We live on one of the UK's most famous streets but it's being ruined by tourists – they're blocking traffic | The Sun
LOCALS on one of London's most famous streets say tourists are blocking traffic & making their area more dangerous.
Exhibition Road in South Kensington throngs with tourists heading to the Natural History Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum and Imperial College London.
South Kensington Tube station can see more footfall than Heathrow's Terminal 5 and the street's chic pavement cafes and restaurants are always packed with tourists well after the famous museums have closed for the day.
But now it has emerged that there are fears of a serious accident due to the sheer volume of tourists, confusing road markings and supercars roaring through.
The street is unusual in that the footpath and carriageway look the same. Ashallow drop kerb separates the two.
Now locals speaking to My London fear a pensioner, tourist or child could be seriously hurt due to the problem.
ACCIDENT FEARS
Church Elder Don Stapley from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints said: “The situation isn’t ideal because sometimes the buses park right up front [of the Church] and stay put, which limits the foot traffic and makes it difficult to get in and around.
"We don’t want to complain but we just wonder if the congestion is being caused by people going to visit the [Natural History]
Museum and then having those buses parking there for long [periods], which is an inconvenience for everyone on Exhibition Road.”
Elder Stapley claims to have seen a woman and a schoolgirl hit by cars in separate incidents on the road.
Most read in Motors
I'm a mechanic… drivers makesame mistakes when their car breaks down
Holidaymakers told to rent garages & drives as airport parking charges soar
Drivers in London snared by £56m in fines in 2yrs of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods
Deadly carnage of ‘UK’s most dangerous’ road with 20 cars destroyed in a year
Elder Alan Wakeley claimed he almost got hit by traffic when he accidentally stepped onto Exhibition Road.
The 71-year-old said: “I almost got skittled when I was standing out here talking to someone. I stood back and didn’t even realise I was on the road.”
"REV HEADS"
There are also claims that the area has become popular with so called "rev head" drivers who reach excessive speeds.
In February, Kensington and Chelsea councillor Emma Dent Coad claimed supercar drivers were drawn to the area because the street looked like something from a video game.
Cllr Dent Coad told a full council meeting that drivers had previously been clocked at speeds of up to 130mph when tests were carried out in 2015.
And in 2017, 11 people were injured when a minicab driver
ploughed into pedestrians outside the Natural History Museum. The incident was initially thought to be terror related.
Alan Thomas, who manages the 59-61 Princes Gate building, claims to have seen “hundreds” of people turn up with their cars and park outside a block of flats and rev their engines until late at night.
He said: “Everybody has moaned and groaned when they park their cars here and they are all different types of cars. They come here with their cars that go bing and bang all the time outside.”
He added: “This road is dangerous. There are many run-ins and people walk down this road and have no sense. We have had accidents over the years with cars colliding into each other.”
A spokesperson for Kensington and Chelsea Council said: “The current layout has been in place on Exhibition Road since 2011 and there were no reports of personal injury collisions involving pedestrians in the vicinity of the church between 2020 and 2022.
"We would encourage anyone involved in an accident to report it to the police, so the council is notified and we can continue to monitor the street.”
Councillor Aicha Less from Westminster City Council, which manages a section of the busy road, said a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) in the areas in and around Exhibition Road and Waterloo Place was in place to stop the ongoing nuisance caused by car meets and noisy vehicles and will be in place until January 30, 2024.
She also said two acoustic cameras are in situ at hotspot locations in both streets to assist in capturing any breaches of the PSPO and supporting enforcement action like fines or prosecutions.
"NOT A RACETRACK"
Cllr Less, deputy council leader and lead member for public protection, said: "Car meets disturb residents with their excessive noise and the illegal stunts performed are downright dangerous and a risk to the public. We take a proactive approach in tackling the issue especially around our hotspots of Exhibition Road and Waterloo Place.
“Our enforcement measures include acoustic cameras which gather evidence for issuing Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) or prosecution. We will continue to support and work with the police as well as neighbouring local authorities with this joint approach.
"Westminster is not a racetrack so anyone who participates in such events can expect to be reported for driving offences or even have their car seized.”
The Natural History Museum said the majority of groups who visit arrive via public transport and that their security team is not aware of any road traffic collision in recent months.
The Science Museum, which is opposite the Church of Latter Day Saints, said in 2022/23, 77per cent of visitors used the Underground or train to travel to the attraction, according to museum's internal data.
They said around 7per cent of visitors arrive by bus or coach, including those use the TfL bus stop outside the museum.
They said there is a coach "drop-off" point outside the museum on Exhibition Road and coach parking on Warwick Road, Bayswater Road and Park Lane, which they say is highlighted on their website.
Read More on The Sun
Inside Paris Fury’s relatable life – from days out with her 6 kids to B&M trips
EastEnders legend unrecognisable 25 years after shock soap exit
Data released by TfL shows 10.8m people passed through South Kensington Tube station in 2021 – 300,000 more than Heathrow Terminal 5.
Source: Read Full Article