Looking back at previous entries on the blog I worked out it was as long ago as July 2008 that I first started nagging officers to do something about parking problems faced by residents living on a number of roads around Hexham Road estate.
I knew that we faced particular hurdles sorting these problems out because the land on the estate is partly the responsiblity of housing and partly the responsibility of highways...
But still the responsibility of the same Council, I hear you cry!
Well it took well over a year to arrange a site visit with officers from housing and highways department... but I'm pleased to say it finally happened today and we are really grateful to Avril Wilson and Pat Baxter for giving up their time to meet us and residents on the estate on what turned out to be a very chilly November afternoon.
A brief summary of the issues we talked about:
- Problems of car vandalism by the garages in Bede Walk and the fact that garage areas in general on the estate are tending to be crime hot-spots
- Parking problems on Morpeth Close. Officers are going to look at potentially marking out some parking bays by the flats and doing something to stop residents getting block in by visitors
- Lack of parking spaces for residents on Newcastle Road
But it's not all doom and gloom. As we walked around we noticed improved lighting on Newcastle Road, tidier bin stores across the estate, and car parks around some of the flats on Hexham Road - all things my colleagues Glenn, Kirsten and I have actively campaigned for in recent years.
We were joined on the walkabout by a number of local residents, many of whom I have spoken to frequently over the years about these problems. They were able to give officers a real insight into some of the parking issues.
Avril and Pat pledged to meet again and hopefully come up with some draft proposals we can put to residents.
We are not looking for another survey/consultation exercise. Officers from the Council know where the problems are and more importantly, the last survey the Council carried out as part of the Hexham Improvement Plan showed that parking was second only to policing as one of the top issues residents are unhappy with on the estate.
After years of inaction by Labour-run Reading Borough Council, residents from this bit of South Reading now want to see some action.
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