New restrictions have been brought in prohibiting commuters from parking on Abridge Road near to Theydon Bois tube station. This follows a long campaign by Epping Forest MP Eleanor Laing to end the build-up of parked cars by the side of the main road, which has a 60 miles per hour speed limit. Speaking in October 2016, she said the current situation ‘cannot continue’ and contacted the Essex police and crime commissioner calling for harsher punishment for those who were using the road as a station car park.
The stretch of road used by commuters was the scene of a serious collision a few weeks prior to Mrs Laing’s statement, she said ‘It is pure luck that this accident caused only minor injury rather than death.’, and warned that if action was not taken then it would be the scene of another serious accident.
Before the first set of regulations were brought in earlier this year, tens of rail-users would travel to the village in order to take advantage of the cheaper fares. This lead to many cars parking on the verges of the B172 (Abridge Road) and avoiding paying the £5 charge in the station car park, which is used by the majority of commuters each day, and is situated at the end of Station Road in the centre of the village. The situation has been the subject of many residents' complaints both on social media and to the local council, and has even lead to the setting up of a Facebook group devoted to the matter. While inevitably not to everyone's tastes, it is clear that this has been a large factor in bringing the residents of the village together in face of the much antagonised commuters.
The new clearway regulations were brought in on the 20th November, saying that there is to be no parking whatsoever from the zebra crossing in Theydon Bois to where the road ends at the juntion with ongar road in Abridge. They have also seen the erection of dozens of signposts on the verges of Abridge road, that read 'no parking on verge or footway', and the road has so far been relatively free from obstructions. It is hoped that, above all, these measures will continue to prevent accidents on what is a busy main road, as well as ensuring that all commuters pay a fair amount for their journey. However, there have been reports of multiple cars parking along the road after dark since the restrictions were imposed. Theydon Bois residents have been relentless in their attempts to prevent unsafe parking, yet unfortunately there are still those who place their vehicles in dangerous locations.
Any vehicles found parked in restricted areas can be reported by calling the police non-emergency helpline (101).
Max Bolton - Debden Park High School
