After years of debates, false starts, U-turns, consultations and planning, today is the day that Pay and Display comes to Wanstead High Street, along with the introduction of residents only parking on many streets.
Time will tell how successful the plan is, but let us hope it can achieve some or all of these outcomes:
- A healthier and less polluted Wanstead*
- A reduction in the number of people driving into Wanstead, parking, and using it as an all-day car park to go into London
- Less congestion at busy times
- An increase in people walking and cycling
- An increase in casual shopping trips to Wanstead High Street, greater revenue for shops, and increased prosperity for traders
- Greater ability for residents to park outside or near their own homes
If those can be achieved, everyone will be happy. Probably.
(*Good point, Me.)
ð¡ð¡ Rodney Reed
Now fix the potholes in all the roads round Wanstead!
Here here
Today I am happy. I was sitting nicely in the ‘For’ camp and now the majority have to pay for parking outside of our homes.
Commiserations to those who now have to give friends, builders and the likes permits. Poor you and the 35p you have to pay for your lazy friend who drives around the corner to park outside your house whilst drinking Organic green tea, plucked from the bush by virgin mermaids.
This is for the best, but if anything it gives you in the ‘Against’ camp something to complain about forever more.
Now, what is next? Are you going to ambush the Pool plan? Dictate what happens on the Evergreen site (again). Maybe you all just sit down, relax and watch a bit of the telly box.
Just a thought…
The people complaining about paying for parking on the High Street are residents.
This is because they cannot just nip around the corner now and park in the bus lane.
One of the points made is will it help to provide ‘An increase in casual shopping trips to Wanstead High Street, greater revenue for shops, and increased prosperity for traders’.
Well I believe it will! Now the High Street won’t be full of parked cars for local Wanstead folk, leaving room for out of towners to visit our splendid array of Turkish Restaurants, Nail Bars and bookies.
You’re far too judgmental for my taste and sound like a bit of a ‘know all’. It’s not just nipping round the corner for some people in Wanstead and there are some in the community who can’t walk long distances or carry what to some might not be a problem. I’m glad I don’t live next to you.
Nice article.
r u and ‘me’ one and the same?
Luckily for everyone there is only one of ‘me’.
Fair play to wansteadium for taking on my comments.
Rodney road can’t even get parked near my own bloody house
Nightingale Lane is a joy to behold today!! Hooray for the long awaited liberty of Wanstead roads, which for too long have been free car parks for Monday to Friday commuters!!
Halstead Road is a joy to behold too! How lovely to wake up to a quiet road and not one where daily commuters drive up and down our road like racing car drivers looking for somewhere to park. Like many residents on this road, we the silent majority welcomed the parking restrictions – the low return rate to the consultation was a pretty obvious indicator.
The only shame is that the restrictions weren’t introduced sooner.
Wellington Road too! 🙂
Although unfortunately for the Rodney Road residents it appears the commuters just drove on down to their road… 🙁
The extension of residents parking was only a ploy to try to win over the 3,000 + people objecting to the pay and display.
The Council see pay and display as a rich source of revenue to pay for the huge amount of agency staff they have taken on to replace the permanent ones they have made redundant and to pay for the new civic regalia they have bought in order that Labour Councillors can hang gold chains round their necks to show how important they feel !
It is the shops who will lose out as people will go elsewhere where they do not have to pay to park. Shops will close and we will lose our local services then Councillor Athwal will say “oh dear” to offset this Council tax must go up
Name some of the best high Streets in London? Upper St? Marlyebone? Greenwich? Blackheath? Kensignton? Hackney? I’m sure you can name more. All thriving. All full of great shopping and eating. Any of them have a nice free-for-all parking policy?
Yes there will be a hit of those who only drive to places. But they are a minority. And that loss will be somewhat replaced by more who may now find the high st a nicer, less polluted and safer place to be. Completely replaced, that I can’t guarantee. But the benefit to the majority will be worth it. Please remember, there have been people injured and killed on our high st. A reduction on traffic is for the benefit of all. And yes, I am a car driver who still might occassionally drive to the high st, but understand it may cost me £1 for the privelidge.
How naive. Shops closing will simply not be down to pay & display parking – there are many factors that contribute to this. Free parking is still available on Grovesnor Road after 10.30 am and because of the time restrictions placed on the High St, there’ll be more parking available not less. Many town centres have introduced P&D and have still managed to survive, so why can’t Wanstead? Lots of scaremongering….
Where will the money go, will it go back into the community to repair the pot holes doubt it will go off to offset the money that the Council is wasting on consultants and agency staff
Wellington Road has been liberated from dozens of commuters – hooray! I can actually park on my road. Thanks RC!
Wish ours was they were fighting for spaces this morning up and down
And amazingly the sky hasnât fallen in! A victory for wanstead!
It’ll make popping to Wanstead from Aldersbrook a PITA. Can’t see how it will increase trade. Surely there will simply be fewer people popping in?
Saw my 1st P&D-related parking ticket on Wellesley early afternoon
Don’t suppose you took a picture did you??
No, sorry. Far side of road from newsagents about 5-10m further down towards Wellington
Be great if the money was invested back into Wanstead. Also excuse the conspiracy theory but interesting they put forward plans to turn the car park into flats. Everyone said but thereâd be no parking. Voila parking. Mmmm flats eh!
They haven’t even done Redbridge Lane West properly. Still yellow lines outside my house. Redbridge Council is a joke in more ways than one.
I have no choice but to drive to my job in Wanstead, a job Iâve been happy in for 16 years. Sadly I will be looking closer to home now as it is not only almost impossible to park, but I feel like a thief of parking spaces if I do manage to find an elusive space. As for casual shopping how do you think a lot of people have to get about. Not everyone is a pollution monster only on the road to upset every pedestrian or cyclist.
Lucky to those roads with restrictions! Shame on those with total lack of appreciation that âcommutersâ are not spending money in high street! Draycot is now the closest free car park to station (& high street) bring on parking charges everywhere!
Best to take things slowly.
Warning â ï¸ to all. I notice the new bays for parking in the High Street, I also notice cars were not parked in the bays correctly you will get a ticket, I did at Gants Hill, where the other person hadn’t parked correctly I got the ticket.