Published: Thursday, 28th May, 2009 8:00am

Letter: Seeing red over yellow lines

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IN the section of Henley Road east of All Hallows Road there is an occasional problem with a car parked across part, or all, of the cycle lane, which runs along the pavement (about two cars wide) on the north side.

There have also been a few complaints from pedestrians. Much of the parking is overnight, when pedestrians or cyclists are rare. The proposal is to paint double yellow lines along both sides of the road (No Waiting 24/7/365). The deadline for formal complaints is tomorrow (Friday).

The lines are declared to be solely for the purpose of banning parking on the pavement, no parking on the road having been seen, let alone causing a problem.

The law, in the present circumstances, allows for a ticket to be issued for obstruction.

After spending (at a guess) tens of thousands of pounds to go through the admin, legal and practical work of installing the lines, the law will allow for a ticket to be issued. Are local authorities not supposed to be saving money, rather than spending on such nonsense?

Then there is the issue of consultation. The local councillors claim that they have consulted residents and have received few objections. There has been no organised consultation and most residents are unaware of the proposal. So is it surprising that there have been no objections?

This section of road, apart from a child nursery, is entirely residential. There is nowhere to walk to, apart from bus stops and Micklands school, the latter accessible via All Hallows Road anyway.

Who do these councillors represent? They seem only concerned with a few complainers (some of whom may be passing through, not voters in this ward) and are avoiding contacting the residents, i.e. voters, to whom they are supposed to be answerable.

A few minutes of alleged inconvenience to a few individuals seems more important to them than the proposed permanent inconvenience to the hundreds of residents. This is an interesting taste of the local government style of the Conservatives just weeks before the local elections!

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