Objections to double yellow lines outside Barnsley homes to be rejected

Resident’s objections to proposed double yellow lines outside their homes in Thurlstone are set to be rejected by Barnsley Council’s cabinet next week.
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BMBC has received a government grant of £1.4m to improve road safety, ease congestion and improve the free flow of traffic along the A628 through Millhouse, Thurlstone, and around Penistone.

The stretch of road has experienced ‘congestion, delays, inconsiderate and obstructive parking leading to pinch-points and significant impacts on visibility at junctions,’ according to a report, to be presented to cabinet next week.

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The council's head of highway says that "no individual has a legal right to park on the public highway or outside their property, nor should they have the expectation to do so.The council's head of highway says that "no individual has a legal right to park on the public highway or outside their property, nor should they have the expectation to do so.
The council's head of highway says that "no individual has a legal right to park on the public highway or outside their property, nor should they have the expectation to do so.
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Double yellow lines are proposed on section of Manchester Road which runs through Thurlstone, and the side junctions between Towngate and Leapings Lane in a bid to prevent ‘inconsiderate and obstructive parking’.

However, this has prompted 40 objections from residents, who complain that they will no longer be able to park outside their homes.

One resident states that parked cars slow vehicles down, and asked where residents of Manchester Road could park their cars.

A business owner on the road said restrictions at the junction of Towngate would ‘cripple their trade’, which relies on passing trade.

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Another resident claimed that Manchester Road will become a ‘death trap’, and the section between Millhouse and Thurlstone will ‘become a car park’, and another states that the displacement of more than 30 residents’ cars will cause ‘chaos’.

And one resident says they will ‘seek legal advice due to the devaluation of property and will advise others to do the same’.

What does the council say?

The council’s head of highways said: “No individual has a legal right to park on the public highway or outside their property, nor should they have the expectation to do so.

“Essentially, the purpose of the ‘public highway’ is to facilitate the passage of traffic and should not be relied on as a parking area.”

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A report by the head of highways at BMBC states: “In order to fully address the situation in Thurlstone, it was necessary to have extensive no waiting restrictions along the pinch-point section of road.

“This would result in approximately 35 resident’s vehicles being displaced.

“Following the feedback from the public consultation and meetings with the local ward councillors, it was possible to slightly amend the proposed restrictions and reduce them by 30 metres on one side of the road.”

In Thurlstone, two collisions resulting in serious injury were ‘directly associated with drivers pulling out on to the opposing lane to avoid/pass parked vehicles and colliding head-on to oncoming traffic’.

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“The carriageway width through the centre of the village is below current standards for such a road and traffic levels have increased over the years.”

The scheme will also address congestion, delays, ‘inconsiderate and obstructive parking leading to pinch-points and significant impacts on visibility at junctions and obstruction and inconvenience for pedestrians and pushchair/wheelchair users and other vulnerable road users’, according to the report.

The report recommends that cabinet members ‘agree, that the remaining objections... and those also relating to Penistone and Millhouse be rejected for the reasons set out in the report’.

Officers have recommended the scheme for approval.

What about the road through Penistone and Millhouses?

In Millhouse, it is proposed to introduce and extend existing no waiting at any time restrictions between West End Avenue and the western village boundary, to ‘improve the free flow of traffic and improve visibility at junctions’.

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No waiting at any time restrictions are proposed on Lee Lane to ‘prevent inconsiderate and obstructive parking’.

In Penistone, the 40mph speed limit will be extended 69m to the east of the railway viaduct, if the scheme is approved.

BMBC say this will ‘provide more time for vehicles to reduce speed before negotiating the narrow bridge and allow for a high-visibility speed limit entry feature to be installed to highlight the speed limit and approaching narrow bridge’.

The report adds the the scheme has been designed to address ‘an injury collision history’, and that eight collisions resulting in serious injuries and three resulting in minor injuries have been reported on the A628 in the last five years.