Inconsiderate and possible illegal parking. HELP!

mossstitchmama

Hi, I hope I am on the right board as the parking section seems to be about parking tickets and this isn't about tickets. (if not feel free to move to somewhere more appropriate).

We live on a side road onto a main road. Three main bus routes into Birmingham city centre use the main road and there are double decker buses going by every 5-10 mins during the day. There is a Primary school and the areas main Secondary school on the road.

At the junction of our road with the main road there are two (for want of a better description) Lay-byes. the one on the left is about three car lengths (and has the main bus stop at the end, and the one on the right is about two car lengths. When we bought our house, we were told that they were pull in and pull out to get onto the main road and that cars were not allowed to be parked there.

If you want to look on Google maps, look for B32 3 area, the junction of Adams Hill (main road) and Adams Brook Drive.

Problem is being caused by people parking commercial vehicles in these areas. It is impossible to see to pull out onto the main road and there have been several nasty accidents (no fatalities). The Council have been approached to put double yellow lines to prevent parking and there response was that there would be no one to enforce it, so they put white markings to stop people parking on the corners (it doesn't work). A couple of months later, double yellow lines appeared in front of the secondary school, no less than 200 yards down the road.


The problem is being exacerbated by the residents of the houses to the right of the junction (who live on Adams Hill). The closest one to the junction has two cars and two large vans. The vans are parked in the pull in, completely blocking the view of traffic approaching from the right when turning right or left. One car is parked on the drive and the other is parked on the approach to the driveway, completely obscuring the view of oncoming traffic from the right. The immediate neighbours also have vans which are parked on the approach to their driveways and you cannot see through as none of the vans have windows.

It may make more sense if you look at a map of the area as my description may be a bit poor.

We have tried the local Councillor but he was too busy being Lord Mayor. I have tried the Police and the Highways agency with no response. I feel we are going to have to have a major accident before anyone takes notice and with the combination of school kids, double decker buses etc. that won't be pretty.

Any advice gratefully received.

wiogs

From what you say no one is interested in officialdom.

Have you tried to organise a local campaign?

Get local media involved. Could you involve the school?

DaveF327

From looking at google streetview, the bays look like your regular parking bay lay by. They are marked as such to differentiate between the lay-by and carriageway, and there is a hatch marking to separate the lay-by from the mouth of the T-junction. As a total stranger to the area, I would not hesitate to park my car there as there are no signs or road markings indicating they are anything other than parking bays. Of course, I always make sure my whole car is within the bay and I would respect the hatch markings so as not to encroach too close to the junction.

The issue I think you have is what you were "told" when you bought the house. Firstly, is the person who told you qualified to comment? Or was it simply sales patter to encourage you to buy? There is no clue whatsoever that "cars are not allowed to be parked there", nor do I suspect that there is any traffic regulation order in force, although you could always check this with the council.

If the give-way lines of the T-junction were placed such that they were level with the kerb line, then parked vehicles on the major road within 10 metres of the junction would indeed obscure vision, which is the situation I have to deal with every day when driving in a major city. However, the give-way markings on Adams Brook Drive extend beyond the "original" kerbline and terminate the side road perfectly level with the edge of the lay-by, thus providing a view around any parked vehicles, at least in theory. It sounds like the council have designed it that way on purpose to solve any view problem, so are unlikely to proceed any further with any changes to the junction.

From the sounds of it, the real problem occurs with vehicles that park on the hatch markings, or that overhang the marking of the layby. The only way to physically prevent people parking on the hatchings is to place some obstruction there. How about placing some closely spaced cones around the hatched area? A suberb option would be some large boulders, but good luck finding and placing some! As for vehicles parking in the lay-by but overhanging their sides over the white edge marking, the only thing you could try would be a polite note on the windscreen.

As for the status quo, when emerging from any blind junction, make sure you come to a complete halt, then peep and creep, just like you would at any "stop" sign at a hazardous blind junction. Careful drivers who observe properly should never cause crashes or near misses.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

Do you have PACT meetings with the local PSCO's in the area.


If so pop along and express concerns that is problem.


Also post a comment on your local police website, if you post and mention a possible cash cow in fines for people parking illegally in the area the local authorities tend to swarm the area for a few hours.


that's all I have for info for you good luck.

dacouch

They're parking bays.

RichardD1970

dacouch wrote: »

They're parking bays.

That's what I would have said they were. Who "told" you?

forgotmyname

Seen worse streets for parking and having to pull out blindly.

If a lorry overhangs the white marked area, Have a word with the driver. If he is abusive then contact the transport manager.

Looking overhead the street looks plenty wide enough to get a decent view from both directions.

Johno100

mossstitchmama wrote: »

We have tried the local Councillor but he was too busy being Lord Mayor. I have tried the Police and the Highways agency with no response. I feel we are going to have to have a major accident before anyone takes notice and with the combination of school kids, double decker buses etc. that won't be pretty.

What about the other two Councillors for your ward? Here are their contact details and information about their advice surgeries.

http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/brandwood-councillors

atrixblue.-MFR-.

dacouch wrote: »

They're parking bays.

maybe so but if there are high risks to them being used as such you need to go through channels in having discussions with your local pact highways MPs etc to have the reassessed. ive know parking bay to be restricted in peak times if the day etc so the risk is reduced.

mossstitchmama

We were told by the solicitor when they made the local searches. The council have also confirmed that it is not meant for parking because of the bus stop but aren't prepared to enforce it.

Are there any regulations about parking large commercial vehicles in residential areas? One of the vans belongs to Federal Express and the driver lives way down the road (he can't fit it on the drive of the house he lives in). I contacted Fed Ex but got no response.

Unfortunately, to turn right at peak time you can only see one way at a time. You either have to hang back from the junction to see to the between the gap (and you can't see properly to the left) or pull out so you are partially into oncoming traffic.

I have contacted the school several times as the pupils all tend to walk around with headphones on. I have lost count of the times pupils have walked out into the road in front of either myself or another vehicle without looking.

I do like the idea of putting large boulders on the corners but my husband would pinch them to use for weightlifting! Cones wouldn't last five minutes, the school kids would be walking down the road with them on their heads.

Maybe I should try the local councillor again. He has been very helpful in the past (and he lives close by).

mossstitchmama

Sorry, forgot to say in last post. We would have no problem if cars were parked as it would beeasy to see through the windows. Even if there are cars parked on the approaches to the drives of the houses adjacent, it is possible to see clearly.

The problem is being caused as all the vehicles are very large panel vans with no windows so there is no way to see through a solid van!