This photo from today. 
The black car is parked up, The others are all on the pavement. In the other direction cars parked for over 100m. How much longer must we wait for action.
All those who could deal with this now know about it: senior council officers, the portfolio holder, the police and crime commissioner and for that matter the press who I hope will embarrass someone into addressing this.
Problem parking on Abbey Road has now passed the point of being dangerous.
As I have previously mentioned a traffic order has been secured following our intervention but this is going to take time for yellow lines to be implemented.
For the last two weeks parking near the garages and NWL has reached very dangerous proportions with now 20 cars parked in a line at one point.
Senior council officers have told me that this is not dangerous. Here are comments from some residents. Apologies for the language but I think it conveys the severity of the situation. If you read my previous post on this, you will see my more detailed explanation from last week and comments from a Council officer, who whilst I am sure would’t mind being named, I feel it appropriate to keep him anonymous for now. previous post click here
UPDATE: As well as contacting the press I have also raised the issue with the portfolio holder Cllr Stephens and the police and crime commissioner Ron Hogg.
Residents comments:
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Please can you shed any light as to why all of a sudden Abbey Road is flooded with parked cars on booth sides of the road. I have just returned from shops at the arnison centre and I have narrowly avoided being hit by a Bus approaching me on the wrong side of the road! The problem seems to be getting worse. This evening the fact a lorry leaving one of the garages made the matter worse. It was unable to manoeuvre safely as a row of cars had parked opposite the access road. I strongly feel that if this parking issue is not addressed ASAP unfortunately there will be a serious accident.
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My son can’t get out of Smithfield as a low loader is straddled across the entrance to the road. The reason ? The vehicle can’t move because of the congestion further to the east of the turning. He has an important business appointment, he’s self employed. Consequence is xxxxxxxx are trading and my son can’t!!! Another missive to relay the powers that be !!
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Thanks for the prompt reply. You have made good progress. This morning. (I walk the dog along to The Carrs) there are 21 cars. They stretch over 100 metres. Those who think it isn’t dangerous for buses, wagons, trailers and Sainsbury/Asda etc delivery vehicles to scrape through the “middle lane” are deluded.
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It is an absolute cheek that such behaviour is not being tackled by the council. Your efforts in persuading the council they are wrong are appreciated.
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I was driving along Abbey Road towards Pity Me the other day and came across the cars on the bend and I thought, what the****. From what I could see the way was clear,so overtaking with caution I proceeded along until suddenly a large van came hurtling towards me. How we scraped past each other I will never know? I will tell you this ****,I thought I was going to have a second heart attack!!.
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They will wait till some one is killed that is the council for you waste of space
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A number of residents have contacted us recently about vibrations, dust and other issues from the work being done on the former fire station site in Framwellgate Moor. the new housing development will be started soon once the demolition and clearance has been completed.
We have been working with Environmental Health and Planning, and some dust reduction machinery was brought in. More recently there have been further complaints about vibrations from the work going on.
I have asked officers try and get the developer to install some vibration measuring devices. Continue reading
I have received reports that the Council’s wireless internet access in libraries was down all day yesterday. Today, I have reports that the wired connections are down in Durham, Crook and elsewhere. Hopefully the council will get this sorted quickly as a lot of people rely on this service.
Picture of work done.
For some time I have been asking for this path to be fixed. Well perseverance pays off. This and other repairs I reported on Holmlands Crescent have been actioned. many more are still waiting to be done.
I have of course had to report more problems on this and other streets in the last few days including broken paving and kerbs, potholes, trip hazards and requests for resurfacing, including but not exclusive to Hudspeth Crescent, The Avenue, Durham Moor Crescent, Woodbine Road. More will no doubt follow in the coming days.
It’s just a shame the County Council isn’t more proactive. If it spent the money it had more efficiently and listened to Lib Dem councillors, a lot more work would get done, for a much lower price and repeat repairs wouldn’t be necessary. Continue reading
The traffic order to stop parking and put in yellow lines will take a while to be ordered, so I had asked over the weekend for some emergency measures to be put in place to avoid an accident. Up to 15 cars parked in a line on a curve in the road, in my opinion it is dangerous. The response from our head of technical services is:
“We are content that the situation is not dangerous. Whilst some of the parking is unwelcome it actually helps reduce speeding at this location.”
So now we cross our fingers there isn’t an accident. I am trying to get some cones put down to cut the risk. A couple of cars may be helpful in cutting speeding. Trying to overtake a line of 15 cars on the wrong side of the road on a curve is firmly in my opinion dangerous. Still, its on the public record now so if there is an accident…..
Over the last year or so I have challenged parking problems on the stretch of road near NWL on Abbey Road, which has caused problems for motorists, including bus drivers and access for NWL vehicles. After trying to get this fixed following a planning application for one of the local garages, I had to assist NWL in their push to make it safe for their vehicles. Thankfully this pressure has paid off.
Yellow lines along the stretch from Smithfield to the Northumbrian Water roundabout will be installed soon, following the pressure. A small area of parking will still be included to help keep traffic speeds down.
Following requests from residents the short stretch at the entrance to Smithfield will also be restricted for parking to make it safer entering and leaving the junction. I personally had a near miss there a while ago and know that this will improve safety.
We don’t currently know the reasons for the massive increase in parking in the last week and a half, however, police are putting notes on cars which are blocking pavements and I will be asking for cones to be placed for safety reasons after the weekend as the sudden increase in parking is quite clearly both dangerous and causing problems for pedestrians.
I will also be emailing the relevant council officers to ask that the new markings and signage which have now been approved are put in place as soon as is practicable.
If there are any other areas you think we should look at to restrict parking or increase provision please let us know.
I asked the police to take action in Pity Me after checking speed figures. Whilst the number of vehicles driving at very high speed has fallen, there are still a large number driving too fast.
A few months back we carried out a community speed watch, but unfortunately, having to put up signs and wearing fluorescent yellow and orange jackets kind of gives the game away.
The police can use more mobile cameras and have more ability to enforce than Community Speedwatch. hopefully this action will bring down speeds
Durham Council is spending £38000 on a cafe in county hall, a building it has announced to wants to bulldoze. How on earth can it cost that much.
Full story from Northern Echo:
A COST cutting council has come under fire after planning to spend £38,000 on a new coffee shop.
Durham County Council – which just this week announced plans to cut home-to-school transport funding and charge the poorest pensioners for community alarm systems – intends to convert a former security office at County Hall into a shop selling drinks and snacks. Continue reading
I have had a petition on the government website approved.
The Government is considering scrapping the free school meals program.
This program has been a massive success in County Durham and across the Country.
You can find out more and sign the petition here:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/107525