Ed, your understanding of access to Devonshire Road isn't right. Drivers can't "access and exit for any reason" and that's the point. You can't drive in and drive out without stopping and stopping can only be to deliver/collect and then it's only to deliver/collect bulky/heavy goods. You can use a loading bay to collect ordered bulky/heavy goods but you can't use a loading bay to park to buy something bulky/heavy you haven't ordered (how that can be proven is unknown to me but that is the rule). You can park in a loading bay to drop off something bulky/heavy. You can't park in a loading bay while you have a coffee in a cafe or eat an ice cream or buy a lamp, a painting, a rug, a shirt, a dress, have a hair cut, shave, have nails done, etc, or even pick up a pizza to take away (it's not bulky/heavy). One of the problems with the "except for access" rule is that it's not universally understood. The exceptions are blue badge holders who can park in the disabled bays for as long as they need so they can park to shop, have their hair done, etc. (Looking beyond Devonshire Road, in Hounslow generally, blue badge holders are also allowed to park for up to three hours on single/double yellow lines; free in pay and display/metred spaces, in resident and shared use spaces; and in Hounslow's car parks.) Enforcement is the issue and if the Serco van isn't there (ANPR cameras have not been installed) and if a parking attendant isn't around you might not be fined. But the rules are in place and they are being enforced even though enforcement is currently intermittent. "Except for access" does mean you can drive in to access Prince of Wales Terrace (POWT) and the fact that Devonshire Road is one way means that it can never be closed to traffic because the businesses on POWT include a car mechanic garage whose customers with cars being serviced/repaired need to drive out again; deliveries and visitors to the W4 Bathrooms showroom also need access and to park to load/unload and leave which means driving down Devonshire Road; residents who live on POWT who need to drive can only do so down Devonshire Road. Part of the role of the survey was to expose the reality of the way Devonshire Road is used; not everyone is aware of the Prince of Wales Terrace aspect. Devonshire Mews businesses were not consulted because the survey was of retailers/shop front businesses on Devonshire Road and Prince of Wales Terrace whose businesses rely on customers and suppliers being able to park outside and/or who want to provide outside eating/drinking. In terms of options, there is only one "open fully" option, surely. All other options are partial closure or full closure though they could have been described as "partially open" or "not open" (though "not open" is rather an opaque way of saying "closed"). The full closure option cannot work as it would mean POWT businesses would have to close and residents on POWT would be trapped in. The current arrangements for trading are undefined - they have emerged because of the relaxation of outdoor eating/drinking licensing - but were there in the options: businesses could tick the times of day, days, months they are currently trading or different combinations as they wished. The reason for the survey was because the current arrangements are not working for all - for a variety of reasons. And, as the survey options showed, some cafes/restaurants are unfairly discriminated against by not having space outside their doors to spill out onto (either because there is no space or the space is a loading bay; there are ways to rectify these unfair anomalies as the survey indicated). Let's remember residents of Devonshire Road, too, who live above the shops, bars, cafes and restaurants. Late night outdoor dining has an impact on them as does playing music outside. Utopia doesn't exist. There was no conscious or unconscious bias in the survey which was as extensive and thoughtful as it could be. It did not include the seventh option I had included in the original suggestions because it could not have worked - the market researcher's advice was if it doesn't work, don't include it. That was the option you raise - all vehicles banned from access while street dining is taking place - because for some businesses and residents, driving down Devonshire Road is the only route they can take.
Joanna Biddolph ● 1982d