PARKING FURY

After years of lobbying for double yellow lines on one side of the road and residents-only parking on the other, people in the area were “shocked” at the latest development.

Instead of residents-only parking, some have ended up with double yellow lines on their front door step.

Paul Braniff, who lives on the street, said he was “furious” when he found out.

“I came home after work on Friday to see these double yellow lines at my front door,” he said.

“I couldn’t believe it. We didn’t hear a word from Roads Service before they were painted.

“They literally arrived, painted the lines and disappeared again.”

Residents on the street have been complaining about a number of traffic-related issues in the area for a number of years.

They point out that there is often a bottle neck at the top of the street, due to cars being parked on both sides of the road.

To ease the congestion, they had called for double yellow lines to be painted on the side of the road closest to the railway station.

“Roads Service are aware of the issues here, and they have just made the thing a whole lot worse,” said Mr Braniff.

“I phoned them straight away, and the guy was just plain ignorant. He told me that they had no legal obligation to inform us before carrying out the work.

“He also suggested that I had been parking illegally for 11 years.”

Another resident described the move as “beyond belief”.

“I work shifts, so this makes it even harder for me to find a parking space outside my own home,” he said.

“Any time I’m back from work, people getting the train have parked their cars in Brownlow Terrace, forcing me to park mine near North Street.

“To paint double yellow lines outside our houses is plain ridiculous.”

Another resident vowed to ignore the double yellow lines.

He said: “I’ll continue to park where I should be able to park - outside my own home.

“If I get any parking fines, I’ll forward them on to Roads Service.”

A spokesperson for Road Service said: “Corner restrictions have been marked at the junction of Brownlow Terrace and Ulster Street to improve safety for all vehicles, especially large vehicles, negotiating the junction.

“This type of restriction applies at all junctions, as detailed in paragraph 240 of the Highway Code.

“Surveys are also in progress to determine if residents parking should be introduced on part of Brownlow Terrace in association with waiting restrictions to prevent all day parking by commuters using the railway station.”