YELLOW LINE MAN MAKES ANOTHER SURPRISE VISIT

Following the unannounced line marking and immediate ticketing of parked vehicles in October, Line Marking contractors pounced on legally parked vehicles in Blackthorne Close in November, lifted them out of the way, painted double yellow lines and replaced the vehicles which were promptly ticketed! This action made the TV News and made Wokingham Council Highways look incompetent. As well as no warning and wrongly ticketing vehicles, have Wokingham taken account of where the vehicles will park instead?  Busy commuter roads such as Culver Lane, Milton Road and Palmerstone road have noticed a big increase in parked cars and vans, causing mayhem at rush hour, with more parking on pavements and grass verges.  See the article below ‘ Double Yellow Line Issues and Solutions‘ and let us know your thoughts.

Thanks to local residents Don Barwick and Jess Warren for the photos and to Cllr Shirley Boyt for making them available

DOUBLE YELLOW LINE ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS

Proposed Amendments due to the recent installation of double yellow lines in

Milton Road/Culver Lane/Erleigh Court Gardens/ Palmerstone Road/Eastcourt Avenue/Anderson Avenue/Blackthorn Close.

Double Yellow Lines at junctions have been welcomed, but the location and extent of parking restrictions differs from those proposed in 2019 and has not taken account of concerns raised at the time of the original consultations

ISSUES ARISING FROM CURRENT IMPLEMENTATION

1. Nowhere for Corner-Shop Customers to Park
2. Overspill/Guest parking directly outside corner residences prevented by extending Double-Yellow Lines further than the 10 metres stated in the Highway Code.
3. Displaced vehicles from newly lined roads (and Reading) parking in busy commuting roads, e.g. Culver Lane, Milton Road and Palmerstone Road, causing severe congestion in rush hours.
4. Insufficient clear manoeuvring space at Junctions during peak traffic times due to vehicles parking opposite Junctions
5. Parking on pavements, particularly on both sides of Palmerstone Road.
6. Lack of safe visibility when exiting driveways due to vehicles parking on grass verges and vans parking next to driveway exits.
7. Speeding vehicles now travelling faster down Milton Road outside the rush hour due to better visibility at junctions.
8. Difficulty exiting Byron Road at Whitegates Lane due to parked vehicles. The 2019 proposed DYL was not implemented.
9. Difficulty exiting Erlegh Court Gardens at The Drive/Whitegates Lane junction. Good visibility is essential at this junction due to cars travelling at speed down Whitegates Lane.  The suggestion in 2019 to install DYL‘s at this junction was not implemented.

POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS

1. Existing Double Yellow Lines on Corners restricted to 10 metres distance from the Corners.

10 Metres, approximately 2 car lengths, is the distance from the corner within which vehicles are not allowed to park according to the Highway Code. This would reinstate guest parking outside most corner properties and therefore not impose on neighbours.  This limit to be used in conjunction with Single Yellow Lines as needed.

• Single-Yellow lines with waiting time restrictions to be used in addition to the double yellow lines at junctions.
  • To enhance visibility during busy periods
  • Permit short-term parking outside peak traffic hours

Locations and restrictions as follows:-

1. Opposite ‘T’ junctions where double-yellow lines exist.
   1.  No waiting 7.30am to 6pm Monday to Friday.

To enhance visibility and vehicle flow during busy times.

To comply with the Highway Code concerning parking opposite ‘T’ junctions.

• Single-Yellow Line extensions to existing double yellow lines at corners( lengths to be agreed).
  • No Waiting 7.30am to 6pm Monday to Friday EXCEPT Palmerston Road/Culver Lane junction

To permit overnight and weekend parking only

• Single-Yellow Line extensions to 10 metre double yellow lines outside the Corner Shop at Palmerstone/Culver Lane Junction
  • Waiting time limited to 10 minutes at all times.

This will free up parking spaces for shop customers and postbox users.

This will provide an alternative to parking on the double yellow lines at the corner which is standard practice and restricts safe visibility especially when exiting Palmerstone Road

• Additional Double Yellow Lines to be installed  both at the Byron Road/Whitegates Lane junction and at the Erleigh Court Drive/ Whitegates lane junction. To guarantee best possible visibility when entering Whitegates Lane from Byron Road and Erleigh Court Gardens
• Alternate parking bay rows each side of a road
  • Provide a natural chicane to slow drivers down
  • Allow enough space for emergency vehicles to pass by
  • To keep pavements and grass verges free of parked vehicles
  • To improve two-way traffic flow in peak hours.

NOTE: At a street survey in Milton Road in 2003, 40% of the residents were in favour of alternate parking bays

Alternate parking bays are seen as a longer-term solution compared with modifying the Yellow Lines, which could be done relatively quickly. The parking bay locations will require careful consideration and consultation and may require changes to the grass verge locations in order to retain grass verges and trees as part of the streetscape.

SUMMARY :The above proposals are designed with the existing parking demand in mind. To prevent further parking pressures, measures need to be taken to increase off street parking for HMO’s and expanded family homes in line with their car ownership. A separate paper on generic parking issues has been produced and submitted to WBC for consideration.

Maps showing the 2019 proposals, the 2021 implementation and Changes suggested are in preparation.