I’m just reading your article in the recent edition (Residents' fury over road safety, May 21) and it has come as no surprise to residents in Gibraltar Crescent, where I live, that the local parking problem is now becoming an accident waiting to happen.

The problem is twofold. The business park and bus garage on the Longmead Business Estate does not have sufficient parking facilities for the people, and in particular the bus drivers, who work there. As the bus routes have expanded at Epsom Coaches, they have used their additional parking to cater for the extra buses. This means that more and more drivers are having to use residential roads in the surrounding area. We have seen a huge increase in the parking along Gibraltar Crescent over recent years. Despite taking the matter up with the management at Epsom Coaches they, apparently, can do nothing.  To make matters worse, the implementation of more and more double yellow lines along Longmead Road and some of the surrounding roads is forcing the cars into the few remaining residential roads that don’t have parking restrictions.

Ideally, the council should be making parking available for the Longmead industrial area. This could be achieved with minimal costs by utilizing the exceptionally wide area along Longmead where the Hogsmill Stream runs, and perhaps a car park within the business park.

It would be great to see a campaign started to encourage the council to take a more constructive view, instead of just putting in more and more restrictions on parking. This does not make the problem go away, just moves it to another area.

Linda Willox

via email