Line drawn in battle for road space

4:40pm Wednesday 9th July 2003

After a barrage of complaints from Finchley residents that the new controlled parking zone (CPZ) was causing chaos in Hendon Lane, Barnet Council has yielded to pressure for a new yellow line.

Since the CPZ was introduced to Finchley at the end of June, cars were parking in the nearest available free parking spaces — on both sides of Hendon Lane.

Unfortunately, the point on Hendon Lane where the yellow lines and parking bays stopped was also the narrowest part of the road. This meant virtual standstill as cars and buses tried to squeeze through.

On Tuesday, Mike Freestone, head of highways, said: "Over the weekend, we have installed a single yellow line down to St Mary's Avenue, which has helped the position considerably, although I have had complaints this morning that there are lots of commuters parking in St Mary's Avenue. This is under review and will probably settle down over next few days or weeks."

David Karp, chairman of Blake Lodge Residents’ Association, said: "It was absolute chaos last week. [Now] it's nothing like as big a problem as it was."