HELP TO CLEAN UP OUR COMMUNITY'S HIGHWAYS

Following a recent meeting of the Epping Forest Highways Panel on 22nd June, Essex County Council’s Highways Department are continuing to pursue opportunities for delivery under the ‘Highways Rangers’ service. As part of this project, Epping Town Council (alongside other Council’s in the district) have been requested to identify suitable works which may be carried out to improve areas which the highways department are directly responsible. The issued raised by all of the local councils will be prioritised and a draft works programme will be created. Of course, not every suggestion will be carried out in this round of work, but you have to be in it to win it as they say!

The sort of work that can be carried out by Highways Rangers includes:
* Cleaning and minor repairs to non-electrical road signs
* Cleaning and minor repairs to street furniture
* Reinstatement of posts and bollards (minimal excavation)
* Trimming of vegetation and removal of arisings
* Adhoc grass cutting and strimming
* Localised cleaning and minor excavation of roadside grips
* Removal of graffiti from, or painting of, ‘municipal’ street furniture such as litter bins, street nameplates and seats, etc.
* Removal of weeds or vegetation from pavements
* Scavenging and removal of deposits and small fly tips from highway land
* Removal of illegal signs and fly posting

Please let me know any ideas you have by Friday 9th July to allaboutepping@googlemail.com Please note that the Range will not deal with issues involving private property.

HOW CAN I REGISTER MY HIGHWAYS ISSUES?

Many of the emails and letters I receive from Epping residents relate to what we refer to as ‘highways issues’. These range from potholes, to street lights, to kerb drops, to blocked drains to bus shelters, to footpaths, to road markings and signs right the way through to overgrown hedges.

All highways issues are the responsibility of Essex County Council and as a way of helping you to report issues you may have or have noticed within the community, they have recently launched a new section to their website to help speed up the process of getting problems logged and sorted. To visit the site, please click here.

Alternatively, you can contact a member of our local Highways Office by calling 0845 603 7621 or by emailing highways.westarea@essex.gov.uk. Finally, you can write to them at: Warwick House, Roydon Road, Harlow, Essex, CM19 5DX.

TEMPORARY ROAD CLOSURE - Hemnall Street

Essex County Council have issued a Public Notice outlining a temporary road closure of Hemnall Street on Wednesday 9th September 2009 for the purpose of repair works on a water supply pipe by Veolia Waters Three Valleys.

UPDATE: TRAGIC ACCIDENT IN EPPING HIGH STREET

It is with great sadness I report that the 71-year-old gentleman who was involved in a collision with a white Mercedes Sprinter this morning outside of Tesco in Epping High Street has died in the Royal London Hospital. He has been named as James Pritchard from Mott Street in Waltham Abbey.

A 70-year-old man from Sawbridgeworth has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving and has been questioned at Loughton Police Station and since released on police bail until 21st September.

Any witnesses are urged to contact investigating officers at Chigwell Road Policing Unit on 0300 333 4444.

ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT IN EPPING HIGH STREET

Many residents have been asking why some of Epping’s High Street has been cordoned off by police today. Unfortunately a serious road traffic incident occurred at 11am today where a pensioner was hit by a car whilst crossing the road by Tesco’s.

I happened to be in the location at the time and I, like many other residents was deeply upset at what I saw. Traffic was diverted whilst an air ambulance landed in the High Street and airlifted the gentleman off to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, which is a specialist centre for significant head injuries.

As much as this sort of event is a shock to the system and deeply upsetting, I never cease to be amazed at the way ordinary members of our community leap to help when tragedy strikes. Within seconds of the accident people had rushed to help both the driver and the injured gentleman. Others had begun to divert the traffic to ensure the safety of the general public and motorists. It really is heartening to know that good Samaritans remain in their numbers in Epping. I hope you will all join me in praying for all of those who have been affected by this awful incident. I will update the site as and when new information is received.

HAVE YOUR SAY ON PARKING CHANGES IN EPPING

As residents will know, a review of parking took place in Epping during 2007, from which various new parking regulations were implemented, especially in the roads around Epping Underground Station, which were suffering from commuter parking.

The plans which were implemented focused on the following:
* Regulate commuter and long term non-residents parking from the area.
* Improve road safety by removing obstructive parking from junctions.
* To reduce the level of traffic in the area by regulating parking on street.
* To attract more customers to the businesses – by allowing a greater turn over of parking spaces.

Many residents have complained about the changes and some have made proposals on how further changes can be made to ensure the aims above can be achieved. Essex County Council are asking local residents for the last time what they think of the proposed amendments. Plans for each of the areas can be found by clicking here.

You only have until Friday 4th July 2009 to have your say on the proposals. You can do so by email at highways.westarea@essex.gov.uk or by writing to: Epping Parking Review Team, Sustainability, Environment and Highways, West Area Office, Warwick House, Roydon Road, Harlow, Essex, CM19 5DX. The results of this review will be considered firstly by the Epping Forest District Council’s Civil Engineering Portfolio Holder and then by the Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Highways and Transportation. It is proposed that any changes will be implemented from November 2009 onwards.

SPEEDING IN BOWER HILL & STATION ROAD

I have received a large number of communications from local residents this week regarding the amount of cars which speed carelessly, especially during rush-hour, down Station Road to Epping Station or through the Road into Bower Hill. This is an issue which Epping Town Council has drawn to the attention of Essex County Council’s Highways Department previously. The Council stated that it did not believe that the vehicle activated speed signs have reduced speeding in Bower or indeed in Ivy Chimneys Road.

On Friday 12th June a pretty bad accident took place, as you will see from the attached picture and it’s not the first! You can see from the location of the car on the pavement how bad this could have been. There is only pavement on one side of the highway in this area so it has to be used and the pretty dangerous crossing from Coniston Court into Bower Hill is of significant concern.

I have raised this issue with the neighbourhood policing team, the police traffic department and with the police Inspector for Epping and have requested for traffic to be closely monitored between 7am and 9am and again from 3pm to 5pm during the week to ascertain quite how bad this issue is and to also issue speeding fines where appropriate.

I have also organised to raise this matter with the County Councillor for Epping, Janet Whitehouse, at Epping Town Council’s meeting on Tuesday 28th July 2009 at 8.15pm. This meeting will take place at Epping Hall in St. John’s Road and is open for members of the public to attend.

It is clear that speeding has become an issue more recently since the new parking regulations were implemented last year and have freed these roads of parked cars, allowing motorists to pass at much greater speeds. I believe this is a matter of local safety and will be working with these agencies to ensure that we are acting to remind those who are breaking the speed limit in residential areas that they are putting lives at risk. I will keep you updated with any further action on this matter.