Council yellow lines plan fails to impress residents
Grattons Drive parking proposals ‘completely and utterly stupid’
30th July 2014 – Crawley News
By Luke Warren
luke.warren@crawleynews.co.uk
Baffled: (Left to right) Neighbours Julia Tyas, Alexa Belsham and Brenda Taylor in Grattons Drive Photo by David Cook
Residents in Pound Hill have been left perplexed at proposals to put parking restrictions down just one side of their road.
West Sussex County Council is planning to extend double-yellow lines currently on Grattons Drive for a further 50 metres to the north of its junction with Milton Mount Avenue.
Then single yellows are planned to take over from where the double-yellows stop, restricting parking during the week.
But both of these proposals apply just to the western side of Grattons Drive.
The idea behind the double yellows is to “improve visibility for all road users”.
It is hoped the single yellows, which will prohibit parking from 10 to 11am and from 2 to 3pm, Monday to Friday, will stop commuters leaving their cars on Grattons Drive and walking to Three Bridges station.
But Julia Tyas, who lives on Grattons Drive, feels that the proposals – which until August 6 are subject to a public consultation are “crackers”.
The 54-year-old said: “My husband and I and my neighbours feel that all they’re doing by putting the lines down one side of Grattons Drive is encouraging people to park on the other side of the road. So they are not getting rid of the problem – they are just moving it from one side of the road to the other.”
Mrs Tyas’ husband David, 57, has made the couple’s feelings known by responding to the county council’s consultation.
One of the couple’s neighbours, Brenda Taylor has also blasted the plans.
Shortsighted
She said: “We think it’s very shortsighted of them. It’s going to put the traffic on the other side of the road and on a blind bend.”
Mrs Tyas agrees that something needs to be done.
She explained: “There’s a bend in the road and when people are parking on the western side the traffic coming from Worth Park Avenue can’t see round the parked cars.
“Coming from either direction you can’t see round the corner and you can potentially meet an HGV coming from Tesco Express at Peterhouse Parade.
“It encourages people to go fast to get through where the parked cars are.
‘And with the (nearby) schools you get all the parents walking their little children down Grattons Drive, and cars do mount the pavement. It’s dangerous.”
Mrs Tyas believes the current plan is “ridiculous”. She added: “The proposals are completely and utterly stupid. Whoever came up with them needs their brain tested.
‘All it will do is push the problem from one side to the road to the other. Itrs crackers.
“It’s a complete waste of time and taxpayers’ money” Mrs Taylor added: “They say the parked cars will slow traffic down but they won’t – they just make people speed up.
‘And it’s a very busy road. We have large lorries using it, and they go on the pavement.”