APRA Newsletter June 2018

Our 2018 newsletter includes how we deal with members’ personal data, our social activities, and the state of local roads, pavements and verges.

We ask for your feedback on issues such as car parking, school coaches, planning and enforcement as a prelude to celebrating 50 years of the St Albans Conservation Area in 2019.

You can read the newsletter here

 

St Albans School Buses: Update and Correction to Minutes of 2016 AGM

Item 2 reported that “Our proposed Code of Conduct for School bus operations had been ‘tweaked’ and passed to the School for approval”.

This was our understanding of the situation as relayed to the meeting. Unfortunately it appears that it was incorrect and we now know that St Albans School has not yet received an official copy from SADC, who have had our draft version since June 2016 when it was submitted as part of our response to the new Zone B car parking plan. We have been told that SADC are still working with the School on a potential code to ensure both Road Safety and the safety of schoolchildren: they hope to have this ready within the next few weeks. Our own version was passed to the Headmaster in January.

With the new Zone B TRO about to come into effect (6 March), traffic wardens will be able to issue Penalty Charge Notices to any vehicles blocking the bus and coach stand along the wall in Romeland Hill during the hours specified. If this proves effective it should help to ease rush-hour congestion in the road. Please keep us informed of any problems.

Car Parking Consultation for Zones B, E & Q

The SADC consultation document proposes merging zones B, E and Q into one larger zone (B), operational with extended hours (Monday to Sunday from 8 am to 10 pm). Ostensibly some 26 extra parking spaces are made available – although most are to be shared with zone C – calculated on a car length of 5.5 m with no internal markings in multi-bays.  Resident permits are to be limited to two per household or one where the household has available off-street parking. Single yellow lines have been upgraded to double yellows.

In order to obtain the best and most popular new arrangement for all residents, it is really important that as many of you reply as possible – see details of how to do so below. The SADC parking team have indicated that a) your comments are more important than simple yes/no answers; b) it is, for example, possible to indicate ‘Yes’ to the zone merger but ‘No’ to a specific detail, or even leave the Yes/No blank & just submit comments.

The APRA Committee has spent some time reviewing the proposals and so we include some guidance we feel you may wish to include in your submission to strengthen the views for the benefit of all residents in the area. Our analysis and guidance is presented in tabular form here ; a more detailed appraisal with special reference to the Romeland area may be accessed here.

Proposed additional car parking spaces:
1. Verulam Rd – 20 on the N side between Hill St and New England St (shared with zone C) to replace 2/3 on the S side, plus one near the British Legion building
2. Mount Pleasant – four on the S side to replace the two existing
3. Fishpool St – two on the S side opposite Welclose St, plus one extra as those outside No. 7 on the S side are moved to the N side
4. George St – one extra by extending N side bays

NB The additional spaces opposite Welclose St will be used as a bus stop between 8 am and 9 am.  Romeland Hill S side will become a de facto bus stop/stand between 3.30 pm and 6.30 pm.  There is no formal provision for the buses that use Romeland and the Abbey Gateway as bus stop/stands at the moment.  SADC has no plans for a road safety audit. Photographs illustrating the hazards are shown here.

Comments can be made on the form the Council should have sent you, or on a separate sheet that can be sent in by post or by email to parkingrestrictions@stalbans.gov.uk.  If you plan to email your comments, we recommend the Subject is shown as: Consultation on Residents Parking in Zones B, E & Q.  Please respond by Jan 15th and include your name and address. You may wish to copy APRA with your response so we are better able to corroborate SADC’s summary of the consultation responses (carparking@aprastalbans.org).

Many thanks for your help.

Tabled summary

Romeland analysis

Romeland Scheme shelved

Our reading of the runes was right – the Safety Audit conducted by the County Council has raised several serious problems with the Scheme that would increase the risk of road accidents and dangers to pedestrians – which means the Romeland Roundabout Scheme cannot go ahead. (See Item 8, Agenda and Minutes of the Car Parking Working Party meeting, 13 January 2014.)

The Safety Audit also recommends some changes to parking, which we will follow up with the Car Parking Working Party.