Romford's ring road suffers from congestion almost all year round. But, come Christmas, things get worse. Vehicles waiting to use the Brewery car park spill on to the surrounding roads. Our busses and emergency vehicles are delayed and the idling traffic creates pollution.
I went to see the problem for myself, following a complaint from a local resident.
The Brewery offers two levels of parking, ground and multi-storey. To my surprise, around 50 vehicles were queued to enter the car park. At least 20 were waiting for the 7 empty spaces on the ground floor, whilst ignoring the 601 spaces in the upper levels.
I wrote to the Brewery's operator and made suggestions. Simple, common sense, suggestion.
1) Marshalls to direct cars to the upper floors.
If you all wait for just 7 spaces, then you'll be there for years and the traffic will continue to build.
2) Signs on the roundabout, to discourage queuing.
Let's keep the roundabout clear, so that non-Brewery traffic can get on their way.
3) Promote greener transport.
If more people travelled by bus, bike or walking then there'd be less cars queuing.
We had success!
The Brewery put two marshalls at the entrance, during busy periods, and Havering Council added signs to the roundabout. Traffic flowed much easier.
A local resident, aged 93, told me that her bus "flew around the roundabout like [she'd] not know for years".
These measures were, for now, temporary. But, they show that I will not just complain. I'll push for common-sense, practical solutions to our town's problems.
I'll fight to keep our traffic flowing and our air cleaner.
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