Avid blog readers will recall my previous posting concerning the issues of parking in South Terrace. By the widespread reaction, it seems to have struck a raw nerve. Clearly, I would have preferred the debate to be a little more prominent by way of comments on the blog, but I understand that many of you have not been able to sign up to make a comment there.
So here goes!
The general message I have been receiving is that things cannot simply be left the way they are. Parking is not at a crisis point by any means, but there are concerns for the future, especially with multiple car ownership increasing amongst households on the terrace.
Most residents agree that the yellow lines opposite nos 9-10 should, if possible, be reduced to give another two parking spaces. The council may have objections as there are apparently rules concerning parking within certain distances of junctions, but the local wisdom is that this should not be a problem here. If shortening the yellow lines is possible, another two residents' bays could appear overnight.
It also seems to be agreed that the double yellow lines opposite nos 1-7 could be reduced to give the possibility of an extra space on the right side of the terrace. For this to happen, much will depend on the new access route to the Esh development.
Most residents seem to want to keep some 'free spaces' on the terrace. Their argument is that if all of the spaces are allocate or restricted to 'permit only' - family, friends and other visitors will be unable to park here at all. They are right, and it seems imperative that we retain some unallocated parking.
The question is - how many spaces should be for permits, and how many 'free'?
The majority of you seem to think that the seven spaces in the centre of the terrace could be reduced to four; and all 4 of the spaces opposite nos 1-7 could be made permit only.
The net effect of this would be to increase the permit spaces to 26, leaving 4 'free' spaces in the centre of the terrace. If the yellow lines were decreased, the permit spaces would increase to 28. Bearing in mind that there are 25 households on the terrace and a further 8 at Pease Cottages, this would be about right.
My idea about having a yellow card display on the dashboard of residents' cars in the 'free' spaces has met with general approval. On the whole, people like the idea as a way of reducing the number of town centre visitors. The only issue that has been raised is whether such a system could run smoothly. I say "why not?" We are all happy to co-operate to make parking available should a resident have a visitor, and perhaps this is the way forward.
A number of residents have asked me to move ahead with these ideas. As our consultation has only come to a head over the last week, I am reluctant to approach the council yet, and propose to leave matters for another week to permit anyone who has not commented to do so. After all, this is our terrace, and our future.
Feel free to comment below, to place a comment on our Facebook page, or to put a note through the letterbox.
Comment from Amanda at no 22
ReplyDelete"I agree. I park in the free section to stop non residents parking there. Our friends and family visit less and less as there is no free parking. If some form of visitor pass for the permit section was allowed, this would be great. Each household could be allocated 1 pass with a max 2 hr stay. Many permit spaces are free during the day. And yes I would pay something towards a visitor permit. I do despise some of the ignorants who park in the middle especially when they normally park in the cricket club! How lazy not to drive another 100m. Thank you for allowing me to rant!"
Comment from Karen at no 6
ReplyDelete"As you observed we are just about managing but it is getting a bit stressy! We live at no. 6 and parking down our end is always tight and rather relies on goodwill. Recently another car needs space and so it rather becomes luck as to whether one can park. My husband, John, has recently returned from an overseas posting and will soon have a car for work at Catterick Garrison where he is required to be on call, also I work shifts as a nurse. So, I am foreseeing problems. When we moved here 5 yrs ago we did speak with one of the councillors at one of their surgeries about the problem (Cyndy). Sadly, it seems to be the only draw back to this fab location. From my simplistic viewpoint it seems that we need more residents parking (I have no problem paying to park). Space and access is available, even if there seems to be a delay with the new development. But one other point is that the parking on the right as you turn into Victoria embankment is pay and display, never occupied, people park further down in the free space, whether this could become a residents parking for overflow from South Terrace? Also Feethams South is a good wide road and could accommodate parking. I do feel that as we all pay road and council tax we should be able to have somewhere 'legal' to put our cars. If you feel there is anything I can do to move things forward I am very willing because it is likely to start having a rather negative impact on our daily living! Thanks for your attention and also for the time and effort in setting up the South Terrace group!"
Thanks for the comments Amanda and Karen. It is good to know that everyone is giving the topic some thought. The council have set up local residents' parking schemes separately from each other, so the possibility of working together with Victoria Embankment is very slight indeed. Issues have been raised about increasing the number of parking bays, and we did have a meeting with our councillors Cyndi Hughes and Joe Lyonette a couple of years ago concerning parking, but no changes resulted.
ReplyDeleteIf we could reach some agreement on a way forward, I am confident that changes could be made, even if they were simply in relation to the number of residents' bays compared with those that are currently free.
From everything that has been mentioned to date, I am prepared to speak to our councillors with a view to getting:
a) more spaces and shorter yellow lines;
b) converting some of the free spaces to residents' spaces;
c) raising a wider debate on the issue of 'day permits'.
I will also proceed with the yellow card idea as an informal local trial for those on the terrace who want to participate.
Comment from Yvonne at no 19
ReplyDeleteGood morning Stephen, tried to make a comment on the blog regarding residents parking but failed. Two comments mainly
1. We would be happy to pay a small fee for some form of visititors permits as they do elsewhere in the country.
2. If residents parked in the residents spots correctly at our end of the street we would have the use of at least one more space. More often than not there is a car parked taking up what should be two spaces. i.e they don't park inside the lines therefore making it difficult to park in the space left, It is not always the same people who do this so what should be eight spaces turn into seven.
I have also seen this happen at your end of the street.
End of rant.
Keep up the good work, the Terrace now feels like a proper little community just like it did when I first moved here 20 years ago.
Yvonne at Number 19
Yvonne makes a good point - to an extent we are authors of a part of our misfortune. Misaligned parking happens throughout the marked spaces, where a moment's carelessness results in the adjacent space being considered too tight for easy use (unless you have a Smart car!) I sense that we will not cure this particular problem, but I believe that the wardens have power to ticket a car that is taking up the whole or part of two bays, whether resident or not.
ReplyDeleteI am getting the message that residents would be happy to have a day-permit system introduced here for residents. I will explore this with the council.
Extract from the Darlington Borough Council site on Residents Parking
ReplyDeletehttp://www.darlington.gov.uk/Transport/carparking/residentsparking.htm
"In some areas of the town, residents can pay a fee that allows them to use resident parking spaces near their house. Only residents with a permit may park in these areas.
Enforcement is carried out between 8:00am to 6:00pm every day including Bank Holidays.
Parking in one of these spaces without displaying a valid permit is an offence. There are a few exceptions to this rule, including parking by emergency vehicles and loading/unloading from vehicles to a nearby property (this must be observed by a Civil Enforcement Officer).
If you are a tradesperson working at a house and there is no alternative parking you can obtain a waiver to enable you to park in the parking place. The charge for this is £5 per location per day (24hr period). Please call 01325 388799 (Monday to Wednesday 8:30am - 5:00pm, Thursday 9:30am - 5:00pm, Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm). Non-reundable waivers can now also be arranged in advance, although there can never be a guarantee a space will be available.
Permits are not issued to residents’ visitors. There are either areas of unrestricted, limited time or Pay and Display parking available for non-permit holders in every street within the zone.
Discretionary permits may be issued to carers of older people and/or indisposed residents"
Yvonne
ReplyDeleteCivil Parking Enforcement Procedures for Darlington
APPENDIX 2
CONTRAVENTION CODES, OBSERVATION TIMES AND
PENALTY CHARGE LEVELS
24 (Observation time: None) Not parked correctly within the markings of the bay
or space.
The contravention occurs when a vehicle stands in a parking place other than the way it is meant to eg parked echelon instead of parallel with carriageway unless the road markings indicate echelon parking.
So vehicles parked across more than one bay here in South Terrace could be ticketed.
Letter sent yesterday to Darlington Council and Councillor Harman
ReplyDelete"I am writing to you as President of the South Terrace Residents Group, and co-ordinator of the South Terrace Neighbourhood Watch group.
Over the past six months, the residents have been engaged in discussions concerning parking in South Terrace.
Currently there are 30 parking spaces on South Terrace, of which 19 are designated for residents permit parking - 5 at the east end of the terrace, 6 in the middle section, and 8 at the west side. This leaves 4 non-resident spaces on the east side of the terrace, and 7 in the middle section.
Two issues have been detected.
First, with 24 households and 8 cottages, and a number of households having more than one permit, there are insufficient residents parking spaces for the number of permits issued. Residents who now pay £40.00 per year to park in the vicinity of their home should be entitled to be able to access a parking space.
Second, substantial numbers of non-residents attend each morning to take non-resident spaces that have been vacated by residents. These spaces are then occupied for the rest of the working day, to the exclusion of both residents and their visitors.
The South Terrace Residents Group has formulated a solution.
Resident parking designation
Whilst residents want to keep some non-resident spaces on the terrace for non-resident parking, we request that the seven non-resident spaces in the centre of the terrace is reduced to four; and all four of the non-resident spaces opposite nos 1-7 are to be made residents permit only.
Yellow line restrictions
Residents would wish that the yellow lines on the west side of the terrace opposite nos 9-10 should be reduced, to give another one or two extra parking spaces there, and on the east side of the terrace opposite nos 1-7 to give one extra space there. We are aware of the council's concerns about parking within certain distances of junctions, but the local wisdom is that this should not be a problem here.
The net effect of changes:
Without yellow line alteration - to increase the permit spaces to 26, leaving 4 non-resident spaces in the centre of the terrace.
With yellow line alteration - to increase the permit spaces to 28 or 29, leaving 4 non-resident spaces in the centre of the terrace".