I live in Frankfurt Road. I am opposed to the proposal for the CPZ. I have lived in this street for 14 years and see no justification for one. I have to say in my experience it is rare whenever anyone complains about lack of car parking space in the street.
I cannot complete a Council consultation form as it has not been posted on the web so it appears that the consultation exercise is flawed in this respect.
My neighbours and I on either side do not own cars although I owned a car for 12 years. My neighbours on both sides have never owned a car! Has your survey revealed how many cars each car owning family has? Perhaps it is the two car owning families who are complaining, if any. Also some people persist in buying very large vehicles which do not seem justified in relation to their usage.
My family and I have reduced our car usage from years ago. I occasionally use a car club car and consider I made very efficient use of the car in an area where we have very high public transport accessibility (2 railway stations and buses nearby). Most of my transport needs are met by my family and I walking, using public transport and cycling. Some of my visitors occasionally use a car to visit us.
I accept that there is a case for disabled parking which I am very happy to support. Special places could be set aside for electric cars to encourage a switch to more non polluting cars. Designating space for bicycles or motorbikes could also be a better priority.
I think cars clutter the street scene and degrade the appearance of the street in urban design terms. CPZs confer the concept of 'car ownership space' on the road as a 'benefit' at a cost that house owners can acquire. They are not. Cars are ugly and cause air pollution. CPZs just reinforce the notion that the car can rule and can be prioritised over the environment.
The road is a shared space for all users and should not be carved up between house owners who want to run a car - the 'wants' of some car owners for designated car parking space is not a justifiable social 'need'. Need and want should not be confused.
The Council would be better off spending its efforts on behaviour change methods. Introducing a car club space in the North Dulwich Triangle would perhaps reduce car ownership in our area for example (it certainly does that for us and we have 3 cars 6 minute walk away). If we had car club spaces in every street for example the car driving fraternity might get the message that car clubs offer masses of savings, are a more sustainable approach to the use of the car and reduce trip generation, and significantly save car drivers lots of money. They also save drivers loads of hassle including the need to find a car parking space!
Shopping is regularly delivered in our street by a range of supermarket chains and big stores - that also cuts down on the car. Delivery people have never complained to me about the lack of space.
When I had a car and parked regularly I generally did not find it difficult to park the car close to my house. I noticed Saturday evenings could be congested late at night but this is not an issue when the kids are in bed and walking around the corner is not a pressure at weekends.
I suspect that house owners close to Herne Hill itself might be under more pressure for car parking space but that does not justify the whole of the road being subject to a scheme as draconian as this.
I am happy for this response to go up on the dedicated webpage about this issue and join the voices of the majority in rejecting this proposal.
Yours sincerely
Liz Loughran
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