9th
September
2005
~ Metroline aids
road safety initiative in Harlesden ~
On Saturday 3 September
2005 from 11am to 4pm and Friday 9 September 2005 from
12pm to 5pm,
ComfortDelGro subsidiary,
Metroline will be one of many organisations helping
to raise road safety awareness in Harlesden.
Organised by Brent Police’s ‘Save the Neighbourhood
Team’ and in partnership with Living Street,
the Fire Service, the Parking System, Brent Police
and Brent Borough, two FlowSafe road show events will
take place in Harlesden Town Centre. The events are
part of an initiative to improve road safety for pedestrians
and relieve bad congestion caused by irresponsible
drivers. The initiative will also introduce strict
parking enforcement in the autumn.
This FlowSafe team will be working together to promote
the initiative and will be on hand to talk to regular
visitors and Harlesden businesses. Leaflets will be
handed out explaining some of the issues and our plans
to improve conditions.
As a bus operator in
the Harlesden area, providing services to residents
and commuters
in the Brent Community,
Metroline jumped at the chance to become involved and
show its support.
Martin Fisher, Network
Performance Manager at Metroline said: “As part
of the FlowSafe team, Metroline is hoping to educate
and inform people
about the consequences
of bad parking. Trying to operate our buses through
congested streets is tough enough without having to
negotiate a 13 ton double decker around badly parked
vehicles.
The roadshows are to
inform and remind people about the need to park legally,
safely and responsibly
in
designated parking areas and within the given times.
If we can achieve this as a team, Metroline can provide
a more efficient service to our customers that depend
on us to get to their destinations every day.”
The
main problems are caused by irresponsible drivers who
park illegally on the roads, which has many side
effects in the town:
- Contributes to the growing congestion
- Delays commuters in cars and buses which in turn costs
individuals and businesses huge amounts in earnings/revenue
- The inability to park deters consumers wishing to purchase
in the area.
- Resources wasted in addressing problems linked to bad
parking
However, it is how the
inconsiderate parking is endangering lives in the area
that is causing the most concern
for residents and the borough as it:
- Causes problems for emergency vehicles, particularly
fire engines and ambulances to reach their destination
- Crime has increased in the areas that appear more chaotic
and unmanaged
- Increased pedestrian accident numbers and the accident
risks have increased because of bad parking.
Sergeant
Caroline Fox, founder of the FlowSafe initiative at Brent Police, said: “The
new ‘Save the
Neighbourhood Team’ has been formed to respond
to the various Communities in the Brent Borough.
FlowSafe is designed to raise awareness of road
safety and clamp
down on inconsiderate drivers parking illegally
in the streets.”
The FlowSafe team will
be situated in Craven Park Road outside Marcus Menswear
on On Saturday 3 September
2005 from 11am to 4pm and Friday 9 September
2005
from
12pm to 5pm.
- Ends -
Note to Editors:
- Metroline is one of the top five London-based bus
companies, currently running 13.5% of the capital’s bus
services under contract to Transport for London.
- Metroline carries 250 million passengers every year,
operates 96 routes, covers over 37.5 million journey
miles each year, employs almost 3700 people and runs
a fleet of over 1,200 buses in North, West and Central
London and South Hertfordshire.
- Metroline is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Singapore
based ComfortDelGro Corporation Limited, which is
the world's second largest listed land transport company.
- The ‘Save the Neighbourhood Team’ is part
of the Community Safety Unit at Brent Police.
- The Metropolitan Police Service employs 30,235 officers,
11,966 police staff, 493 traffic wardens and 1392
Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs), and, since the
realignment of police boundaries in April 2000, it
covers an area of 620 square miles and a population
of 7.2million.
Enquiries:
Sergeant Caroline Fox, Brent Police 020 8721 2051
Nicola Vincent, Head of Communications, Metroline
020 8218 8831 |
