Renewed effort to resolve antisocial racing on Redcar seafront
Today I met with the Operations Manager for Highways for Redcar & Cleveland following previous meetings with a Community Development Officer on the 31st July and with a Highways engineer on the 4th August to look at the historic issues in the car park generally and regarding drivers on an evening and weekend. This item includes the surrounding roads following complaints from residents and visitors regarding the long time issue of racing cars and generally dangerous driving and the noise nuisance of screeching tyres, revving engines and beeping horns. These issues have been reported by myself and various residents and are known to the police and go back decades.
Regarding Majuba Car Park specifically there have been a number of issues with cars driving straight out onto the beach from this point and along the sea front walkway which is only meant for pedestrians and emergency services. The key issues I brought up again were;
- The flooding issue along the walkway which hasn’t the gradient or drainage to allow rain and sea water to wash away. This often prevents being able to walk along the sea front at Majuba from the car park. Large pools also collects around the bin areas and stagnate. This requires an engineered solution such as drains.
- The benches along the elevated kerbed paving on the North side being poorly maintained and hardly used. They are likely to be unused because they are set out where the cars drive right up to. They are also preventing the opportunity to finish the enclosure with low level birdsmouth fencing in keeping with the rest of the car parking. The kerbed area provides little restriction to vehicles trying to access the walkway and beach illegally. The benches would be better placed on the walkway or elsewhere altogether.
- The North West corner of birdsmouth having been removed and reported but never replaced. The potential is for this to be replaced and removed again. A couple of bollards may be a deterrent but the potential then would be for other areas of birdsmouth to be removed. The car park has CCTV coverage but failing recognition more robust measures such as the low level metal barriers may be a more permanent solution.
- The open accesses to the walkway. Drop down bollards were installed to prevent access to the slipway on the North West corner between the Caravan Park and Car Park. However this work was not completed and requires potentially two more drop down bollards. One is required at the North East corner next to the Sea Cadet building (alternative is birdmouth following development) and one is required on the West side of Tuned In. Tuned In staff will need a key to allow emergency or service access.
- The entrance into the car park being wide open. Controlling the entrance into the car park would prevent access for anti-social purposes. This could be done in a number of ways but requires further consultation to find a solution to this historic problem.
- Improving the aesthetic of the car park. Cosmetically the two internal sections are unattractive, different colours and some of the barriers need replacing as they have been collided with and left.
- There is a broken brown notice board on the South Entrance next to the parking machines that either needs renovating or removing. The more modern notice board on the Northern side is broken and requires repair.
- Car park signage here and across the borough needs to be in keeping with the Place Marketing brand. For such a major car park this one is neglected.
In regard to the speeding on the surrounding roads I have requested Speed Detection Radar (SDR) in order to be able to obtain speed data, with an emphasis on studying the speeds on an evening and on weekend evenings. There is potential that the monitoring cannot be done until early to mid September as the equipment is with the manufacturer for repair and calibration as confirmed by an Engineer on the 10th August.
*** Update – SDR has been delayed because of Covid-19 furlough restrictions and faulty equipment. I have requested that Majuba Road, York Road and Coatham Road are all surveyed together and have had two safer street packs sent to develop a considered plan. I am advised by a resident that a pack has been sent for Coatham Road following a previous survey. I have also contacted the police and will meet to discuss the issue here.
https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/it-needs-every-day-not-18542658
https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/majuba-road-car-park-police-4724386
https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/driver-who-put-families-risk-13179774
https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/readers-react-speeding-issue-worst-11854277
https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/vandals-target-redcar-car-park-13546464
https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/banned-motorist-drove-like-lunatic-12782551
Diary of a Redcar Councillor 