Kingston Council has finally installed the signs to reduce the no-entry from Kingston Hill into Crescent Road from 24/7 to 7:30-9:30am Monday to Friday. It is an improvement, but still unnecessary to close the road at all. Unfortunately, the introduction of the revised hours was delayed by the actions of the Independents.
Thank you to the 800+ residents who responded to the official council consultation to this experimental traffic management order (ETMO) who helped achieve this change.
Rowena Bass and Ian George have campaigned against the closure of Crescent Road from the start. They paid for a leaflet to all ward residents last Autumn, explaining how to make their views known through the official consultation, and achieved refunds and improved signage after introduction. The petition from the Independents did not meet council requirements, so was not fully recognised by the council and had little impact on the decision.
Rowena and Ian were the only two councillors to vote against introduction of the scheme and, if re-elected, we will both continue to campaign for full re-opening of Crescent Road. In the event that the Conservatives win control locally, we will remove the Crescent Road restriction immediately. This scheme is causing unnecessary misery to many ward residents, especially on Kingston Hill and Kingston Vale, and the reduced times will not solve the morning rush hour traffic jams.
Only the Conservatives can be trusted to prevent further such road closures, enforced with CCTV and extortionate fines. The LibDems have a history of bringing them in against the wishes of local residents, and the Independent councillor attempted to bring in two similar local road closures at a committee meeting in January.
For experienced and responsible councillors that work year round for residents - please vote to re-elect Ian and Rowena in Coombe Hill (a 2 councillor ward).
Promoted by Rowena Bass and Ian George, on behalf of Rowena Bass and Ian George, at Richmond Park & North Kingston Conservatives, both at 372 Upper Richmond Road West, SW14 7JU.
