Ealing Council has struck a partnership with three major food delivery companies to tackle parking problems caused by some of its drivers in the local area.
The rise in the popularity of food delivery apps has brought more delivery riders to the borough. While many are considerate when cycling, driving and parking, the borough has seen an increase in complaints from local residents.
Riders have been criticised for parking close to the restaurants, and some vehicles have been illegally parked, posing a risk to riders, pedestrians and other road users.
Councillor Deirdre Costigan, the council’s cabinet member for climate action, said: “The safety of our residents and all road users is a top priority for the council. It’s not safe, or legal, for riders to be parking up so close to premises, and in some cases on the pavements. This is a problem many local authorities are facing and Ealing is tackling this head on.
“We have kick started a ground-breaking partnership with the delivery companies so that we can work together to tackle the parking issues that have been raised by residents. We are also stepping up our own enforcement and carrying out joint operations with the police to stop bad driver behaviour.”
The council is working closely with Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat to resolve the issues and two of these firms have already placed pop up messages in their driver apps to warn against illegal parking. The council’s parking services team has also produced maps for the bikers to show where they can safely and legally park.
Ealing’s parking officers have also met with store managers from a popular fast food chain to discuss what other measures could be taken, such as having a staff member at the front entrance to advise riders where they can park safely.
Council officers are continuing to explore how the businesses can be encouraged to manage the problem through the terms of their license.
You can report problems with parking online.
To request enforcement against vehicles parking illegally, please contact Parking Services on its automated telephone service 0208 825 6677 from Monday to Friday between 9am – 5pm and choose option one. By leaving a voicemail message with the location and vehicle description the service can then request a patrolling enforcement officer to attend the location. At all other times please call the out of hours team on 0208 825 5000. Alternatively, an enforcement request can be made using the Parking option in the LoveCleanStreets app.
