Tackling traffic problems on the Wokingham Road #rdg

I have been working with council officers and Dominoes to try and improve the parking and traffic situation on the Wokingham Road near the shops. Residents have been raising problems for a while – the combination of commercial drivers, customers picking up takeaways and pedestrians can at times be quite dangerous. Below is an update from the Council:

Dear Councillor White,

Further to your enquiry dated 13th June concerning the parking of delivery vehicles in the vicinity of Domino’s Pizza Wokingham Road, officers have visited the locality in the evening and spoken with the management of the business.

Investigations reveal that Domino’s have 38 drivers on their books in order to address a demand for home delivery which makes up 90% of overall takings; mainly on a Friday and a Saturday evening. There are approximately 18 drivers providing delivery services for other premises nearby including Chicken Base, Peppers, Istanbul Grill and Perfect Fried Chicken.

Following evening monitoring and a discussion with the manager of Dominos, all five premises were written to informing them that two of the key Licensing objectives, Public Safety and Public Nuisance in relation to pedestrians and other road users may be breached by the parking practices and if sufficient evidence was collected, a review of the licence could be requested which may result in alterations to conditions on the licence, additional conditions, alterations to the opening hours and possibly revocation of the licence. It was suggested to the manager of Dominos that the original use intended may have been outgrown bearing in mind the substantial proportion of overall trade that the delivery element of the business constitutes.

If residents were content to collect and provide evidence, including dates, times, location parked, vehicle make, model, colour, registration number and if possible a photograph; this would assist Licensing Officers dealing with the matter. Dominos drivers wear a company t-shirt which should identify them from drivers working for other takeaways.

I have liaised with colleagues in Parking Services who have confirmed that the area directly in front of the shop is public highway and enforcement would be subject to an enforceable restriction at the time of the offence. Wokingham Road and Pitcroft Avenue are part of their regular enforcement, with Civil Enforcement Officers visiting these streets at different times of the day in order that no pattern of enforcement can be established.

With regards to vehicles that may be parked on the pavement on Wokingham Road, causing obstruction, the Council is unable to assist unless an enforceable parking restriction is in place (e.g. double yellow lines, etc.). At present in this area there would be a reliance on Police involvement as at the times indicated there is no parking restriction in place out side of Domino's shop. The Council encourages the reporting of obstruction (Road Vehicles (Construction & Use) Regulations 1986; Regulation 103) to the Police; as this enables both the Council and the Police to measure the degree of difficulty that is being caused."

Should you have any further queries concerning the Licensing aspects of this matter meantime, do not hesitate to contact me. Should you have any queries regarding the Parking Enforcement aspects, please contact my colleague Ian Thomas.

Yours sincerely,