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Surbiton Crescent
'Diabolical' traffic-calming scheme in Surbiton has made £500k in fines in just one week
Outraged residents have slammed Kingston Council for a “diabolical” traffic restriction scheme in Surbiton after it was revealed it had made more than £500,000 in fines in just one week.
Temporary bollards and sign posts went up in Surbiton Crescent on September 5 as part of a trial traffic-calming measure for the proposed Tolworth mini-Holland route. A letter sent to councillors and seen by the Surrey Comet revealed that in total 8,055 penalty charge notices have been issued to motorists driving through Surbiton Crescent from Monday, November 14, to Sunday, November 20.
The amount of money owed to the council is estimated to be at least £523,575. Drivers passing through the bollards will receive a minimum fine of £65, with charges reaching an eye-watering £195 if not paid within 28 days. A Kingston Council spokeswoman said since the beginning of the trial, 12,057 penalty charges had been issued, totalling a minumum income of £783,705. Enraged residents have branded the measures as a “money-making machine”.
Kingston Council issued 5,482 warning notices to drivers passing through the bollards before “live enforcement” of the restrictions began on November 14. The council is trialling only allowing cyclists and buses to use the road as a cut through as part of the mini-Holland proposals.
Councillors hope to build European-style cycle tracks across the borough as part of the £33m scheme, which is officially called Go-Cycle. The proposals have been plagued with difficulties, most recently after councillors were forced to scrap plans to demolish the Fountain roundabout in New Malden amid furious protests from residents.
The council says on its website that money raised through fines will be ring-fenced for transportation services and the trial is not a “money making scheme”.
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Comments
Hello,
My girlfriend and I got stung with a fine on the 16th November after passing through the bollards to access the main Road by Surbiton Crescent. We both live in a flat at the bottom of Anglesea Road and have never been informed of the decision to restrict access to this area. We both believe, like others, that this simply is just a money making scheme. Whilst RBK are clear on their website that this section of Surbiton Crescent is restricted for 'access to properties' only they fail to make this clear on the road. On the road they only state that this section is restricted to 'access only'. They do not mention who this access is for and fail to mention that even if you are a local resident you cannot pass through this area.
C
I don't mean to be rude, and I am sorry to hear you have been fined, but do you not think that the signs and massive bollards that they are attached to are not clear?
The sign with the motorbike and the car in a red circle means 'No Motor Vehicles' and the only exception in this case is if you are accessing properties that can't be accessed using any other route. If this wasn't the case, people making a journey from Kingston to Esher could use it, arguing that it was the easiest way to 'access' Esher.
I do agree that the scheme is ill-devised, and causes as many problems for local residents as it does benefits from closing down a rat-run.
Every road in surbiton is a rat run it's called living in London. And the king rat is the council.
I got hit twice so paid two fines, yet the sign says access only. I bet a lawyer would tear this to shreds.
Thieving council. I hate them.
If you can prove that you were actually accessing a property on that road, I am sure you would be able to appeal successfully. If you were using it as a cut-through then probably not.
The part I don't understand is if you are genuinely driving down there to visit a property in the road, how do you prove it and do you have to appeal every time. That makes very little sense to me.
That is a very interesting point, given the notoriety of the whole business of communication with the council on matters such as these, I imagine everybody would have to pay up initially and repeatedly even, and to then be given a rebate for the fine charged. And I think most people would pay up initially as a matter of caution even if they did actually live there. But what about a Christmas time when friends and relatives come round? I hope they have all budgeted for the money it will cost! Actually feel this whole thing is bordering on the edge of completely illegal and fraudulent behaviour. This is a rare occasion where I would welcome the involvement of a no fee no win hotshot lawyer who can step in and challenge this and I'd like to get my £130 back as well in fact I would go 50-50 with him or her. I am pretty easy-going guy but this really does stink and I hope is not presaging some horrendous Machiavellian change in council thinking.
If they really insist on doing this, I'd prefer to see a proper red No Entry sign with an exception plate below for buses and cycles. It means the same thing of course, but is a much more eye-catching warning in my opinion.
You're right. it is essentially a case of misleading signage.
I received 5 PCN's before Christmas and challenged them all. They withdrew 4 today and only insist I pay the first one because my appeal was late. This was only because after numerous attempts to submit my appeal online (the site couldn't upload a jpeg I wanted to send) I was forced to post it jut before Christmas and it was clearly held up in the seasonal post.
Anyway I wrote back today and said I wouldn't pay that one either.
I'm not alone as between 14th Sept - 1stJan over 22,000 motorists have misunderstood the signs so far and we're still counting. Thats just short of £1.5 million revenue.
I'm very happy to take RBK to court over this fiasco and ask if anyone is interested in joining me then please get in touch. I'm sure the council would back down if a few hundred people get together.
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