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50
Section 15 of the Road Traffic Act, 1956 for the control of dogs on
designated highways. The question was whether the enforcement of the
Council's by-law about the fouling of footpaths could be associated with
the operation of any Order made. The purpose of the order is a matter
which is bound up with the volume of traffic on the road, so would apply
primarily to the roads carrying much traffic. These are not the roads on
which the greatest annoyance is being experienced as a result of the
fouling of the pavement. The position at the end of the year was that the
draft order which was required was being submitted to the Ministry of
Transport and Civil Aviation.
PUBLIC CONVENIENCES
One of the services provided by every local authority in urban areas
is the provision of public conveniences. These are usually sited at places
where there are large gatherings of the public, such as at shopping centres,
or in places such as parks and open spaces where people may be for a
long time.
The public conveniences at Havelock Place, Harrow; Station Road,
North Harrow; Peel Road, Wealdstone; High Road, Harrow Weald
and Whitchurch Lane, Edgware are for both sexes. They are open and
staffed from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on week-days and from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on
Sundays. Washing facilities with paper towels and liquid soap are
provided free, or a towel and tablet of soap is issued for 3d. The net
expenditure on these for the year 1957/58 was £16,024. The convenience
at the Car Park, Station Road, Harrow, which is available for both sexes,
is open for the same hours as the others. There are no washing facilities
there. Except for a one-stall urinal at Northolt Road, South Harrow, the
other public convenience in the district are on recreation grounds or other
open spaces maintained by the Corporation.
Although it has the benefit of quite a number of these conveniences,
the needs of the district are far from being met. Over the years there have
been two places with especially urgent need—the Kenton and the Pinner
shopping districts. The position at Pinner looked like being resolved
because agreement was reached about the site of a new public convenience
which would see the end of the present unsatisfactory arrangement.
Unfortunately the credit squeeze held up that scheme and that was
the position at the end of the year. The position of Kenton does not look
like being settled at as early a date as no agreement can be reached about
a site. The most recent proposal led to the holding of a public enquiry at
which local opposition was sufficiently marked to lead to the Council s
proposals not being accepted. A similar difficulty is being met about the
convenience proposed in the busy Hatch End shopping area where some
provision of this sort is so necessary.
Towards the end of the year, the Minister approved of the Queensbury
propiosal in principle, and authorised the invitation of tenders; and
details of the scheme of the proposed convenience at Belmont Circle were
being prepared.