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Hole in the rules for hole in the wall

Motorists blocking High Street traffic by stopping at a cash point will hardly ever get a ticket, a senior city councillor has admitted.

Cllr Martin Mullaney, who represents Moseley and Kings Heath and whose role it is to oversee the work of traffic wardens has revealed that an enforcement loophole is allowing drivers to park for up to five minutes outside peak hours.

Wardens won't issue a ticket like thisThe problem is that even if a traffic warden is on the spot they have been instructed to wait five minutes before pouncing, just in case the cash point parker is loading and unloading.

"This is why tickets are rarely issued to anyone using the various cash point machines, whilst parked on double yellows. Or why tickets are rarely issued to parents parked on double yellows outside schools who are picking up children," says Cllr Mullaney.

He checked out the enforcement rules after a series of complaints from local residents that double yellow lines were not being enforced properly in Kings Heath and Moseley.

In the High Street and the A435 through Moseley Village there are no loading rules during the rush hour, but the rest of the time lorries, cars and vans can stop for up to twenty minutes. Cllr Mullaney has posted YouTube videos to show how a single parked car can cause huge tailbacks along the Alcester Road.

"It would be possible to lengthen the restricted hours for loading and unloading on the A435 - for example preventing loading or unloading along Kings Heath High Street between 7am and 7pm. However, this would negatively impact on disabled drivers and shops that do not have rear loading bays," explains Cllr Mullaney.

He says about one in ten of the shops on Kings Heath High Street don't have rear access, so the council would need to install disabled bays and loading bays for the shops and this would require a considerable amount of negotiation to make sure they were in the right place.

What do you think?  Should the city council close the loophole allowing motorists to block High Street traffic?
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Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 2

At 22:58 on 5th November 2008, Howard D commented:

Having watched with a witness a driver parked 13 minutes blocking the road with no warden in sight what chance have we of keeping traffic slowly moving? The law can be enforced by ther police who do not not bother - I reported a driving instructor with pupli driving wrong way down a one way road only to be asked what I wanted done - no call back nothing don, it is this knowledge that nothing will be done that encourages people to cause the problems - bring back the police after all we used to have up to 10 officers on the High Street - another quiet cut to our detriment! Enforce the law double yellow should mean what it says no parking yes we do need loading bays disabled etc but no one should obstruct traffic!!!!!!!!!!!

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