Merstham Councillors are looking for residents views on Surrey County Council’s proposals for changes to the parking and cycle lane on the bridge over the M25 in Merstham.
Parking on the A23 London Road North between Station Road North and Rockshaw Lane has increased significantly and results in the cycle lanes being blocked and so unavailable for use by cyclists. Parking close to side road junctions is also creating visibility problems for drivers exiting onto London Road North. The parking is mainly commuter parking associated with Merstham Station. The station car parks are full and the surrounding roads are struggling to cope with parking demand from both residents and commuters.
Surrey Officers have put forward two options that aim to control where drivers park on the overbridge more effectively whilst at the same time providing for cyclists.
Option 1 looks at reallocating road space within the existing carriageway, continuing to provide for cyclist on road. (click on image to expend)
Option 2 provides for cyclists on the existing footway. (click on image to expand)
These options are to be put before the Reigate & Banstead Local committee on Monday 1st March. Below is a link to the report for the meeting.
Item 10 – “A23 London Road North, Merstham – Proposed Improvements to Parking and Cycling Provision
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As a resident of Station Road North my journey to work often begins and ends in frustration and annoyance, as I am continually forced to dodge parked/abandoned (some of these vehicles can not be deemed “parked”, combined with the complete disregard the station users have for speed limits in their endeavour to catch their trains or return home in the shortest time possible.
I therefore welcome option 1, particularly as it will curtail the behaviour of the motorists to park right on top of the junction with Station Road North. Moreover, I really do hope that the council gived due considers not making this a free facility, but installs parking meters for these bays. By making the bays free would deter people from utlising either the car-park at the station itself, or other parking enterprises in the area.
If a fee of £2.50 a day were payable, for 50 parking bays, this could attract annual revenues that would easy cover the cost of the project in year 1 and provide additional revenues in future years to invest in the local community.
I’m not a resident of Merstham but frequently cycle through the village on my commute from Purley to Gatwick. I have to agree that neither proposed option offer a great solution. Shared pavement schemes on what is a fast cycle section (southbound at least) would leave both pedestrians and cyclists alike in a vulnerable situation, while the alternative of putting the cycle lane on the outside of the parking area doesn’t really change the situation from a cyclist’s point of view at all (apart from not being able to moan about the pointlessness of the cycle path any more!)
I agree with Robert’s comments that a 9-10am parking restriction would solve a lot of the problem (it certainly worked in the main streets nearby to Coulsdon South station), but the restricted section would need to be large enough to ensure parking wasn’t simply pushed into other nearby streets.
I live almost on the bridge and believe control parking between 9am & 10am would be best way to free up the cycle lane and at the same time I could park outside my house for a change. locals could have a permit card to cover them for the 1 hour no parking.
You should look at doing this to all local streets by the station, cost should not amount to much as well. job Done
Moving from Castlenau to Merstham I was superbly surprised by the inactivity of local authorities to deter the awful parking practiced over the mentioned bridge. As a cyclist, cycle lanes are a welcomed introduction anywhere, but the mentioned “painted lines” do no more than give the drivers help parking their cars before freely walking down to the station. They certainly don’t make me feel any safer.
Each and every car is parked by commuters not wanting to pay to use the station car park (or use their local one). It’s about time parking tickets are issued. This is a loophole far too many people are taking advantage of.
Sam,
The problem of the parking on the cycle lane on the motorway over bridge has been going on for a number of years now and all steams (in my view) from the wrong type of cycle lane lines being installed 7 or 8 years ago. The lines that we currently have are broken white lines and as such are only advisable and can’t be policed (no idea what they were thinking when they decided to use these lines, can believe it saved money).
The parking problem has got a lot worse over the last 2 years as people from the surrounding areas realised that they could park here for free. At the same time we have been waiting for Surrey County Council’s parking review programme to come around to Merstham, which it finally has, hence why as local Councillors we have been asking for people’s opinions. A decision was due to be made a month or so ago at a meeting of the Local Transportation Committee, but due to a number of us local members not being happy with the officers proposals and the lack of any real consultation the report was rejected and officers were asked to go away and think again. The officers are due to report back to a meeting in June with their latest proposals.
One of the factors that I think we have to understand before any changes are made (with the exception of improving the junction sight lines which I think have to go ahead) is what will happen to the cars displaced by any new parking controls and are we just going to move the problem to another residential street. We would certainly welcome any views on that.
Please let us know if you have any other comments or suggestions.
Being both a car driver and an avid cyclist, i’m in favour of option 1.
I also refute the statements of people who say the cycle lanes arent used much. Its like when you buy a new car, only then do you start to notice how many of the same models there are. I’m consantly surprised how many cyclists do actually use the cycle lanes! And as money is always the issue, put some cheap parking meters along that stretch for the commuters say £1 a day to recoup the cost.
How about turning some of that unused land between the two railway lines into a commuter car park?
Tony,
Thank you for your feedback, it has been a big help to me to get all of this feedback for my meeting later today.
With regards the land between the two railway lines, yes I agree with you, but Network Rail who own the land seem to be very uninterested in the idea, they seay they need the site (accessed from Brook Road) for storage and access to the line. I can understand they need some of the land, but I would have thought that there was still planty to turn into a second car park and still have the space they need.
Mark
Cllr Mark Brunt
Being a resident of London Road North and a commuter, I would rather not see cylces sharing the pavements when there is plenty of space on the road. I fully support the additional yellow lines, stated by Cllr Brunt, on junctions but these need to be enforced by the constabulary. Every day I see a car parked in Station Road on double yellow line and no tickets appeared to be issued! Personally I am not concerned with the cars parked on London Road North, but they need to be parked without effecting traffic flow and that including cyclist but more importantly creating a safe environment for all to share.
I am a regular cyclist. I don’t much care for either option. The stretch of road concerned is so short that any sort of cycle lane there is rather cosmetic. I’d rather see the money spent on enforcing double yellows with increased buffering at the road junctions of Old Mill Lane etc.
If enforcement is realistic, I am very curious as to why the current farce of lines of cars parked in a cycle lane hasn’t attracted any enforcement? Is this just telling the world that cycle lanes are only indicative? Seems somewhat pointless.
On the other matters: I lived in Lambeth previously which had a very tough line on car sales on the street. Why can’t we have the same bylaw available so that any car with an advertisement gets immediately clamped or towed? That would see him off swiftly enough.
And @Gary – I have followed up bad parking and abandoned vehicles in Station Road North before now, and found sadly that that particular leg of Station Road (by the Village Hall) is unadopted. Therefore although there are some yellow markings they are just for display, and that particular offender can park as many of his (im)mobile heaps of junk here as he chooses. Sadly.
Paul,
I have to say i didn’t really care much for either of the options myself also.
Interms of enforcing the exsiting cycle, if only that was possible, if we were in London it would be a problem, but because the cycle lane has a broken white line rather than a solid one its advisory only and can’t be enforced. Once we have yellow lines around the junctions these will be enforced (I will make it my mission to ensure they are) and yes you are quite right about the Station Road North as a private road owned by Network Rail, no one (other than NR) has the power to enforce parking controls. I have tried many times in the past to deal with the guy who dumps cars there, but only on two occasions have I seen anything done, once when they wanted to resurface it and then again when the DVLA turned up check car tax. It is a real mess and not a good selling point for Merstham.
On your point about the car sales, again I wish we had the same posers as London councils, they can just remove people who sell cars on the street, here we are limited to using powers that allows us to stop people selling more then one car at a time.
Why can’t those powers be changed?
With regards to Unadopted Roads, as far as I am aware even if the road is unadopted most traffic regulations would still apply if the road is used by the general public! Maybe a question for the Constabulary to answer?
I strongly refute the comments that the cycle lane is useless, our family use if frequently and the A23 is a well used facility by cycle clubs etc.
There’s loads of space to cater parking, cycling, walking and driving on this stretch, other boroughs have miles of cycle lanes situated on the outside of parked cars and these work fine. Shifting the cycle lane to the outside of the parked cars will be a cheap and efficient way to cater for all users.
It goes without saying that there needs to be an adequate visibility splay either side of the roads joining the A23. But please – any extra parking controls will push cars onto quality street, past gatton bottom, past church hill etc etc so if you put ANY restrictions in, make sure they stretch far enough that you are not simply shifting the problem a few yards further down
Interesting isn’t it how a ‘simple’ issue of parking is shown to have as many layers as an onion – I was struck by Jackie Shore’s comments and regret that our approach to these things is not as joined up as it needs to be to really solve them. Having said that, cost will be a prime driver of any change, and to expect too much is the surest way to get nothing done at all. Still, the Council report does promise to fold this piece of work into the wider Merstham parking review, so hopefully those points will not be forgotten.
Option 1 along with double yellows at the junctions meets the immediate needs adequately – although the unheralded attraction of Option 2 for pedestrians is that the section of pavement with the grass verge – which always floods in wet weather – would be repaved. Ideally a little of the money saved with Option 1 could address this and see all parties – motorists, cyclists and pedestrians – served by the change.
For me its is great to see all of these comments and reflects why we have put this website in place. It allows local Councillors to get a sense check that we can take along with us when proposals like this are being considered.
Thanks again to you all (and the many other who have sent emails)
Mark
The highest priority must be given to the elimination of parking on the southbound carriageway for at least 200 yards north of the junction with Station Road. Exiting from Station Road on to the A23 has now become highly dangerous; there is NO visibility around the cars closest to Station Road. This is a bad accident waiting to happen. The cycle lanes are unimportant. Bicycle traffic on the A23 is minimal, except on weekends when cycle clubs are abroad, and they do not use cycle lanes.
I raised this matter for the second year in succession last March and listened to a representative of Surrey County Council telling me that it “was being looked at”. Where else are commuter vehicles permitted to park with impunity on a principal route purely to avoid having to pay for parking? You won’t see this ridiculous phenomenon anywhere near Redhill or Reigate Station, for example. But you will see it near Lingfield Station and look at the havoc that causes! As far as I can see, there isn’t a single economic advantage to Merstham in having this eyesore dumped each and every week-day on the northern approach to the village. It is dangerous, unsightly, unfriendly to cyclists – who should be encouraged – and leaves a visitor to Merstham with the impression he has just passed through a parking lot rather than an attractive historic village. In my opinion, neither option addresses these concerns. Parking on or near the bridge should simply be prohibited by means of rigorous enforcement of double yellow line restrictions.
I would vote for option 2 as you rarely see pedestrians or cycles on the road and Merstham is in dire need of parking everywhere especially near the shops.
I would support option 2 as being safer for cyclists and because there is ample space on the verges there. I speak as a frequent pedestrian to/from the station.
While parking on the dual carriageway of the A23 doesn’t cause traffic obstruction (in contrast to the parking on School Hill)the section by Bellway House at the junction with Station Road is a real sightline blocker for traffic trying to get out of Station Road.
I am aware some local residents assume that commuter parking should be treated differently from residents’ parking; I’d hope your consideration of traffic flows makes no such distinction.
Thanks.
~Option 1 would involve cars crossing the cycle lane to park.
~The cycle lane is only a short stretch between long stretches with no such lane so pretty pointless.
~Even before the extra parked cars of recent months few cyclists used the lane.
~There is little pedestrian use of the stretch of pavements.
~Has the question been asked as to why there was a sudden increase in cars parking on the bridge? I understand a change in the pricing policy by the Rail companies has created a considerable economic advantage for commuters to drive to Merstham to board the train rather than travelling from Redhill.
~Inevitably the commuters will use “free” (to them!) parking rather than using car parks.This includes parking on/across pavements and verges, on bends, corners, junctions, across driveways and lanes. Regular and obvious ticketing of offenders might deter.
~The car parks at the station and the Village Hall are often not full.
~What effort has been put into discouraging people from driving to the station in pursuit of a greener, cleaner Surrey
~There is a great deal of waste land around the station which could be used for commuter parking.
~In 2006 I was told the policy was not to deal with issues of parking on a piecemeal basis and I was assured all the Merstham parking was to be reviewed in 2008/9.
~Many of the parked cars are the old ones dumped around the village by the Station Cars taxi driver awaiting sale, although now few are marked as such. The same cars appear in regular rotation for days at a time on the A23; School Hill; all the station roads, public and private; Quality Street; High Street and occasionally the station and Village Hall car parks Removal of all these would tidy the roads a great deal. The “broken window” effect ensues and other chancers appear with vehicles for sale.
Mark
These plans do not appear to address the blind spots when leaving Station Road and Gatton Bottom. This in my opinion is the major safety issue and must be resolved along with the parking problem.
Best regards
Derek
Derek,
I agree and as part of this work, yellow lines would be painted around the junctions of Station Road North, Old Mill Lane, Quality Street. I also feel that we also need yellow lines around the junction of Gatton Bottom, especially to improve the visability of traffic coming from the village. I am concerned to see traffic parked further and further along that road every day.
Mark