Brighton and Hove's parking law in a mess over grass verges (From The Argus)
Get involved: Send your news, views, pictures and video by texting SUPIC to 80360 or email us.
Brighton and Hove's parking law in a mess over grass verges
2:30pm Tuesday 16th March 2010 in
Parking on Brighton and Hove’s grass verges could be banned amid calls to reintroduce an old by-law.
Councillors claim city motorists are turning verges into a “muddy mess” in a desperate bid to find spaces.
Now Brighton and Hove City Council, who cannot currently fine drivers if there are no yellow lines next to the verge, will consider whether it can resurrect old powers.
Before 1996, the city’s highways were controlled by East Sussex County Council, which has a by-law making it illegal to park on grass verges.
Councillor Anne Meadows, who also wants to introduce tougher sanctions against motorists parking in cycle lanes, will ask for clarification of the existence of the law this week.
Coun Meadows, who represents Moulsecoomb and Bevendean, said: “Parking on grass verges not only causes a muddy mess during winter months but also problems for people wanting to cross roads safely.
“I would like to see any use of the old East Sussex by-lawinclude parking restrictions on cycle lanes.
“Many people, including children and students, use the cycle lanes along Lewes Road.
But they are often unusable because there are too many cars parked in them.
“This is an issue of both common sense and safety for pedestrians and cyclists.”
A city council spokeswoman said it would be looking at the points raised by Coun Meadows and would respond at a full council meeting on Thursday.
She added: “At present, if there are no double yellow lines next to the verge, the council does not have powers to enforce against parking on grass verges.”
The Argus recently reported on parking problems in the Hangleton and Portslade areas.
City councillors Trevor Alford and Dawn Barnett want motorists to stop parking on verges.
Coun Barnett said: “People take great pride in keeping the verges outside their homes looking nice, only for them to be destroyed.”
Comments(17)
brightonyorkie
says...
3:18pm Tue 16 Mar 10
MaryHinge
says...
3:51pm Tue 16 Mar 10
jaywalker
says...
4:14pm Tue 16 Mar 10
MaryHinge wrote:Wow,yes she is, I was on the verge of chatting her up myself at one stage, but coudn't find anywhere safe to park at the time.
That Dawn Barnett's a hottie eh?
She-Ra, Princess Of Power
says...
4:15pm Tue 16 Mar 10
Why don't they just paint double yellow lines then?!
Ming
says...
4:33pm Tue 16 Mar 10
Fight Back
says...
4:46pm Tue 16 Mar 10
She-Ra, Princess Of Power wrote:Because most the roads in Hangleton are perfectly wide enough to park ON THE ROAD. It's just mindless morons that that have an inability to park that seemed to think it necessary to park on the verge. Unsurprisingly the mothers dropping off their children at Hangleton Infants school seem to be the worst offenders. If you're unable to park properly and safely on the road then you shouldn't be driving.
“At present, if there are no double yellow lines next to the verge, the council does not have powers to enforce against parking on grass verges.”
Why don't they just paint double yellow lines then?!
davyboy
says...
5:11pm Tue 16 Mar 10
Fight Back wrote:although i would agree that these roads are wide enough to park on, people will insist on parking opposite each other, and creating a road block. to alleviate this problem, and to save walking 5 yards, they park on the verges. many of these people have their own driveways, but won't use them. what is required is yellow lines down one side of these roads, tickets for parking on the verges, and fines for not using your driveways. people really have to learn to walk from their cars, if there is no room outside their house, instead of ruining what little green space there is around.
She-Ra, Princess Of Power wrote:Because most the roads in Hangleton are perfectly wide enough to park ON THE ROAD. It's just mindless morons that that have an inability to park that seemed to think it necessary to park on the verge. Unsurprisingly the mothers dropping off their children at Hangleton Infants school seem to be the worst offenders. If you're unable to park properly and safely on the road then you shouldn't be driving.
“At present, if there are no double yellow lines next to the verge, the council does not have powers to enforce against parking on grass verges.”
Why don't they just paint double yellow lines then?!
Gentleman Jim
says...
6:06pm Tue 16 Mar 10
Cycle lanes were provided without double yellow lines so are ignored,simple answer is why dont the council use a little more thought, before wasting more time and expense
yorkie44
says...
6:13pm Tue 16 Mar 10
One of the worst areas now is Sutherland Road/Queensway which does not have sufficient width for the number 2 bus route. The verges are now used as part of the road and look a disgrace. Meanwhile, the council spend thousands on cosmetic road improvements in the centre of Brighton but simple road widening in this road to improve traffic flow and provide a good enviroment for the area are just neglected. Mary Mears as usual continues to boast about how the grass verges make the city look beautiful - not when they are used as part of the road. It is time our council leader woke up to the realities of Brighton.
Lin04
says...
6:16pm Tue 16 Mar 10
If the council used some of the money they take off the motorist , and used it to tarmac over the grass verges , there would be no muddy problem.
Also this would stop the dogs from using what grass there is as their toilet .
Also the council would not have to pay out to attempt to cut the grass on the verges.
A lot of the driveways in Hangleton are shared driveways , also the garages at the end of the driveways are too small to get a car in.
So a lot of people can not use the driveways to park on .
There are too many cars to park on just one side of the road.
It is not a case of not wanting to walk a few yards to your car.
It is a case of some roads not being wide enough to have so many buses on them ,
On some of the roads with bus routes if the cars did park on the roads the buses would not be able to get passed the cars.
bug eye
says...
6:57pm Tue 16 Mar 10
Living in the real world
says...
9:36pm Tue 16 Mar 10
bug eye wrote:Well said, however Brighton Council has already decided to look into fineing people who want/need to park somewhere near their homes so they can raise even more money from the motorist.
simply put wooden or concrete bollards along the grass verges, secondly do not put cycle lanes alongside the road, and lastly provided adequate parking for residents and visitors in the first place.
seafordian
says...
10:36am Wed 17 Mar 10
tombraider59
says...
11:29am Wed 17 Mar 10
strange fish
says...
3:36pm Wed 17 Mar 10
Tetsugaku-San
says...
4:51pm Wed 17 Mar 10
magic_chimp wrote:Perhaps if you weren't such a **** more people would listen to your opinions.
Perhaps if the council's main aim in life was not to penalise the motorist by creating draconian parking restrictions measures then there would be more parking spaces so perhaps there wouldn't be the need for people to park on verges.
More News stories
- Tax credit changes hit poor families
- Airport ready for passenger numbers to soar
- Breastfeeding gets support
- Cycling safety bid in memory of Hove teacher
- Uncertain future for Southlands Hospital
- Busy Brighton street to close to traffic
- Fans arrested after trouble breaks out at Albion v Millwall game
- Pregnant woman twice turned away from hospital
- Defiant council bosses to ignore pay call
- Brighton grocery closes with loss of 15 jobs
CALL FOR BAN: Coun Dawn Barnett and damaged verges in Hangleton
Most popular
Local Information
Enter your postcode, town or place name
magic_chimp says...
2:54pm Tue 16 Mar 10