A rash of yellow kerb stones

WHEN Cllr Elfan Ap Rees took over Town Hall transport reigns from me a couple of years ago his first action was to abandon plans for establishing (admittedly controversial) on-street pay and display parking charges in central Weston.

His move also scuppered proposals for resident parking permits. In place of these attempts to ameliorate some of our parking problems the current administration has opened the yellow paint pot with a vengeance, even though Mr Ap Rees and chums had made earlier noises about getting rid of yellow lines.

Since the police unwillingly continue to retain on-street parking control responsibilities in North Somerset, which they do without the benefit of employing traffic wardens, has the chief constable earmarked time and money for the regular foot patrolling necessary to enforce yellow line compliance or will officers simply be sent on occasional purge duty?

Surely the major problem is not caused by inappropriate parking on yellow lines (which is largely a safety and inconvenience matter) but by drivers arriving for work and leaving their cars on time-contolled streets from 9am through to 5pm thereby denying turnover of parking spaces to those who wish to visit local shops, banks, cafes, etc throughout the working day?

I cannot see the police having either the manpower or inclination to clock-watch the two-hour and don't-come-back-again streets. But these are the very streets which if denuded of short-term parking potential will do nothing to encourage growth in town centre commerce.

Car accommodation difficulties in the town centre have spread further outward into the nearby residential areas where streets are filled throughout the day by cars going nowhere until 5pm. I'm afraid the solution is going to take more than a rash of yellow kerb stones.

JOHN CROCKFORD-HAWLEY

Gerard Road

Weston