Local residents have been voicing their concerns for several years about dangerous parking on their road and following a recent accident they are calling for an end to vehicles parking on a bend.
A female driver was overtaking parked vehicles on Heyes Lane on Tuesday, 23rd August when another vehicle travelling in the opposite direction came heading towards her. In an attempt to avoid a collision the driver pulled in and hit a parked vehicle.
There were no injuries and the owner of the parked vehicle was made aware, however some local residents are concerned that someone will be hurt before long if vehicles continue to be forced onto the other side of the road on a bad bend.
Fiona Doorbar said "I believe that there should be double yellows from the old library/police station right the way round to beyond Granthams. The parked cars make this section of Heyes Lane virtually single lane traffic flow and heading towards the village you are forced around the blind bend into unseen and usually speeding head on traffic.
"It really is very dangerous and as a resident I see so many near misses."
Fiona added "I also feel that should lines be placed on this section of road then some manner of speeding deterrent should be considered as it really is a dangerous spot."
Local resident Vin Summer was sorry to hear there had been an accident on the Heyes Lane bend but not surprised.
He said "I have raised concerns before on this site about the parking on the bend ( left side towards village ), that whilst perfectly legal was in danger of causing an accident because it impairs vision around the bend. This has recently been exacerbated by cars parking on the other side of the road, which I believe is an offence and several cars have been warned recently.
"Can I suggest that one answer might be to make this part of Heyes Lane double yellow, but then remove the double yellows further down outside 'The Oak' and allotments, where the sightlines are much better.
"As always double yellows are only any good if people obey them and there is a real enforcement. The above (second) photo shows an all too typical situation on the double yellows on Heyes Lane near Moss Road junction, where a selfish motorist has not only created a hazard on a dangerous bend by a junction, but also blocked the pedestrian footpath."
Vin added "One further place where accidents have also happened before is the junction of Moss Road and Heyes Lane where there is often a vehicle parked on Moss Road right up to the junction, often blocking the pavement as well. There are no yellow lines, but they are not needed as such parking is already an offence."
What do you think about the parking on Heyes Lane? Share your views via the comment box below.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
Last week a young boy was knocked down by a car on Heywood Rd luckily he was not too hurt the car this time was going slowly but some yrs ago I wrote MBC as it was asking for Bollinfields which is now a cut through from Heyes Lane via Oakfield Rd Heywood Rd Elmfiled rd Davey lane to the A34 again to have traffic calming measures, nothing was done
Seems Alderley Edge is fast becoming a forgotten placeI wonder if they will forget the Council tax ?
The problem is that, as with a great deal of legislation (not only motoring), there is no authority currently enforcing the law.
Say no more!
You may have a better knowledge of the road traffic act than me, but according to the Highway Code parking on a bend or within 10 metres of a junction is not an offence, however it does advise against it.
I often wonder that there might be a little less conflict on the road if we all read and understood the Highway Code better. Whilst I agree that there is an awful lot of inconsiderate parking in the village, the problem might be that it is not actually illegal.
I also wonder whether parked cars aren't in fact a very effective traffic calming measure.
But then again I say no... Because the wrong answer is always to stop parking... Why not slow traffic down so that there is no chance of a head on collision at anything more than walking pace - which means there's plenty of time to stop before colliding?
I believe that councillors shy away from wisdom in their decisions for fear of alienating voters. Enforcing sensible driving habits will infuriate the typical local resident.
The same logic applies to London Road - don't stop taxis from picking up where people want them because it 'blocks the road'... Reduce traffic to a walking pace and there's no problem.
I once suggested railway type barriers at each end of Alderley which dropped - with due warning - every evening at 7pm and were raised at 7am.
Driving round would be possible for anything other than larger commercial vehicles.
The resulting slow go area could be a shared space for vehicles and pedestrians.
Vehicles could be allowed to park anywhere provided a single carriageway was maintained end to end.
And at 7am if your vehicle was parked anywhere between the barriers, then it would be towed away at a £1000 cost to the owner.
Not applicable in this exact way at the bends referred to in the article, I concede. But the principle of slowing traffic is still relevant I suggest: maybe chicanes, speed bumps, speed sensitive traffic lights (check out towns in Europe) and clearer deterrents and barriers to speeding are the solutions, rather than catching offenders!
However, I do have a very simple suggestion to totally remove the ‘blind bend’ problem. We should encourage the parking along this stretch to be on the OUTSIDE of the bend, so that visibility of oncoming cars would no longer be impeded by the parked cars at all – so simple!! – and no debate with the Police and Highways Dept. over why they should bend their rules and restrictions.
I am sure the owners of the parked cars involved would find no problem in this change if it could be encouraged to happen from an agreed date – say the beginning of October. There would also be an additional benefit because the outside of the bend has fewer drive entrances (one instead of 8) so that there would be space for an additional 7 or 8 cars – and the provision of valuable additional parking spaces is the topic most occupying the Parish Council at present.
Double parking would remain a possible problem – but it is fortunately infrequent. A few weeks ago there were two cars starting to double park each day and I requested police to investigate. Within 20 minutes they had issued warning notices and the problem has not recurred.
Simple ideas are often the best – so how about trying this one before resorting to double yellow line restrictions?
Also, what is this obsession we have in AE about painting yellow lines everywhere, therefore reducing available parking, when it has been established that parking is the biggest issue in the village.
I am concerned that the default response to traffic in AE seems to be to paint more lines.
Much more focus needs to be on speeding throughout the length of Heyes Lane and elsewhere. This is the single biggest factor in collision risk and is certainly the thing that worries me most, living here with a young family.
Unfortunately I have little faith in the speeding device that moves around the village - it seems to significantly under record vehicle speed and there has been no notable actions taken in the areas shown to be speeding danger points.
I completely agree that traffic calming measures such as twenty's plenty or road changes would be a good move. It is possible to incorporate some parking spaces within these alterations, if well designed.