'We've waged war on cheeky drivers who use our cul-de-sac as a free car park'
Local residents are so fed up with commuters using their cul-de-sac as an unofficial car park that they're now fighting back.
They've complained to the neighbourhood policing team, leading to PCSOs putting up signs warning motorists that it's illegal to park on the pavement. Some locals have become so frustrated that they're monitoring the street and confronting those who leave their cars dangerously parked. Tower Green resident Lee has been leading this campaign, saying the problem started around 14 years ago.
Lee has become so annoyed that he's started leaving notes on cars and taking photos of repeat offenders. "It's got to the point where if I'm going out I have to move one car and then put our other in its space otherwise within a matter of minutes it would be taken.
"We've complained to everyone; the police, the council, councillors, but the only possible solution, they say, is making the road a permit zone. If they did that then we'd have to pay £300 a year for it and why should we have to pay to park outside our own homes?"
Residents might not be able to park on the street if single or double yellow lines are painted. Lee suggested that making Tower Green an 'access only' road could be a solution.
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Lee says that parked cars create an obstruction for people in wheelchairs or those pushing prams (LancsLive)The rules about parking on pavements can be confusing. Outside of London, it's not exactly illegal, but the Highway Code advises against it. Each local authority also has its own rules about how much space should be left for wheelchair users or prams.
Some locals think hospital staff are mostly responsible for the parking issue on Tower Green, but Lee said local business employees also contribute. Hospital workers are regularly reminded to be considerate to residents, and the trust runs employee parking schemes, including a shuttle bus.
Lee shared a story about a nursery worker who parked her car blocking the pavement. "There was one woman who parked here and she works at a nursery," Lee added. "I explained to her that she was blocking the pavement but she just walked away.
"Then some time later, someone from that nursery was pushing a large buggy to fit four children in it and she complained about having to go onto the road. You couldn't make it up," he told LancsLive.
Residents say some cars are parked too far on the pavement which means people in wheelchairs or those with prams can't pass (LancsLive)In 2020, the government sought ideas on how to tackle pavement parking across England. A spokesperson from The Department for Transport said they might bring the whole of England in line with London's rules which could result in a £70 fine for drivers who park on the pavement.
LancsLive reporters found Tower Green to be crammed with parked cars which made driving through the narrow road difficult when an oncoming car was approaching. "Today is a good day", commented one lady who has lived there for over 27 years.
Another local resident, John, who strolls with his dog Alfie down the street every day, joked that around 5pm, when most of those parking leave, "it's like Moses leading the slaves out of Egypt".
He went on to say: "There's this mass exodus as all the cheeky buggers walk back to their cars and then go home. Evenings and weekends make it feel like a ghost town in comparison."
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