Parking congestion and road safety

In recent years parking congestion has become a very serious issue in the neighbourhood. It is extremely haphazard, clumsy and spoils the appearance of the neighbourhood. It is a worrying safety issue as well as an inconvenience for residents, for pedestrians passing through the neighbourhood, and for the customers who use the shops on the parade.

‘The other day I couldn’t get the buggy through all the cars on the path so I had to go on the road’

local mum.

The wide footpaths were originally designed to be a pleasing feature of the parade. The generous sweeps of pathways in front of the shops would have once been a pleasant place for people to stroll or stop for a chat ‘like a promenade’. Nowadays they are covered with motorcars. As the cars leave towards the end of the day they reveal paths which are scarred and cracked and badly stained with oil and grease.

Plans are being drawn up by the County Council to remove some of the path and create areas to park the cars. It is difficult to ascertain exactly why there are so many cars on the footpaths because it is well-known that much of the already available road parking is taken up by people who use it as a free ‘park and ride’. It is assumed that this practice will continue until parking restrictions are put in place.

Everyone agrees that things can’t remain as they are. Some people are concerned that too much path will be removed. Others think that pathways shouldn’t be removed at all to cater for cars. It is thought that no amount of parking will ever be enough unless restrictions are adhered to and the parking areas are regularly checked to enforce restrictions.

Westbury Crescent is a pleasant side street of houses off Rose Hill Road. It is entirely residential and there are no parking restrictions. Residents here are unhappy because they believe that Humphris Garage uses the crescent to park their cars on a regular basis. It is not known whether or not Humphris ever had provision in their original plans for parking facilities for their own staff and customers, and if so, whether or not they are complying. Residents request that Oxford City Council investigate.