If the certainties of life are death and taxes, then surely British people having strong feelings about parking and parking restrictions comes a close third. Nowhere, it seems, is exempt from the national pastime of expressing opinions, and certainly not in Bury, where a new scheme aimed at tackling illegal and inconsiderate parking has inspired a fierce debate.
Last December, Bury Council adopted the town’s first ‘red route’ with the aim of tackling illegal, dangerous, and inconsiderate parking along a stretch of Walmersley Road between Peel Way and Birch Street.
Red routes have been around over thirty years
Red routes are common in busy UK cities, with the first one introduced in London in 1991, and are specifically designed to keep traffic flowing smoothly in busy areas. According to the Highway Code, ‘stopping to park, load/unload, or to board and alight from a vehicle is prohibited’ within a red route.
The double red lines that indicate the red route were added to Walmersley Road, Bury, following lobbying from local councillors, who believed it was necessary to improve public safety and tackle an increase in illegal parking on the busy main road. At the time, the council noted that illegal parking was particularly a problem in the evenings when customers accessed the takeaways along Walmersley Road.
The council’s decision to create a red route was endorsed by the emergency services and taken following a public consultation.
Fines for those stopping in streets with double red lines
Figures published by the council show that since the red route scheme was initiated in December, 664 motorists have been issued Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) for breaching the red route’s strict rules. These are issued by enforcement officers who are informed by roadside cameras. Whilst the standard PCN is £70, the fine is reduced by half if paid within 14 days.
In a joint statement, councillors Sandra Walmsley, Babar Ibrahim, and Ciaron Boles, who all represent the Moorside Ward in which the red route is located, praised the red route and, in particular, its role in improving public safety, stating:
We promised to improve the illegal parking on this stretch of road and implemented the red route to tackle the problem.
Fewer and fewer vehicles are parking illegally, and those that are receive a PCN. We are confident that, in time, the number will reduce further with changes in driver behaviour.
We will continue to strive for safer roads for everyone, including vehicle users, pedestrians, and cyclists.
Are they colour-blind or stupid?
Some residents have also been quick to praise the initiative online, with one local resident calling the scheme “Brilliant.” For others, there has been little sympathy for those who have fallen foul of the new restrictions, with one resident stating,
People know the rules regarding red routes, so I have no sympathy whatsoever.
Another resident simply posted online:
Are they colour-blind or stupid? Neither is an excuse for not knowing your Highway Code.
However, the scheme has not proved universally popular, and several local residents formed a campaign group called ‘No Red Route’ to object to the creation of the route in the first place. At the time, residents expressed concerns that if the scheme were to go ahead, their lives would be adversely impacted.
The main concerns of the ‘No Red Route’ group were that the red route would limit access to their properties, which they believed could lead to a reduction in the property values.
Additionally, there were concerns that the restrictions would reduce footfall for local businesses, which is a particular worry formany local businesses who continue to struggle to return to normal following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Some feel it is a way for the council to raise money
Local resident Billy Hindle said:
Residents feel discriminated against and targeted; a red route is not the solution.
Another resident, Nasser Afzal, said:
The residents most affected by the proposed red route scheme are clearly against it.
In its own feedback to the public consultation, the council acknowledged that the scheme was “controversial” and that “the majority of the returned consultation forms we received are against the proposals.”
Other residents have raised questions about the scheme’s fairness, suggesting that it is simply a way of “fleecing the easy targets.”
Since the opening of the red route, £16,845 has been raised in fines, and Bury Council has committed to investing any surplus, after the cost of administration and enforcement, into improving local transport in the borough.
