Iain met Muse, the owners of the Cheadle Royal Business Park, earlier this week to talk about the problem of parking on St Ann’s Road North.
We’ve been frustrated at the growing number of Business Park cars parking along the road (possibly connected to the newer office buildings now open, which are much nearer to St Ann’s Road North than the older ones). But stopping them has been a problem – we can put down yellow lines, but that just results in chasing them around the area as cars move to the other side of the road or onto side roads.
We don’t have a great solution, but we are making progress:
- In the next 2-3 weeks we’ll see double yellow lines go down by the chicanes, solving what people have told us is the single biggest issue which is cars parking right up to the chicanes and causing big safety issues as a result.
- Muse are going to do some research and find out why people are parking on the road – how many are parking because of a lack of space on the business park, and how many because they want to make a quick getaway and avoid the A34? Knowing that is essential – there’s no point spending lots of time and money coming up with the wrong solution.
- Muse are also looking at ways to increase parking provision on the business park, if that’s what’s needed.
- The changes we’re making to the lanes on Kingsway and, in January, to the Cheadle Royal roundabout, should make it a bit quicker for people to get off the business park in the evening.
- We’re also looking at whether the businesses on the park would be willing to stagger their end-times to help their employees leave more quickly, and at what we can do to get more people to come to the business park by public transport, car or on foot.
I work on the business park. It is a total and utter nightmare trying to leave the park via the roundabout from 5pm onwards, and adds – on average – an extra 40 minutes to a 7 mile commute back to Timperley via Heald Green and Simonsway. This is critical because I have childcare duties to attend to at the end of my 5pm working day.
I think it is disgusting that this road is going to be restricted so I am unable to park my car on this road. What other option do I have? The park owners need to open another entrance/exit to the park, desperately. This road is no busier than other roads in the area – the residents just need to get used to the fact that people are parking outside their pricey, detached homes on a public right of way.