Camden’s CPZ Consultation

You may remember that the controlled hours in Zone K in Islington (opposite Whittington Hospital) went to 24/7 in April 2017. This obliges Camden to review their controlled hours in CA-U (Highgate down to Chetwynd Road). Consultation begins around 17th February. There will be a number of choices: stay the same; possibly sub-areas affected by parking stress such as Highgate Village ‘core’ with longer hours; and possibly 6 or 7 days a week, for example, for those ‘core’ areas.

We see a dilemma: it is a fact that Pay& Display increases ‘churn’ so allows more people to come and shop but will short-stay affect some businesses and our Community and Social functions? Will visitor numbers to the Village drop? How will Highgate folk who live in Haringey manage? We know that residents have a poor time of it trying to find parking but is this because all their spaces are ‘shared use’ that is, shared with people with business permits? This applies to Bisham Gardens, Pond Square and so on. People who own commercial premises have expressed great frustration but the traders’ group want things left the way they are. The aim of The Highgate Society was to try to get good options on the Consultation paper (we may or may not have succeeded); and to remember what the Highgate Neighbourhood Plan envisaged. We are pleased that Camden will be discussing the outcome with Haringey and the Highgate Neighbourhood Forum after their Consultation.

We have thought about what other measures could improve the situation and we hope to take these forward:

• a joint Haringey/Camden parking zone on Highgate Hill and High Street (as operates on Hampstead Lane);
• more disabled bays which would be shared use combined with electric charging points;
• cycle hangers and electric bike docking bays;
• enough space for resident permit holders, eliminating shared use with business permits (we note this reduces flexibility and therefore optimum use of parking spaces);
• Pay & Display only on Highgate Hill and the High Street preferably, if possible, allowing different lengths of stay (some of us like to lunch and drive our friends home!)

Please send us your comments.