Park on the verge and face a fine
RESIDENTS of Newmarket’s Exning Road have been warned they risk prosecution if they continue to park on a grass verge outside their homes.
Householders have been contacted by police explaining that they plan to start fining drivers who park their cars on the verge because it is illegal, it is causing damage to the grass and is dangerous as cars have been seen driving off it across the pavement.
Sgt Mark Shipton, of the Newmarket Safer Neighbourhood Team, has told residents they could receive a £30 fixed penalty but has agreed to hold off on enforcement until he has met residents.
He said the double yellow lines on the Exning Road did not only apply to the main road but also to the pavement, and the verge, making parking illegal.
“In the past we have asked people to stop parking in this way only to be ignored, “ said Sgt Shipton.
“Acting under the basis of complaints received, I am looking to deal with this matter with enforcement. I appreciate that parking is, and will always be, an issue for residents in Newmarket but I cannot allow offences to continue that may cause damage to property or that could result in an accident being caused.”
But Jim Jackson, of Exning Road, said he believed the police approach was “heavy-handed”.
He said that residents often had no choice but to park on the verge because the slip road outside their homes was being used by town centre workers and shoppers and by residents of nearby Bakers Row and Mill Hill, who were facing the same problems as bay parking intended for their use was being taken up by non-residents.
“The problem has definitely got worse since parking charges were introduced,” said Mr Jackson. “Every day people park here because they don’t want to pay to park in the town.
“Now we have received this warning from police. I have spoken to a couple of my neighbours and have agreed the likelihood of confrontation between us and non-residents is now looking quite likely as we struggle to maintain the ability to park where we live lest we become criminals by killing the grass.
He went on: “We appreciate this is not a private road but people who don’t live here must know they are causing a problem by parking as they do.
“Further along the road, residents have turned their front gardens into parking areas but our front gardens are raised so we can’t do that. We don’t want to park on the verge and whenever possible we don’t. It’s always a last resort.”
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Friday 25 May 2012
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