Double yellow line workmen left a perfect parking space on a West Midlands road – because a car was parked in the way.
Staff painting the lines earlier this year couldn’t complete the job because of the car.
But rather than come back later to finish off the painting, they left it clear.
Now the gap, which has been left in Longmore Street, Wednesbury, for more than two months, means drivers can stop quite legally despite the area being classified a no-parking zone.
The bungle has upset residents in the Wednesbury road who had fought for years for the yellow lines to stop people blocking access to garages and homes.
Wednesbury Councillor Bill Archer said residents were simply bemused by the whole affair.
“They put the double yellow lines down following requests from local residents who were unhappy about cars blocking their garages,” he said.
“The thing is that there was a car parked in the street and, for some reason, instead of finding out who owned the vehicle and getting it moved, they decided to just skip that bit of the road and painted either side of it. Of course what it means is that people can now park their quite legally even though measures were introduced to stop it.” Despite the council being notified about the gaff, no action has been taken to add lines to the stretch of road.
“What I fail to understand is that if they just asked someone who the car belonged to, they could have saved themselves all of this embarrassment. It’s quite farcical.”
Councillor Mahboob Hussain, Sandwell’s Cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said workmen would be sent to Longmore Street and told to finish the job.
He said: “Contractors could not contact the driver of the parked car at the time the lines were originally being painted,” he said.
“We have asked them to finish the job and it will be done by the end of the week.”
Longmore Street resident, John Hunt, aged 60, said: “The space has been left there for weeks on end.
“It was a bit daft really, people using a nearby nursery were parking in the space even though they shouldn’t have been able to.”
9 Comments
looking at the picture if you park there you are still actually ilegally park as the double yellow lines have not been ended with another being painted across the opposite way. so i was informed a few years back.
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Carry On films mirror life in every way it seems !!!!
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despite the gap in double yellows, are car still chooses to park over the lines in the photo!
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I live near Sandwell Hospital and we have been waitinG for over 12 months for double yellow lines to be repainted in 4 different streets near to my house . This is despite numerous calls to Ian Martin of the highways department of Sandwell Council they are just not interested !!
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The gentleman in the picture doesn’t look very angry….. I wonder if that’s because he’s NOT ON A LINE !!
Well I thought it was funny.
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Why are people surprised? Isn’t this the same council that built that monstrosity the Public, who in their right mind would build something like that?, I wouldn’t trust this council to find its own way home twice let alone paint double yellow lines.
I live in Bearwood and for years this council was painting in taxi bays in Adkins Lane, right next to a bus terminus, of course the taxis never parked in them because people would prefer to use the busses because they were cheaper, but it gave the parking wardens an excuse to ticket motorists parked in the taxi bays.
Reference the double yellow lines they are illegal and people can legally park on them, double yellow lines have to end with a bar at each end to make them legal.
Jim of Bearwood.
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BB it is funny a bit but not a lot also the gentleman is BILL an old friend of mine of 35 years ago ,hes ok but dont ever mention Tony Benn within earshot of him. also Your looking great Bill
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Those lines dre not legall as they have not been T’d off so if you were to park on them you would get off the ticket. Anyway thats the council for you.
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The great news about this story is that Bill Archer is still willing to put himself out to look after the people of Wednesbury, I was concerned that Bill Archer may have left the political scene after the last local elections, knowing Bill I should have known better, he is a true peoples champion, Bill may you live many more happy years, the people need more people like you.
Jim of Bearwood.
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