhere: in parking bays, on street corners, single yellow lines, double yellow lines and all along the cycle lanes on Wood Lane.

Westfield have confirmed that Sunday parking in the shopping centre car park is free for the time being: “The Sunday arrangement is a temporary grace period and we will revert to the standard charge on Sundays shortly,” a spokesperson told ShepherdsBushW12.com.

One non-resident, who used a parking bay in Sterne Street on Sunday afternoon, was clearly unaware of this, saying the Westfield car park was just too expensive: “I parked in there once before and paid £6 for two hours. I save money by parking in the street,” said Mr Alk, adding that it had taken him 20 minutes to find a space. Although he did not live far away, he said it would have been difficult for him to come by public transport. “I’ve got a baby, children, a wife and a lot of things to carry.”

Parking surveys were being carried out all weekend to measure “parking stress”. The Council says this information will form part of a report to be presented to Cabinet in the new year, when the decision to bring in residents-only parking at certain times on Sundays is due to be reviewed.

But Shepherd’s Bush MP Andy Slaughter says he thinks the new measures will have little effect: “The whole traffic and parking situation is a shambles.  I have had scores of complaints from all over Shepherd’s Bush.  The Council were told this would happen. They boasted they would do nothing, even to review the situation, until February. Now they are in panic mode and have made some wholly inadequate suggestions for new regulations which will go nowhere near addressing the problem.”

Councillor Nicholas Botterill, H&F Council Deputy Leader, said the changes were being brought in as a direct result of demands by residents: "We have made the decision to fast track these simple changes in the worst affected streets around Westfield so they are not clogged up with Westfield's shoppers and staff on Sundays. Local people are demanding urgent changes to parking rules and we have acted swiftly to protect their interests."

Traffic was slow-moving around the Green and on Wood Lane on Saturday, while on Sunday, emergency roadworks on the A40 northern roundabout, just north of Westfield, caused long tailbacks on the West Cross Route.

Transport for London said: "While it appears many Westfield shoppers are getting to the area by public transport, motorists in west London should still be assured that TfL will continue to work closely with the borough to minimise any impact that the Westfield's development has on local traffic."

Yasmine Estaphanos

12 November 2008