Grove Park Traffic Counters Vandalised
At least 19 devices appear to have been methodically disabled
Over half the traffic counters in the area have been damaged. Picture: Gabriella Giles
Traffic counting equipment installed by Hounslow Council in the Grove Park area have been damaged over the Bank Holiday weekend.
The cables that cross the road to measure vehicles moving through roads in the area were installed to allow the council to measure the impact of changes recently made including the ANPR restrictions on Hartington Road and the barrier on Staveley Road.
Some time before Monday (31 May) over half of the 32 devices in roads including Grove Park Terrace and Hartington Road were damaged with the cables being cut and ripped up. At least 19 of the devices appear to have methodically vandalised.
The traffic count data would have provided key information for the final review of the changes which is due to take place later this year.
Councillor Hanif Khan, Cabinet Member for Transport and One Hounslow, said, “Hounslow Council doesn’t tolerate crime and if there is evidence of criminal damage in this instance we will do all we can to make sure the perpetrator is brought to justice. We will be liaising with our local policing team and we will share CCTV footage and any other evidence we have in the eventuality of an investigation.
“We are aiming to remove the Grove Park logging equipment today, which has been collecting traffic data for our Streetspace review, and we will examine what data it has captured. The equipment was due to be removed today in any case, so we may still find we have the full data set required for our review. If we don’t, the equipment will be re-installed at a later date."
Cllr Sam Hearn, opposition traffic and transport spokesperson said, "It is hard to fathom why anyone would want to damage any of the temporary traffic monitoring equipment installed on Grove Park Roads. Without the data collected by this monitoring equipment much of the debate around the desirability or otherwise of the LTN schemes descends into anecdotal exchanges of "she said he said". It is nevertheless decidedly odd that these measurements are being made before the full lockdown has been removed. How can any proper comparisons be made or conclusions drawn on the basis of such aberrant data? That being said this does not justify the wanton damage of council property.
"Hounslow Council seem however blithely unaware of the anger and frustration that its pig-headed actions and obstinacy have engendered locally. Many perfectly law-abiding residents are baffled by a Council that whilst claiming to be 'listening' so consistently ignores the results of surveys, consultations, petitions and workshops, that have overwhelmingly rejected the so-called temporary restrictions that Hounslow has placed on local roads. We the local Chiswick Councillors call on Hounslow Council to call a halt to all traffic monitoring measures until after the lockdown measures have been removed and economic activity has returned to normal i.e. the Autumn. In addition we strongly urge them to announce a full public consultation of all local residents on the traffic measures that includes a proper examination of all the possible alternatives. We need to move forward together."
The OneChiswick group, which is raising funds for a Judicial Review of Hounslow Council's Streetspace schemes said, "We can categorically state is that OneChiswick had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with any of this. We are against the imposition of LTNs and the unsafe Cycle Lane but we are in favour of the proper collection of accurate traffic data and we are entirely against law breaking or vandalism of any kind."
When we contacted the police for comment they said no crime reference number had been issued for the offence. When asked about this Hounslow Council said they were in discussion with the firm who supplied the equipment about what action should be taken.
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June 6, 2021
