Tackling the coach hazard near Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Gate and Buckingham Palace Road are regularly blocked by coaches bringing tourists to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. As a result, local residents and businesses suffered severe traffic congestion and air pollution for many years. The problem has recently been exacerbated by the road closures around the palace during Changing of the Guard as a result of the on-going security threats.
St James's councillor Louise Hyams says "We thought we had a solution last year when the Royal Parks agreed to coach parking and dropping off facilities on the Mall, but unfortunately, the plan had to be shelved for security reasons. Although we have had some success persuading London-based coach companies, it had been very difficult to persuade coach operators to behave responsibly. So the Council's Parking Marshalls have increased their patrols and the Council is investigating other measures including a coach ban and a coach parking scheme."
20mph speed limits trial on the streets around our schools
As the new school year starts, in response to concern by residents that they would like to see 20 mph zones to increase road safety, the Council is trailing 20 mph restrictions in over 30 locations across the city mostly near schools. More details are on the Council's website.
Councillor Tim Mitchell commented: "We are pleased that St. Clement Danes's Primary School, a St James's ward school, is included in the trial. Please let me and my colleagues know what you think of the principle of the 20 mph zones or specifically the St Clement Dane's trial by emailing us.
Frustrating anti-social supercars
In recent years St James's councillors have received many reports of anti-social behaviour by car enthusiasts including drivers of supercars. At weekends often in the summer, they gather at a number of high profile venues across to centre of London including in St James's ward, Waterloo Place and more recently Covent Garden. Often the gatherings involve the cars "parading" around local streets, revving engines and parking in unsuitable locations. The engine noise and fumes make the local environment very unpleasant for residents and businesses.
Local councillor Cameron Thomson stated: "The informal nature of these gatherings makes it difficult for the Council's Parking team to predict where these people might gather on a particular weekend. However, thanks to local residents alerting me and my colleagues, over three weekends in September the Westminster Parking team were able to disrupt the anti-social behaviour by supercar drivers in Covent Garden. We hope that they have got the message that they are only welcome if they observe the rules. Please let us know if you also experience similar problems in your area."
