Fines Issued on Fishers Lane Now Exceed a Million Pounds
Access is restricted at the Fishers Lane underpass
There have been over 11,000 fines issued by Ealing Council to motorists driving through the underpass on Fishers Lane since access has been restricted nearly two years ago.
A Freedom of Information request by ChiswickW4.com has revealed that the number of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) has surged in recent months with September being the second highest month ever for fines being sent out surpassed only by December 2020, the first full month of operation of the scheme when there was widespread confusion about the restrictions.
It is believed that the renewed surge in motorists mistakenly driving under the bridge on Fishers Lane is due to traffic trying to avoid congestion caused by westbound lane restrictions on the A4 and slow-moving traffic Chiswick High Road. In September, the number of PCNs given out rose to 1,704 having been as low as 161 just two months earlier in July.
One local resident contacted us recently to raise concerns about the number of fines being issued. She said, “I walk my dog almost daily on the two halves of Acton Green which takes me over the zebra crossing twice. I’ve stopped at least ten cars and vans turning into the underpass and warned them about the camera on South Parade. All have said thank you, some say they weren’t familiar with the area and were relying on their SatNav.”
The value of the fines issued by Ealing Council is now well in excess of £1,000,000 although only £680,818 has been collected up to the end of September 2022. Around 70% of motorists are electing to pay within the window which allows the charge to be reduced from £130 to £65. Many people caught have launched an appeal and it is understood that there were a number of successful appeals earlier on in the scheme’s operation on the grounds of inadequate signage. Ealing Council has increased the number of signs in the area in an attempt to make the restrictions clearer.
| Fines Issued by Ealing Council on Fishers Lane | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Year-Month |
PCN |
Payments |
PCN Paid at discount amount |
|
2020-12 |
1,947 |
£123,956.34 |
1,457 |
|
2021-01 |
1,616 |
£114,180.46 |
1,168 |
|
2021-02 |
624 |
£42,457.00 |
472 |
|
2021-03 |
316 |
£20,933.43 |
214 |
|
2021-04 |
465 |
£28,161.00 |
323 |
|
2021-05 |
527 |
£32,368.00 |
376 |
|
2021-06 |
407 |
£29,228.00 |
289 |
|
2021-07 |
371 |
£24,351.00 |
258 |
|
2021-08 |
268 |
£16,681.48 |
193 |
|
2021-09 |
320 |
£21,215.00 |
220 |
|
2021-10 |
236 |
£16,243.00 |
165 |
|
2021-11 |
214 |
£12,794.00 |
157 |
|
2021-12 |
207 |
£13,435.00 |
160 |
|
2022-01 |
150 |
£10,147.00 |
118 |
|
2022-02 |
182 |
£12,747.00 |
129 |
|
2022-03 |
193 |
£12,962.00 |
138 |
|
2022-04 |
165 |
£12,079.00 |
111 |
|
2022-05 |
214 |
£12,767.00 |
145 |
|
2022-06 |
316 |
£18,942.00 |
228 |
|
2022-07 |
161 |
£9,100.00 |
117 |
|
2022-08 |
551 |
£28,795.00 |
405 |
|
2022-09 |
1,704 |
£67,275.00 |
1017 |
|
Totals |
11,154 |
£680,817.71 |
7,860 |
|
Source: Ealing Council
The appeals process appears to be moving very slowly with 19 appeals from the first month of operation of the scheme still awaiting decision nearly two years after the fines were given out. Very few appeals over the last 18 months have reached the stage of being considered by the independent adjudicator. It is believed that this is because the appeals are still at an earlier stage when they are being considered by the council. For December 2020, 57 appeals were made to the adjudicator with 19 still awaiting a decision, 23 withdrawn or refused and 21 not contested or allowed. January 2021 is the peak month so far for appeal reaching the adjudicator with 62 of which 29 await a decision, 17 have been withdrawn or refused and 16 not contested by the council or were allowed.
Ealing Council upgraded signage after a number of successful appeals
Ealing Council was forced to postpone works planned on South Parade due to the volume of traffic in the area recently. Correspondence between traffic officers states, “We have had a lot of problems with delivering the civil works for this scheme because the areas is saturated with traffic, including South Parade, so we have had to put our works on hold.” Officers also say that contractors working on the scheme have been subject to abuse from drivers stuck in traffic on the roads.
Resurfacing work that was planned for the October half term holiday which would have required South Parade to be shut completely, is now scheduled for 12 December and expected to last for two days. Work is also needed to complete gully repairs which will take up to five days and require traffic lights to enable the two-way flow of traffic. It was intended to carry out this work earlier but the amount of traffic on the road was too heavy to allow the signals to be put in place.
During the closure of South Parade there will be what traffic officers describe as a ‘straightforward’ diversion route along Acton Lane, Southfield Road and the Avenue.
The reopening of Fishers Lane is not being considered during this period and was not even mentioned in any correspondence between traffic officers over the last few months.
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November 13, 2022->->->