Dear LPG,

This message is dedicated to all drivers who also read LPG.

I don’t know if I am the only ignorant driver in Lewisham, but one-day not so long ago I actually read the notice that I have asked LPG to picture.

Ours is a two-car home, one car parked in our drive and one parked in a residential parking bay, which has worked fairly well although I think it a little unfair that we have to pay so much for the privilege of parking outside our own homes.

I noticed a yellow sign on a lamp post outside my house and took a look at the information on it which was limited to the day the work was to start and, the fact that cars would be towed if they were in the way, as you can see.  I have often seen and ignored such signs which warn of roadworks and, we are all very used to the road works which complicate a driver’s route with temporary traffic lights and such every now and then, but it is only when the sign is close to home that one bothers to read the details. 

When I did read it I thought that the sign was unnecessarily blunt and gave very little information, but it did state the name of the construction company which I googled to get their telephone number.  I planned to do it for ages but finally got round to phoning them the day before the works were to begin. The person I talked to told me that she would have their customer complaints department call me back.  In the light of the short notice I had left myself, I then phoned Lewisham council (NSL) who explained something that never really occurred to me before.

We so often think that we once we have paid, we can only park opposite our homes or in that street but our parking permit allows you to park in any spot with the same zone code on it as yours.  I have to say that I did not even know about the codes until I read what CE had to say on the subject (►►►). 

The day that the work was to begin arrived and on the dot of 0800 the noise would have reminded anyone who may have forgotten but having learned so little I decided to talk to one of the workers and strode up the road to find out what’s what.

The very helpful, yellow-vested, hard-hatted man I talked to told me that the less direct signs they used to use ware usually ignored leaving them towing cars which delayed their work schedule, so they now stick to the blunt, to-the-point signs which are much more effective.   They told me that both the council and the road works companies leaflet the houses where the work is to take place in advance, and although I did not see one, I have to admit to dismissing a lot of leaflets as junk mail.  The workmen also told me that they find that some councils tow cars away to pounds, but Lewisham council is more likely to use one of those specialised trucks to pick up and deposit any offending vehicles to a local and legal parking spot; inconvenient enough to deter ignorance but a lot less costly I hope you agree. Another point that the worker was able to explain, but which the signs do not make clear is that residents can leave and return to their parking bays and garages while the work is going on although they might have to wait up to half an hour for newly laid tarmac to settle. 

I have to say that I know that the work has to be done but I found the day really noisy and my poor cat reacted as if bonfire night had arrived early.  But the workmen were very approachable and obviously as used to the questions as the company’s complaints department.    

Ironically, I did receive the promised call back on the afternoon after the work had started but, by then, I had learned all I needed to know from a workman on site but there was one thing that still bothered me a little. 

I now understand that their signs have to be blunt if they are to be effective, so that they can get on with the job in hand.   My only comment is that, if the company are asked these questions as often as they indicate, surely the people who answered when I phoned the enquiry telephone number I Googled should have been able to give me the information that the workers offered without referring me to yet another department, who needed to phone me back.

BH, Lewisham Park

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