Richmond station forecourt

[DavidNW9]

Now Richmond Council have finally removed the drive in forecourt at Richmond station, one of the most complex junctions in Greater London with traffic coming from all four directions plus the Tube, and the remainder of the main road being used for the relocated taxi rank, what would you do if you have to pick someone up there who may not have actually arrived before you in order to stop illegally to let them in as you see them ahead?

My suspicion is this is not a puzzle with a solution, but as it's going to happen sooner or later I thought I'd get the question in now just in case we have a genius around. By the way, if anyone wants to know the equivalent for Wembley Park station you can park in Chalkhill Road and ask people to walk there. That is something I have done long enough to work out.

[Comstock]

Is there not a nearby road you can use? Parkshot maybe? https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Richmo ... =11,0,,0,0

Double yellows, but should be fine to pick up/drop off.


If you need to actually park and wait, there is pay and display here https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Richmo ... ,,0,0&z=16

[michael769]

Have they perhaps moved the pick up/drop off point to the Station Car Park?

[samxool]

good, its a really congested area, and with virtually no pedestrian space.
there's plenty of parking around Richmond nearby, the forecourt outside was tiny, and was only leading to more congestion on the road that passes the station entrance.

there's the station's own car park, plus the nearby car park for Richmond park.

[phil gollin]

I did exactly this last Saturday.

Coming from the Richmond Bridge/Town Centre direction I pulled in on the opposite side of the road from the station ("my" side) just after the bus stops and before the traffic lights. After picking up my friends I pulled out and turned right at the traffic lights and proceeded up the side streets. From there one can either turn right back into the Richmond one-way system or go straight up Richmond Hill and on into Kingston.

From the other direction I would have arranged to have my friends waiting at the entrance to the Waitrose multi-storey car park (just beyond the station) and TRY to do a U-turn back towards the A316 roundabout (or go around the one-way system if necessary).

HOWEVER, both these solutions are TRULY "pick-up" only, one cannot wait. I have not seen the new arrangement during rush hours but can imagine that the area is a mess. IF I had to GUESS about waiting I would wait down by the community college on the road past Richmond Theatre, but that is a pure guess.

The problem really is that the taxis and buses cause almost continuous congestion in the area except late at night.

Richmond have NEVER comes to terms with their traffic and as long as Richmond Green has so many powerful people living there the council never will. The obvious solution of pedestrianisation of the main high street (except buses)and using the road along the top of the green (past Richmond theatre) as part of a larger one way system will NEVER happen.

.

[DavidNW9]

Like Phil I really need someone with the direct experience, as so far it's not possible to do any more than just have a pre-arranged guarantee (not possible if the train comes in late) and on illegal locations to boot. During rush hours when there are hundreds of people arriving I can't imagine what happens as there must be the same number of cars arriving to pick them up, there's no way for more than a few cars to stop for a few seconds directly outside. If anyone's late then what happens?

One thing I am certain about, Richmond Council did not know or care about the alternative when they closed the forecourt. I've used it for that purpose (as well as the station itself) for getting on 30 years and have never found there were too many cars to fit in as people continually arrived and left, it always worked very smoothly. And dropping off guaranteed you didn't hold up the traffic on the road behind you if there was more than one person or they were carrying bags etc. I can only hope the regular users have worked out not just a viable alternative (as I have in Wembley), but a legal one, as there are cameras everywhere and if you pick up on a double yellow there's always the chance of a letter arriving. I'm sure they're hoping for it so they can earn more to pay for the new kerbs they installed over the last year plus the humps which have made the town so user-friendly. And amazingly this is the Conservatives who kicked the Lib Dems out in the last election, had they stayed in I can imagine the pedestrianisation may have occurred and traffic would have to use Twickenham Bridge and come back via Kingston Bridge. That would have been fun every day or every week.

[samxool]

why can't you park in a car park?
there are plenty nearby.
or choose a different station, there are others nearby that aren't basically in a city centre.

[DavidNW9]

So far it's only airports who charge for picking up, and paying £1-2 often every single day to pick up a friend or relative coming home from work is simply a form of additional taxation.

As for the city centre argument, people tend to prefer to a) arrive at the nearest station they actually live and b) if they diverted to Twickenham or St Margarets to be collected imagine the extra petrol used for thousands of people every day doing the extra few miles. I don't think you've really thought that one out.

[samxool]

FINE, then block up the high street waiting for your friend. i don't care.
I sense there is no right answer that you will be happy with.

Do you know what other people do in other places where waiting to pick someone up isn't feasible? we park nearby and walk to meet them/wait for them to walk to us.

Why on earth you can't apply this simple logic is beyond me.

[DavidNW9]

Mainly as I know Richmond well enough to know there isn't an obvious alternative. It's an incredibly busy station and had cars coming in and out of the forecourt constantly collecting people for almost 100 years with absolutely no problems.

I already said I suspect there is no viable alternative but just in case someone who actually has to do it themselves on a regular basis has found one I will be able to do the same thing myself the next time I have to do it. And without getting a parking ticket or even having to fork out insurance money to avoid one. I know it's a tall order but I have high expectations from the members here, if anyone knows a solution they will, and hope if I wait long enough to get some more positive responses. I'll check the car park next time I'm there but can't see how they'd manage it as it would probably block people using it coming in. Maybe I should have written to the council directly first.

[christopherwk]

There are bays which says "Pick up and drop off permited" (or something to that effect) in black writing on a white background (don't know the legality of such signs - but the bays are on yellow lines anyway). One is outside the little Sainsbury's and another on the other side of the road, just before the pedestrian crossing.

I tend to avoid driving past Richmond station because of the congestion, I turn left before House of Fraser, and go along the back way along the green and come out by the side of the theatre/pub - or go up Star and Garter Hill, and down Queen's Road (I usually come from Ham/Kingston).

Can be just as busy during the evening, especially as the black cabs rank along both sides of the road, and have to u-turn twice, to get to the front of the rank, as well as having to enter the flow of traffic to get round the pedestrian crossing which is built outwards.

[DavidNW9]

Thanks Christopher, that was exactly what I wanted to know, presumably enough pressure was put on the council to avoid the alternative of constant potential chaos, and if the signs are on the road they are valid as any others. I have to meet someone in a couple of weeks and also thought it was better to check now or may have diverted to Kew Gardens otherwise. I hope the wardens time people to prove they weren't there too long if that's the case, and you may still have to leave the car as not everyone arriving would know where to find you if you sit tight and hope.

[phil gollin]

.

I spoke to someone who has contacts within Richmond Council.

The reason for the pedestrianisation of the forecourt is was two fold ;

1: The problems of the interactions between pedestrians and "waiting" cars and the "waiting" cars blocking the flow of taxis. I.E. the behaviour of "waiting" cars has deteriorated so as to be unacceptable both for safety and commercial reasons.

2: What was the real "killer" reason was that the traffic was backing up so much that the buses at the stands adjacent to the station entrance were finding it impossible to pull out back into traffic. Now that may be true, but I cannot see how the new arrangements make things better - but I'll wait and see.

.

[Comstock]

Mainly as I know Richmond well enough to know there isn't an obvious alternative.

Parkshot/Little Green no good then?

[DavidNW9]

Parkshot/Little Green no good then?

If the bays opposite the station are allowed then problem solved, but apart from having to rely on passengers being able to find you as the Parkshot area is usually full most of the time, during the day if you find a space you have to pay through the nose for it, which again raises the charging for collecting monster. You may end up so far on the Green itself which has most of the (once free) spaces someone may spend ages trying to find you. Multiply that by a few times a week and the sanity of both parties would be stretched, and the finances of the driver.

Thanks for your research Phil, it puts it into context now, and sadly the genuine reason as always is increased population which is a British problem generally and just expressed locally.

[Comstock]

Final comment from me on this, but if they are doing this several times a week then presumably they have a travelcard which is also valid on buses? Why not get them to use the bus, either all the way to your house or at least to a more convenient pick up spot.

Apologies if this isn't practical for whatever reason.

[t1(M)]

I gather there are plans to do something similar at Surbiton too. I often have to go to one or the other to pick up people when SWT have let them down again.

All the suggested solutions assume there is somewhere to park nearby that both has space and doesn't charge ludicrous amounts for a ten minute stop, and that the passenger being collected can walk that far, (and, if you have to wait with the car, can find you).

What if it's raining? What if they have heavy luggage? What if they don't know the area? What if they're mobility impaired? What if I'm meeting my aged relatives with their heavy luggage in the pouring rain?

The system has worked, with a bit of reasonable give and take and commonsense on all parts, at both stations for at least thirty years and probably eighty). Why change it now?

And if it is deemed too dangerous all of a sudden, why are taxis still allowed to wait there?