Reports of obstructive parking on the Coast Road

At a local PACT (Police and Communities Together) meeting some time ago we received a report from a resident that vehicles parking in the marked bays on the Coast Road were causing an obstruction to other vehicles exiting side roads onto the A1086.

We contacted officers at both Durham County Council and Durham police on behalf of the complainant and have now received the following response from the police traffic management officer:

Now that D**** has returned we went to take a look at the parking situation last week. We have spent some time looking at the issues in light of the comments raised by the residents and would comment as follows.

First I would confirm that the white lines on the pavements were introduced to try and clearly demarcate the point after which it was not acceptable for drivers to park their vehicles on the wide pavements and encourage drivers to leave the rear half free for unobstructed pedestrian movement. Before this many drivers were fully parking on the pavement causing difficulties and dangers for pedestrians who had to walk on the road to pass.

As with just about everything in the field of Traffic Management for every action there is a knock on consequence and a balanced approach has to be taken in relation to creating the safest possible option for all road users, but in particular the vulnerable road users e.g. pedestrians  – which as you will know is by no means an easy task and it is generally impossible to please everyone.

In this case by introducing the white demarcation lines and with previous police education activity, the parking is now generally more uniform along the areas with little in the way of parking obstruction offences now being committed. The parking half on the road half on the footpath now maintains a free passage for pedestrians, pushchairs, wheelchair users without having to try and pass on the running carriageway. By parking only half on the road this also allows the passage of two-way traffic flow along the A1086 road.

The issue of visibility when exiting the side road junctions was also considered and given parking fully on the pavement also inhibited views it was felt that this uniformed parking regime of half on/half off the footpath would not unduly worsen the visibility situation but have a greater positive impact on pedestrian safety.

While the above was what was considered when the white demarcation lines were first introduced to regularise parking practices and address the safety concerns raised at the time, all the issues have been reconsidered in light of the recent residents concerns raised.

Having spent some time looking at the situation since residents have raised their concerns in March,  it is the view that the original decisions made at the time were the correct ones and still relevant today. If anything the only difference now appears that there is slightly more demand for parking than when the lines were first introduced.

While acknowledging that the visibility for a driver can be restricted when exiting a side road it is no different to many places and if a driver proceeds with due care and attention there should be no reason why they can’t safely execute a turn onto the A1086 road.

We also considered the positions of the street name plates which have been in situ for a number of years - these did not restrict visibility when stopped at the give-way markings.

If consideration was given to opening up more vision for Oak and Lime Avenues the only way would be to introduce parking restriction on the main road to stop all parking. If this were seriously considered then it is suggested that the side road accesses on the opposite side of the road have just as great a justification, if not more, for the implementation of parking restrictions.

What has to be seriously considered is that if parking restrictions were to be considered , then as parking provision is needed to accommodate the high level of vehicles residents have in this area, then, assuming no one contravenes the restrictions, parking displacement will be a feature. Where else do the displaced vehicles go? The side roads, rear of properties and driveways are already well utilised. The danger is that vehicles will start to park in far more problematic areas creating other, more unsafe, parking practices, which could have a greater negative impact on the community, not least if emergency service access to dwellings is compromised.

In summary, while appreciating the concerns raised by residents and acknowledging it is not a perfect situation, having considered all options and consequences it is the view that the parking half on/half off the footpath on the east side of the road should be allowed to be continued as it is.

Clearly there is a problem with parking in this area but from the information supplied by the police there does not appear to be a simple solution which would satisfy all road users.

We would be grateful for any comments which we could take back to the police and council.