Driveway parking ban will see drivers fined

Saturday 21st November 2009, 10:15AM GMT.

Motorists who park across driveways outside West Midlands homes will be hit with penalty tickets and fines under new powers, it was revealed today.

It is hoped the move – which is expected to come into force next spring – will put an end to misery for residents living near schools, hospitals, shopping centres and football clubs. Authority bosses from Walsall, Wolverhampton, Sandwell and Dudley are among those thrashing out details of the new “dropped kerb” policy, to create a uniform set of rules across the region.

Although police have discretional powers to issue tickets to drivers they consider to have obstructed a highway, officers’ other responsibilities mean incidents are not always treated as a priority.

But traffic chiefs expect the shake-up to take effect next spring, following a trial of the scheme in Birmingham. Paul Leighton, Walsall Council group leader for traffic and transportation, said it was hoped the move would have public support.

“I think it will be welcomed,” he said. “It is something that has consistently proved a problem, but something we haven’t had the powers to deal.

“We are looking to get consensus as to where and when we enforce this and different councils may have different views. After working out a policy, we will work out a publicity campaign to explain the changes.”

He said he anticipated an arrangement where council parking wardens would act when residents reported cars blocking their drives and requested intervention.

But he said the new rules would also help prevent parked cars obstructing emergency vehicles, delivery drivers and pedestrians.

The talks between councils in the region to have taken over control of parking enforcement from police, including the four Black Country authorities, are expected to focus on how wardens deal with issues such as shared drives.

They will also have to agree on how wardens will establish if vehicles blocking drives belong to neighbours.

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1
Woody

November 21, 2009 at 3:15 pm

I believe this is the right way forward to discourage inconsiderate drivers parking where they like without consideration for home owners.

Unfortunately the majority of offenders are parents who drop off and pick up their children from school. To block someones drive for “only 2 minutes” is 2 minutes to long!

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2
PimpMyTown

November 21, 2009 at 3:16 pm

If people was to read the highway code more often, then they would realise they are doing wrong in parking accross drive ways. People are so stupid they bring it on themselves.

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3
FANNY

November 21, 2009 at 4:26 pm

I must say that I am really pleased with this news, at least 3 times a day someone parks, blocking my drive for up to 1/2 an hour at a time as I live by 2 schools. It has gotten so bad that unless I want to keep going out and asking them to move, I now just resort to shutting the blinds and turn the tv up.

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4
dve

November 21, 2009 at 5:39 pm

they have never bothered before,is it another way for the council to get extra money ,if somebody parks across my drive give me the fine money i paid the ouncil £500 to have the kerb dropped it was not free

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5
moikel

November 21, 2009 at 7:43 pm

pity we have to wait until the spring. these people have no consideration, but if you parked across them ????? can`t wait to see what happens.

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6
L

November 21, 2009 at 8:56 pm

I never block peoples driveways who have dropped kerbs but some people seem to think the same rules apply when they knock down their walls and use their front grass as their drive with silly bits of wood in the road to drive up the kerb/footpath..

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7
Pete

November 23, 2009 at 9:32 am

About time. L does have a valid point though as I have nearly come a cropper a few times when my main transport was two wheels and these “silly bits of wood” become dislodged by passing vehicles and end up in the road.

I drop my kids at school and near the school is a residents only car park. One day a resident put his car across the entrance to block in the hordes of people using the car park despite the signs saying it was private. It did not amaze me that people were angry with HIM rather than the parents too lazy to find a bit of public road to park on. Says it all. It also never ceases to amaze me how many people park on the zig zigs too. About time these incosiderate people were woken up.

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8
Neil

November 23, 2009 at 11:57 am

Its about time something was done. Maybe now when I return from work I will be able to get on my drive without it being blocked by inconsiderate parents who are picking their kids up from school because they can’t be bothered to walk from one end of the estate to the other.

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9
jj

November 23, 2009 at 12:00 pm

Parents driving Kids to school have no excuse unless they live in remote villages. There are enough schools within walking distance of any house. They are either being lazy or have deliberately picked schools too far away to walk.

Not once did I ever get a lift into school.

Also home-owners should have to right to drop there kerbs and not pay the council anything just as long at they do the work their selves and not removing any obstructions (lampposts ect) but the £500 charge just put people off.

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10
sharron

November 23, 2009 at 3:55 pm

I welcome this news, but to be quite honest i really dont think it will make much difference.we have lived in our home now for ovr 23years we have a driveway and also our kerb dropped. we decided to pay to have our kerb dropped to beable to park OUR CAR ON OUR FRONT, but have had to put up with inconsiderate drivers totally ignoring this and parked their car infron of our house, when you ask them to move on they give you so much abuse its like you are in the wrong. abour 4-5 months ago we had a h-bar put outside our house due to me being disabled, as this made any difference NO!!!!, these inconsiderate people have actually said, “sorry didnt notice the white line”, these people have no respect for anyone other than themselves. I do hope that more coverage will be made available on this subject,putting it in the local weekly paper also leaflets through letterboxes…it would be great if you at the express and star would publish some of these comments, i certainly give you my permission..thank you

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