Furious locals have put up spikes in an attempt to combat the "disgraceful" parking outside their homes. After launching a petition to call on the council to solve parking issues on Weybridge Road in Manchester earlier this month, angry residents have decided to take matters into their own hands.
It comes after United workers asked motorists to move their vehicles from a grass verge so they could carry out essential repairs to pipes. It is understood that this work did not begin as scheduled yesterday on March 30, the Manchester Evening News reports.
And residents put up a makeshift fence of wooden and metal spikes, along with red and white tape, in a bid to deter drivers parking at the side of the road. One local mum, Jaime Lightbowne, described the awful parking as "an accident waiting to happen".
She added: "I want to stop people getting hurt rather than waiting for someone to get hurt. A mixture of neighbours have built the fence. Someone put some of the sticks up and others said ‘we will have a go at putting it up too’.”
The row on Weybridge Road has now led to vandalism attacks in recent months. Liberal Democrat campaigner and resident Chris Northwood said: “It’s become a flashpoint. Some have had windows smashed, and people leave cones out to stop people parking outside their house.”
Labour councillors in the area agree the situation is "disgraceful". Councillors Irene Robinson and Majid Dar said in a joint statement: “Parking down Weybridge Street and the surrounding area is disgraceful and we share residents' anger on it. It makes it harder to drive down the street and wrecks the grass.
"We've been fighting for more funding to combat this and last year Majid Dar secured an expansion of the Eastlands parking scheme, so we can tackle this head on.”
Jaime said that since the petition was launched, council officers have promised to look at "enforcement". She added: “Nothing concrete has come from the council, only because they are waiting for feedback from the Eastlands parking scheme before putting plans forward for the Ancoats one for consultation. Officers have said though that they will speak to enforcement about short-term and long-term things.”
When the petition was first launched, a spokesperson from Manchester council said: "Funding has been secured by the council to develop a residents' parking scheme in Ancoats and New Islington, a project the Council remains committed to. This project is currently in the early stages of development, with data being collected on how residents and businesses use this area.
"It is important that engagement takes place to ensure the type and frequency of parking issues caused by out of area vehicles can be thoroughly assessed and understood. When the time comes the Council would encourage all residents to make their views known so that the final scheme is best suited to their needs."
They added that the council was 'limited in regards to enforcement' due to the lack of double yellow lines or parking bays in the vicinity. They continued: “The council has on several occasions lobbied central government to give greater powers to local authorities to allow problematic parking, such as the kind on display in Ancoats, can be properly addressed."
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