Verging on ridiculous (From Swindon Advertiser)
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Verging on ridiculous
7:00pm Thursday 16th February 2012 in News By David Wiles
Bowood Road resident, Coun Dave Wood, with one of the damaged verges
RESIDENTS in part of Old Town are fed up with inconsiderate motorists parking on or driving over the grass verges in their roads.
Householders in Bowood Road and Sunnyside Avenue say vehicles churning up the grass has long been a problem, but it has become worse in the last two weeks.
Coun Dave Wood (Lib Dem, Eastcott) says there are double yellow lines in Sunnyside Avenue, but motorists cross these and park on the grass, often before walking into town to go shopping.
In his own street, Bowood Road, he says the damage is caused by delivery vans crossing on to verges to pass other vehicles in the street, which is made single-track by parking along one side.
Coun Wood says Hillside Avenue and Grosvenor Road are also affected by parking on verges to a lesser extent .
And he wants to raise awareness that mounting the kerb, even for a few seconds, can cause lasting damage.
He said: “The verges look terrible and one careless bit of parking or driving can cause damage that lasts for months. Residents of Bowood Road complained this week that four verges had been churned up in just one morning.
“Residents of Sunnyside last week complained a whole stretch of grass has been nearly destroyed by drivers parking fully on the verge.
“Nine times out of 10 this seems not to be residents but delivery vans and people parking here to visit other areas.
“I am appealing to residents to keep an eye out for who is causing this damage and let me know. The council parking department are currently taking action against violations on Sunnyside.”
Bernard Sawyer, 79, who has lived in Sunnyside Avenue since 1965, said the problem probably became worse in the last fortnight because more people used their car during the cold weather.
The former railway worker said: “When you come into Sunnyside from Kingshill, it’s a disgrace.
“It’s like a mud patch on one side and it’s not much better on the other side.
“Sometimes people will park on there and they will either walk into town or go to work.”
A Swindon Council spokesman said: “On roads where there are double yellow lines, the parking restriction stretches from the middle of the road to the building line, so anyone who thinks they can park completely on a verge and not be booked is mistaken.
“If we see vehicles parked like this, the drivers will receive a ticket.”
Comments(24)
Grimwald
says...
8:36pm Thu 16 Feb 12
Dave Woood twice in two days have not heard of him for months!!
daws
says...
9:09pm Thu 16 Feb 12
faatmaan
says...
10:18pm Thu 16 Feb 12
greenpacer
says...
1:17am Fri 17 Feb 12
LordAshOfTheBrake
says...
7:52am Fri 17 Feb 12
I wonder if the residents would continue to complain then.
Typical of a councilor to fight the issue that is literally on his door step rather than issues affecting the whole of Swindon.
Robfm
says...
7:56am Fri 17 Feb 12
Buses, SCS vehicles, delivery vehicles are constantly doing it.
A.Baron-Cohen
says...
8:43am Fri 17 Feb 12
PaulD
says...
9:47am Fri 17 Feb 12
Robfm
says...
9:58am Fri 17 Feb 12
Doesn't alter the grass verge issue though.
daws
says...
10:17am Fri 17 Feb 12
PaulD wrote:ten out of ten , ha ha ha
The children in Homs, Syria will be holding a candle-lit vigil for the residents of Bowood Road and Sunnyside Avenue tonight.
Jim Royle
says...
1:27pm Fri 17 Feb 12
Phantom Poster
says...
6:24pm Fri 17 Feb 12
PaulD wrote:I don't really suppose that they will. However, are you suggesting that until the trouble in Syria is sorted out then no-one in Swindon should bother about local issues?
The children in Homs, Syria will be holding a candle-lit vigil for the residents of Bowood Road and Sunnyside Avenue tonight.
itsamess
says...
7:10pm Fri 17 Feb 12
Jim Royle wrote:Parking on grass verges does create a mess. I am not sure if the law has changed since councils took on parking enforcement-but initially the powes they had was simply to enforce yellow lines and parking restricted areas. A friend of mine had a problem parking across her front door as her front door exit was direct into the pavement meaning she could not get her pushchair out of the door. The council ticketed the culprits and the angry motorist several weeks later and told her he appealed the penalty and won as apparently the correct offence was obstruction and enforceably by the police still. Maybe that part of the law has been amended. I feel sure grass verges came into the same category--possibly amended by now.
Outside my old house this was a problem. It gets worse over time and the verges soon become a complete eyesore. Not nice for people who want to keep their street in a nice state.
Robfm
says...
7:22pm Fri 17 Feb 12
http://www.legislati
on.gov.uk/ukpga/1988
/52/section/34
'Subject to the provisions of this section, if without lawful authority a person drives a mechanically propelled vehicle—
(a)
on to or upon any common land, moorland or land of any other description, not being land forming part of a road, or
(b)
on any road being a footpath, bridleway or restricted byway,
he is guilty of an offence.
itsamess
says...
8:18pm Fri 17 Feb 12
Thus because a driver parked on the pavement it comes within the jurisdiction of the police--unless amended.
PaulD
says...
8:29pm Fri 17 Feb 12
Phantom Poster wrote:I'm suggesting that a local councillor must have bigger issues at hand than worrying abiout the grass verges in his own street
PaulD wrote:I don't really suppose that they will. However, are you suggesting that until the trouble in Syria is sorted out then no-one in Swindon should bother about local issues?
The children in Homs, Syria will be holding a candle-lit vigil for the residents of Bowood Road and Sunnyside Avenue tonight.
John Smith II
says...
9:08pm Fri 17 Feb 12
Jim Royle
says...
9:28pm Fri 17 Feb 12
PaulD wrote:Councillors should be sorting out problems on their patch. Fair play to the one above doing his job.
Phantom Poster wrote:I'm suggesting that a local councillor must have bigger issues at hand than worrying abiout the grass verges in his own streetPaulD wrote: The children in Homs, Syria will be holding a candle-lit vigil for the residents of Bowood Road and Sunnyside Avenue tonight.I don't really suppose that they will. However, are you suggesting that until the trouble in Syria is sorted out then no-one in Swindon should bother about local issues?
Phantom Poster
says...
12:16am Sat 18 Feb 12
PaulD wrote:It's not "either-or", is it?
Phantom Poster wrote:I'm suggesting that a local councillor must have bigger issues at hand than worrying abiout the grass verges in his own street
PaulD wrote:I don't really suppose that they will. However, are you suggesting that until the trouble in Syria is sorted out then no-one in Swindon should bother about local issues?
The children in Homs, Syria will be holding a candle-lit vigil for the residents of Bowood Road and Sunnyside Avenue tonight.
Just because someone looks into fairly minor issues it doesn't stop them also looking at more major ones, does it? However, on here you're damned if you do and damned if don't.
Phantom Poster
says...
12:28am Sat 18 Feb 12
On Tewkesbury way they stick up signs telling people not to park their cars on the grass verge. This is because previously people were so f***ing lazy that the car park was too far for them to walk from - but they didn't care about churning up the grass.
Now people still park there, but just not in the bits of grass where they have put up the notices. How thick and inconsiderate and lazy can people be?
Robfm
says...
8:13am Sat 18 Feb 12
We know LA's have enforcement powers. The fact remains that inside or outside the yellow lines the offence of illegal parking still exists.
The section 34 offence allows the police to prosecute as a completely separate offence.
Always Grumpy
says...
9:34am Sun 19 Feb 12
Apart from usually making the roads narrower, they inevitably end up either chewed up by cars, covered in dog cr@p, full of weeds, not mowed or all of the above.
It would be far preferable to get rid of most of them sooner, rather than later.
Robfm
says...
9:53am Sun 19 Feb 12
Robh says...
8:18pm Thu 16 Feb 12
If you can't beat them make it legal.