Parking restrictions start in Hartford on Monday

11:38am Thursday 14th March 2013 in News

Parking restrictions start in Hartford on Monday Parking restrictions start in Hartford on Monday

TRIAL parking restrictions will be imposed in Hartford after compaints about commuters parking to use the train station.

Temporary cones covering an extra 300 metres of Chester Road and Fullerton Road will be in place for seven days from Monday, March 18, to Monday, March 25.

The restriction will be enforced by police and PCSOs during the experiment, which is being implemented by Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC) and supported by Hartford Parish Council.

The restrictions are in response to complaints from residents that when the popular station car park is full drivers leave their vehicles along Chester Road causing problems for nearby residents and motorists.

CWAC regularly receives complaints from residents that this creates road safety issues and access problems.

Clr Herbert Manley, CWAC ward councillor for Hartford and Greenbank, said: “There have been meetings of residents and Hartford Parish Council looking at various ways of dealing with the problem.

“It was agreed that the best course would be to organise this trial period of parking restrictions so that we could evaluate the result.

“The problem is that parked cars narrow the road and create access issues for residents. Buses and lorries have to negotiate cars parking all day on the roadside which is creating road safety issues.”

The trial will be monitored and evaluated to see whether the restrictions should be made permanent.

Comments(17)

Jack Hay says...
11:46am Thu 14 Mar 13

Where are passengers supposed to park when the station car park is full? Hartford is privileged to have a station. Other villages around Northwich mostly haven't got one and we have to get to Hartford station somehow to use it. The car park is small. What happens then?

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mhartford says...
5:41pm Thu 14 Mar 13

Last year I wrote to our MP about the lack of parking spaces at Hartford Station. He took it up with Network Rail and London Midland but nothing has come of it. If we were in the South East another floor would be added to create extra spaces for commuters. Could this be the answer? Public transport is poor and people have to be able to park somewhere.

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INEEDTOSAYTHIS says...
6:10pm Thu 14 Mar 13

MP's these days are just part of the Big Business Gravy Train.

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AntiNimby says...
6:43pm Thu 14 Mar 13

That'll teach them to use the train! Oh hang on they want people using the trains don't they.

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Cymo says...
11:42pm Thu 14 Mar 13

Instead of punishing responsible people wanting to take the train rather than irresponsibly driving, CWAC should be insisting that either a rail route should be opened between Northwich and Hartford, or a shuttle bus (included in ticket price) should be laid on. This would eliminate the parking problem at a stroke, and would encourage more people to leave the car at home.

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mhartford says...
9:30am Fri 15 Mar 13

Maybe an early morning survey should be done at Hartford Station to find out where people are coming from and going to; whether they have parked, been dropped off or walked etc. The answers could be used to help solve the problem.

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chope says...
10:19am Fri 15 Mar 13

I often have to park on the roads around the station because the car park is completely inadequate and can be full by 7:45 am. I do not park on the road by choice. Regular commuters need a viable alternative; double yellow lines give us none. I would ask the residents who bought houses near the station (which was incidentally built in 1846) what those alternative should be? As far as I see it my alternatives are to either drive to work (not acceptable) or quit my job for one nearer to home (utterly ridiculous). I’ve had my legally and safely parked car vandalised dozens of times whilst parked on Fullerton Road – wing mirrors bent in, wipers lifted up etc. – and on couple of occasions only noticed this when trying to overtake a cyclist or use the wipers whilst moving (it is possible to not notice in the dark). These vandals could have caused a fatal accident. I’ve seen other cars vandalised too. The people who object to those who park near the station (who also pay their road tax) are by definition completely unaware of what it is like to try and park there. A number of times I have been unable to park at the station after 8 am then struggled to turn the car around - you try a 3 point turn (7 point turn?) in 1.5 car lengths surrounded by cars – and suffered the consequences of being late for work and letting people down. I’ve even been forced to park down by The Crescent due to Chester Road and Fullerton Road being full when I had the audacity to have a doctor’s appointment and got a train around 11 am. We’re talking about well over 50 cars being forced to park outside the station here, where do CWAC suppose they magic themselves to?!!

I’m originally from Wigan and I can tell you that the parking restrictions there are ridiculous as a result of zones around the town centre, hospital and college overlapping and merging into one huge farce. Friends and family have to pay to park outside their own homes and are heavily fined when they forget to do so. Visitors have to constantly be on the lookout for traffic wardens. To those who live near the station I would say ‘be careful what you wish for’! Parking restrictions just push the issue further out onto people who didn’t buy a house near the station (… which was incidentally built in 1846). My Dad’s road opted out of said parking restrictions around the college for this very reason and they are happy with their decision.

And do CWAC think that an additional 650 homes in Hartford will make this problem better, or worse? ...

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Hartford Harry says...
11:31am Fri 15 Mar 13

You need not worry. During the recent housing appeal, Harrow Estates used the argument that if 650 houses were built in Hartford, then everyone would walk and cycle to work and school, and the traffic would actually be reduced.

Then again in the real world ......

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David Turner says...
12:48pm Sat 16 Mar 13

The parking restrictions to be imposed on the Chester Road in the vicinity of Hartford Station will only force the motorists to seek alternative parking further afield.The issues that have been affecting the residents of Fullerton Road will now be experienced by the residents of Mornant Avenue, White Hart Gardens and Eaton Place.

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GrumpyBum says...
1:40pm Mon 18 Mar 13

Id like to know how they are going to know the difference between a commuter car and a residents car..
I'd quite like to know how much he coachman are going to charge now given this wonderful business opportunity

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chope says...
9:03am Tue 19 Mar 13

At 7:45 am this morning (Tuesday) there where 3 spaces left on the station car park and about a dozen cars already on Chester Road beyond the coned off areas. AN ALTERNATIVE IS NEEDED!!! People aren't just going to suddenly quit their jobs, tear up a couple of thousand pounds worth of annual season tickets and start driving to Liverpool, Birmingham and London! Get real!

One of the reasons I avoided the station car park in the past was because my car got broken into during the day a couple of years ago. The thieves caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage by cutting a hole in the door then smashing the window and taking the radio. My car was less than half-way along the upper car park, whereas the CCTV covers less than 25%. It's not secure.

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Concernedaboutparking says...
12:30pm Tue 19 Mar 13

1) Where are commuters supposed to park their cars in future?

2) What are the implications for residents who have chosen to live further away from the station, but will now have commuter cars parked near their homes?

3) The parking ban is likely to force people to drive to work. The council do not appear to have considered the environmental impact of the parking ban.

4) Major parking restrictions are likely to significantly reduce future usage of Hartford station. Will the number of trains to Liverpool and Birmingham stopping at Hartford eventually be reduced? Indeed, what are the implications for the long-term survival of the station?

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Hartfordian says...
2:13pm Wed 20 Mar 13

The restrictions are being put in place to assess the impact of any knock on effect to the surrounding area. This is in responce to the vast number of complaints submitted over the past three to four years. These complaints have not been based on matters of inconvenience suffered by the residents who live in the proximity of the station, but on issues of road safety.
It has been claimed by objectors to these restrictions that drivers always park in a responsible manner; I'm afraid that this is not the usual case - parking opposite T junctions, on corners, and on bends with a restricted view are a regular occurence.
On a daily basis residents are faced with oncoming traffic entering Fullerton Road whilst being forced to use the "wrong" side of the road along stretches with restricted view. Also, the reverse - when accessing that road, drivers are often met with a head on situation, and in the case of meeting a large vehicle, having to reverse back out into oncoming Chester Road traffic.
Turning out of Fullerton is like playing Russian roulette as all traffic, coming from both East and West, is on the same side of the road.
When asking drivers to park in a safer manner, residents are often in receipt of verbal abuse extreme in nature, and threats of violence have been made by drivers also.
The residents of Fullerton Road, many of whom are elderly retired, didn,t have this problem when they chose to live in that area, and probably wouldn't have moved there if they could have forseen the problems they now have.
Graham Evans has written to London Midland and Railtrack three times and has been ignored, and it is with those bodies that the trouble rests. I suggest all objectors write to the train operators and point out the inadequate parking provided for rail users.
I would also point out that spaces have been left on the straight section of Fullerton, towards the junction with Chester Road, but these are not being utilised. All in all around fifteen cars will be displaced by the restrictions, and there are safer places for them to be displaced to.
I would ask objectors the following question: Which should have priority, the safety of ALL road users, or the inconvenience of having to try and find somewhere safer to park and perhaps walk a little further?
CWaC have not undertaken this experiment to deliberately inconvenience rail users - they are seeking a safe solution to those problems I have, only briefly, pointed out.
The problem has arisen from a number of sources: The advent of Liverpool One, the cessation of regular trains calling at Acton Bridge, and the inconsiderate and often dangerous parking that takes place.
Drivers have my empathy but please,
put safety first.

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Hibernian says...
2:21pm Wed 20 Mar 13

I've just walked past the area in question. Sure enough, all that the blight of cones has achieved is a displacement of the parking to further down the road. It certainly hasn't made the road any safer. Until such time as an extended car park is available, I would suggest that the restrictions be removed, and the police focus their attentions on real parking issues - such as Weaver Way in the town centre. I don't particularly like the cars parked on Chester Road, but it's not that big an issue.

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Hartfordian says...
4:09pm Wed 20 Mar 13

I think Hibernian has missed the point somewhat; The issue isn't the safety on Chester Road, although that section of the road is far from satisfactory from a parking point of view, drivers do have a clear view of oncoming traffic. Whereas, on Fullerton Road the opposite applies. The purpose of the restrictions is to make egress safe into and out of Fullerton Road, and make safe the stretch I described in my previous comments.
Removing the cones will not make Chester Road any safer, but will retain the dangerous situation on Fullerton.
If anyone cares to walk along Chester Road they will see the knock on effect is not that great. As I have said, only circa fifteen cars will be displaced, and it does not appear that they have all gone to the same place.
I ask again, please keep safety first in mind.

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Blooper says...
12:22am Thu 21 Mar 13

There is a very simple answer to this problem for all involved residents and drivers alike... Park At My House.com Sign up and let someone park on your drive whilst your out all day... sorted...

https://www.parkatmy
house.com/search/?fi
lter=1&order=&q=CW8&
ac_country=&referenc
e=&location_name=&so
urce=&coords=&start_
date=&start_time=&en
d_date=&end_time=&no
_of_spaces=

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Carolyn Shepherd says...
5:00pm Wed 27 Mar 13

There doesn't seem to have been much joined up thinking before bringing this into force. The problem will only be solved with a solution - not cones.

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