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There is controversy about whether North London's Red Route scheme actually relieves traffic congestion. CM finds out how it has affected operators and local shopkeepers.
• Parking on the double red lines between North London's Archway Road and the Angel, Islington, is now strictly forbidden.
Delivery drivers are still adjusting to the UK's first Red Route which could lead to many more throughout the capital.
The familiar yellow lines have been replaced by double red lines which prohibit stopping at any time; a single red line restricts parking to specified periods in marked loading bays.
Signs posted beside bays read: "no stopping, Mon-Fri 8am-7pm," except for the loading times given beneath. Drivers are allowed to stop for 20 minutes at a stretch within the stated hours.
The bays vary in size: some are large enough for an artic; others are just big enough for a couple of panel vans.
The scheme, which runs for 18 months, is being extended to Butcher Row in the East End, and beyond; parts of Tower Hamlets turn red this month and Hackney changes over on 1 March.
It's aim is to improve traffic flow and reduce accidents — but it has provoked a mixture of outright hostility and "suck it and see" stoicism 'from those who are affected.
The Department of Transport claims that "there are more loading points than there were before" but admits that some drivers will have to walk more than 400m to fetch or carry goods. Ben Anton, Islington Council's Red Routes spokesman, told CM that there are not only too few bays, but they are badly located, often requiring drivers to cross busy roads while can-ying bulky or fragile items. The council is discussing possible changes with the DTp, but the sticking point is Government funding.
Drivers who stop illegally or who park over the allotted time, face severe penalties. In addition to the usual parking fine of 216, police can impound vehicles. To retrieve them drivers have to pay a fee of £80, plus 210 for every day the vehicle is left "in storage".
Lynx Express makes daily deliveries along the Red Route from its Muswell Hill depot. "We are reserving judgement at the moment," says depot manager Jim Ridgeway. "It may be a good thing in the long run if traffic is speeded up, although
that might attract new traffic and cause renewed congestion."
Lynx offers a before-10am delivery service, which presents an immediate problem, as many bays specify 10:00hrs as the earliest permitted stopping time.
Ridgeway believes that his drivers can resolve this by using their common sense, taking advantage of local road knowledge and improving customer relationships: "Drivers have had to re-organise the day to fit in with the scheme," he says.
"Generally, most deliveries have been done in the morning and collections in the afternoon.
"But a driver may face a situation where the appropriate bay only allows unloading after 13:00hrs and he has a collection to make elsewhere at 13:00hrs. He has to organise himself around the times and liaise closely with the customer."
Dave Coulthard has driven along the stretch of road covered by the Red Route for two of his six years with Lynx. On the morning that CM followed his progress he had seven out of the day's 40 deliveries to make along the route; fortunately none were guaranteed before 10:00hrs.
"The scheme has cut an hour off the journey from Muswell Hill to King's Cross," says Coulthard. "There's particular improvement at the Highbury Corner roundabout on Fridays, which is usually packed with drivers leaving work early. Now you see three or four buses tailing each other with no traffic in between."
Coulthard is happy about the clarity of the Red Route road markings.
However, he says: "It's a pain if you have three or four drops next to each other and you can't park near them. Then there's a supermarket I deliver to which is near a loading bay, but you might have to take in 50 boxes without much help."
Drivers who need more than 20 minutes in a bay can seek prior police approval for an extended stoppage. The police need a reason, a time, date and location and the vehicle registration number; in return the local police station issues a ticket to display on the windscreen. Approval must be sought for each occasion.
Londis has two small supermarkets on Upper Street in the heart of Red Route territory. On its first delivery round after the scheme began Londis served both supermarkets with one truck without needing extra time. But operations director Doug Harrison admitted that "without the roll-pallets we use, unloading in 20 minutes would be impossible."
Ahmed Youssefi, joint manager of a local cafe/bakery, highlighted a problem for traders of fresh produce. He travels twice a week to the local fruit and meat market which opens at 05:00hrs. Timing is critical as the best produce goes early.
LOADING BAY
"The nearest loading bay doesn't allow stopping until 10:00hrs, but we couldn't delay the market trip to coincide with that," says Youssefi, "so we go at 07:00hrs and return around 09:00hrs, parking in a side street and carrying the stuff. Firms which deliver to us come before 08:00hrs or after 10:00hrs."
Further along Upper Street, Benny Warwick, owner of Highbury Fruiterers for the past five years, condemned the Red Route scheme as "another nail in the coffin of the small trader. . . I'm hanging on, but the police are scaring the life out of everyone at the moment."
At around 11:00hrs Coulthard pulled into a loading bay, followed minutes later by a police van.
He had parked by mistake in a bay restricted between 13:00hrs and 19:00hrs, thinking that the specified times were between 10:00 and 16:00hrs. Safety lay on the other side of the road, where the bay allowed stopping between 08:00hrs and 13:00hrs.
The vehicle removal officer explained that loading times alternated on opposite sides of the road "to strike a balance and keep traffic moving in a tidal flow."
Tony Harms, local trader and chairman of the Upper Street Business Association, told CM: "The police interpret the signs to mean that you have stopped illegally if you are not physically unloading, even if you have walked off somewhere to deliver." The Association is taking legal advice on whether or not to sue for loss of business.
Even environmental pressure group Transport 2000 is against Red Routes: "We had very little faith in the scheme from the start," says Transport 2000's assistant director Judith Hanna.
"We wanted extra road space for bus priority lanes and extra facilities for cyclists. What we've got is faster traffic without the buffer of parked cars, and we've yet to see a real reduction in congestion. Giving more road space to private cars just increases the traffic on London streets.
"Attention must be paid to proper calmins measures."
LJ by Gabrielle Mullarkey