A highway authority has said it is the responsibility of motorists to understand signs and lines on the road after residents criticised what they say are 'confusing' double markings on a residential street.
Denmark Road in Bath is part of a new residents’ parking zone (RPZ) covering the Oldfield Park and Westmoreland area.
Bath and North East Somerset Council (BANES) has added both marked parking bays and H bars in the same place on some parts of the street.
An H Bar, as illustrated by Diagram 1026.1 of the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016, is an advisory marking to discourage someone other than the resident from parking across a driveway without permission. It has the same meaning within a residents’ parking bay.
Mandy Moon, one of the residents of Denmark Road who now has a parking bay across the end of her driveway, told the Bath Echo: ‘I’m worried I’m going to wake up and not be able to get out of my house.’
Many had used the free car park at the end of the road as an extra place to park, but now this needs a separate permit. https://t.co/mlolD5TQSq
— Bath Echo (@BathEcho) July 19, 2023
BANES told Transport Network that this arrangement has been successfully used in other RPZs in the area in response to requests from residents.
It added that the design is to accommodate as much parking as possible for residents and that the alternative would be to prohibit all parking in front of these driveways using double yellow lines.
Manda Rigby, council cabinet member for transport, said the council had spoken to Denmark Road residents and explained how the markings work.
She said: ‘One of the issues which a zone tries to address is pavement parking, particularly in narrow streets like Denmark Road.’
Asked how non-residents know how to interpret the markings, the authority pointed out that Rule 243 of the Highway Code prevents people parking in-front of an entrance to a property and that an H-bar is one way of indicating this.
A spokesperson said: ‘We have been talking to residents in the area about their RPZ and we have advisors available to answer any questions. But it is also the motorist’s responsibility to understand signs and lines on the road.’
Residents also told the Bath Echo that the parking bays on both sides do not leave enough space to drive down the street.
In response to this, the council told Transport Network that parking bays have been installed at a minimum width of 1.8m to accommodate as much parking as possible for residents and that it had tried to mirror how residents have typically been parking in this area for many years.
The spokesperson said: ‘It is a narrow road, and motorists are required to drive carefully, but the alternative would be to restrict parking with double yellow lines.’
