Many residents and visitors to the Borough have been exasperated by the failure of Hammersmith and Fulham Council to adapt the Pay and Display Machines for parking to take the new one pound coin. Last October I wrote about how the machines would not take the new coin – even when the old one had ceased to be legal tender.

Months later and the situation remains a mess. Many machines and vandalised and don’t work at all. Many others still only accept the old pound coin.

For traditionalists who wish to pay to park their car using cash the situation is about to get much worse.

Over the next six weeks all the 1,100 old machines (some working, some broken) will be removed. That will leave the 400 new machines – only around 20 per cent of which take cash.

The Council point out that most people now use the RingGo system when parking. They can do this with their mobile phone and so don’t need to visit any of these machines. It is also noted that for many who do use the machines being able to pay with credit or debit card will be a great convenience.

There is also a change to the visitor parking arrangements to fit in RingGo. The Smart Visitor Permit is being replaced with a resident’s visitor permit. It means that if you want to pay for the parking of someone visiting you then you type in their car licence number into your computer or phone and pay for the time in advance. They don’t have to have a document on their dashboard. But if you pay for longer than they need you don’t get any money back.

Ravenscourt Park Ward is largely covered by Parking Zones I, L and M. The map with the locations for the machines being removed and the new ones for Zone I is here, Zone L is here and Zone M is here. You might also be interested in Zone A or  Zone K.

For Zone I the streets where you will find the new machines are in:

Larden Road
Emlyn Road
Emlyn Road
Emlyn Road
Flanchford Road
Hartswood Road
Hartswood Road
Jeddo Road
Becklow Road
Wendell Road
Ashchurch Terrace
Ashchurch Park Villas
Ashchurch Grove
Bassein Park Road
Cobbold Road

None of them will take cash. all of them are card only.

For Zone L the streets where you will find the new machines are:

Ravenscourt Road
Ravenscourt Avenue
Redmore Road
Lamington Street
Aldensley Road
Carthew Road
Wingate Road
Dalling Road
Perrers Road
Paddenswick Road

Of those only the one in Ravenscourt Road will take cash.

For Zone M the streets where you will find the new machines are:

Ravenscourt Park
Ravenscourt Square
St Peter’s Square
Eyot Gardens
South Black Lion Lane
Standish Road
Weltje Road
Oil Mill Lane
Rivercourt Road
Rivercourt Road
Hamlet Gardens

Of those only the one in Ravenscourt Park will take cash.

Those streets in and around Ravenscourt Park Ward that had the old machine will see them removed over the next six weeks. They are located in:

Zone A

Blacks Road
Bridge Avenue
Down Place / Bridge Avenue
Bridge Avenue
Sussex Place
Blacks Road
Nigel Playfair Avenue
Nigel Playfair Avenue
Luxembourg Gardens
Macbeth Street
Bute Gardens
King Street
Sussex Place / Queen Caroline Street
Bridge Avenue
King Street
Down Place
Chancellors Road
Wolverton Gardens
Shortlands
Colet Gardens
Hammersmith Grove / Glenthorne Road
Chancellors Road
Brook Green
Macbeth Street
Hammersmith Bridge Road
Brook Green
Luxembourg Gardens
King Street
Cambridge Grove
Iffley Road
Cambridge Grove
Crisp Road
Rutland Grove
Bridge View
Wolverton Gardens
Leamore Street
King Street
Shepherds Bush Road
Queen Caroline Street
Chancellors Road
Glenthorne Road / Beadon Road
Studland Street
Bute Gardens
Riverside Gardens
Brook Green
Brook Green
Crisp Road
Queen Caroline Street
Mall Road
Dalling Road
Brook Green
Holcombe Street
Brook Green
Cambridge Grove
Cambridge Grove
Bute Gardens / Rowan Road
Studland Street
Colet Gardens
Rowan Road
Brook Green
Galena Road
Hammersmith Bridge Road
Brook Green
Great Church Lane
Rowan Road
Worlidge Street
Nigel Playfair Avenue Car Park
Glenthorne Road
Hammersmith Road
Argyle Place
Glenthorne Road
Fulham Palace Road
Leamore Street
Great Church Lane
Nigel Playfair Avenue Car Park
Dalling Road
Banim Street
Glenthorne Road
Blacks Road
Chancellors Road

Zone I

Bassein Park Road
Becklow Road
Gayford Road
Jeddo Road
Ashchurch Park Villas
Wendell Road
Bassein Park Road
Cobbold Road
Gayford Road
Jeddo Road
Larden Road
Ashchurch Grove
Warple Way
Ashchurch Terrace
Lefroy Road
Cobbold Road
Rylett Road
Rylett Crescent
Becklow Road
Wendell Road
Ashchurch Grove
Rylett Road
Jeddo Road
Binden Road
Gayford Road
Ashchurch Park Villas
Ashchurch Terrace
Ashchurch Grove
Cobbold Road
Stronsa Road
Cobbold Road
Rylett Road
Flanchford Road
Aylmer Road
Hartswood Road
Larden Road
Mayfield Road
Cobbold Road
Rylett Crescent
Palgrave Road
Gransden Road
Askew Road
Wendell Road
Hartswood Road
Hartswood Road
Flanchford Road
Emlyn Road
Askew Road
Hartswood Road
Emlyn Road
Becklow Road
Askew Road
Emlyn Road
Emlyn Road

Zone K

Richford Street
Adie Road
Aldensley Road
Benbow Road
Coulter Road

Zone L

Ravenscourt Road
Redmore Road
Redmore Road
Ravenscourt Avenue
Wellesley Road
Ravenscourt Road
Dalling Road
Dorville Crescent
Raynham Road
Aldensley Road
Paddenswick Road
Paddenswick Road
Ravenscourt Road
Bradmore Park Road / Lamington Street
Wingate Road
Wingate Road
Cardross Street
Nasmyth Street
Carthew Road
Bradmore Park Road
Atwood Road / Perrers Road
Dalling Road
Perrers Road
Nasmyth Street
Banim Street
Dalling Road
Dalling Road
Dalling Road
Dalling Road
Carthew Road
Atwood Road / Dalling Road

Zone M

Ravenscourt Park
Rivercourt Road
St Peters Square
Weltje Road
Westcroft Square
Ravenscourt Park
Beavor Lane
St Peters Road
Standish Road / Theresa Road
Westcroft Square
Westcroft Square
St Peters Road / Standish Road
Standish Road / King Street
Ravenscourt Gardens
St Peters Square
Black Lion Lane
St Peters Square
Hamlet Gardens
Cromwell Avenue
Ravenscourt Square
Ravenscourt Park
Hamlet Gardens
St Peters Villas
Berestede Road
Westcroft Square
Black Lion Lane
Rivercourt Road
St Peters Square
Rivercourt Road
Weltje Road
South Black Lion lane
St Peters Grove
Chiswick Mall
Eyot Gardens
Ravenscourt Gardens
Chiswick Mall
Weltje Road
Oil Mill Lane

A welcome reduction in clutter? An enhanced opportunity to plant street trees? Of course I can understand why the Council hates having metal boxes with coins sitting in them on the streets.

On the other hand there will be a considerable struggle for those who are used to parking in and around those streets and using the machines which are about to vanish. Those not willing or able to open RingGo accounts will find parking harder.

So whether the changes are welcome or not rather depends on your point of view. what about the elderly? They are often both the most resistant to new fangled technological wheezes and those with greatest difficulty trudging around trying to find a machine that will take their money. I think that on balance the changes are justified but that the number of machines that will take cash will be too few and far between.

At any rate there should have been greater sensitivity at bringing in these quite significant changes and communicating to residents what is happening. I have done my best to understand it and to explain it. Yet I expect there will be quite a few befuddled motorists standing on pavements in the coming weeks baffled as to what is happening.