So…I just asked a chap if he realised why there were zig-zags…

I’m suggesting that, in general, taking all users into account and designing something that best accommodates the majority (can’t please everyone*) might be more successful than hoping everyone obey’s the law/highway code at all times and having enough manpower to deal with any dangerous parking criminals.

* you’ll read that and assume that i mean cars. You’d be wrong of course. Human is king!

The cheapest and easiest solution would be to install CCTV and ticket offenders. As is always the case, it’ll most likely be the same bunch of arses parking there all the time. It’s only them you need to stop, not dick around with a system that easily works. When you mitigate for arses, it just encourages them and more to be even bigger arses.

<applause> for dd. Sometimes the law just needs enforcing.

why not just heavily restrict the use of cars and lorries in urban environments, and then we can all live in much nicer and safer places, and the businesses will enjoy healthier profits, and local communities will be wealtheier and healthier as they will a move about a bit more, and b, be spending less of their money on cars and petrol and have more to spend on lovely things that are produced and sold locally.

<dailyexpressmodeon>Property prices will rocket<dailyexpressmodeoff>

Just realised you’re in Grounded on Sandy P.

I live just round the corner. Perhaps we could monitor this crossing in shifts?

Jamie – applause, quality work sir!

Probably safer to move the zebra crossing up the road a bit so it’s not placed directly outside commonly used facilities.

so instead of enforcing the rules we just change how the rest of the world works to save inconveniencing a few arsehole drivers? Should be easy enough to install CCTV or park a “spy car” there every few days to fine and dissuade drivers from doing it, but no that’s against their human rights according to pickles

And it’s not just immense ****wit politicians who objects to “scameras” plenty who seem to think road rules shouldn’t be enforced

May be being a bit thick here but, if people did email pics of offending F***tards would Plod do anything?

Edit: Seems the swearfilter doesn’t pick that one up
Also: Nice work Jamie.

so instead of enforcing the rules we just change how the rest of the world works

I’m not talking about changing the world, silly, but a bit of common sense. Is this particular crossing an accident hotspot? Are any zebra crossings for that matter? If the stats on these crossings suggest illegal parking was is real concern to human safety, the law enforcers would be all over it, wouldn’t they?

It’s not something i’ve been guilty of but i do see this sort of parking all the time, and because it’s pretty common round these parts (people do treat them as “i’ll only be a minute” parking zones) drivers tend to drive accordingly and be that bit more attentive.

To me it’s a minor issue, but if you really wanted to stop people parking on them, you’d have more overall success if you designed them to be less inviting to drive/park on rather than prosecuting anyone who did.

Going back to fundamentals for a second here…

And apologies if the question appears simple…

Do you realise why there are zigzags painted on the road approaching pedestrian crossings?

Tweet the pics of the lorry to the company and the local old bill and council…all in the same tweet

Do you realise why there are zigzags painted on the road approaching pedestrian crossings?

Of course, they’re for taking pictures of. Since it’s your local, and you’re on, do you know of any accidents at that crossing?

The council just advised that I ring their parking services number with the vehicle and location – which is a bit pants really, as I guess the car would be well gone by the time anybody came to ticket it.

Of course, they’re for taking pictures of

That’s funny. Do you know? (hint: it’s pretty easy to find on google)

do you know of any accidents at that crossing?

That’s pretty irrelevant to the point being discussed. Personally, I’d rather there were no accidents in the future. Accidents at pedestrian crossings tend to be human-vehicle interfaces and don’t tend to go too well for the human.

if you really wanted to stop people parking on them, you’d have more overall success if you designed them to be less inviting to drive/park on

I imagine a CCTV camera which automatically issued penalties (and a nice big sign explaining that) would do quite a good job of making them less inviting to park on.

That’s pretty irrelevant to the point being discussed

Are you sure? The ZZs are there because of the zebra crossing, which is there to provide a safe crossing point for peds. If there are no accidents despite the frequent nasty parking men illegally parking and being terrible criminals then …

As i said, it’s not something i do, and if i wasn’t saving my outrage for something else, i’d be right with you, camera in hand!

Personal plate? Park anywhere mate!

In the Google street view page Aracer links, the two cars going up the hill are using the cycle lane, is that legal in the UK if no cycles are using it?

Yes. The cycle lane is marked with a dashed line (rather than a solid white line) so it is “advisory” rather than mandatory and thus cars may enter it while driving or even park there “if no alternative suitable parking is available”

Thanks

*bleakly shaking head*

The cycle lane is marked with a dashed line (rather than a solid white line) so it is “advisory”

ie bugger all use

rather than mandatory

ie almost bugger all use.

Advisory bike lanes would be useful if they were the double wide >2m ones, showing “this is where you should be driving to pass cyclists”, but no those just get ridiculed by the national press.
Mandatory should have armadillos, I saw a set for the first time last week, didn’t think they were deployed in UK. (I would share a googlemap but they weren’t installed when the G car did that bit and I can’t actually use the new googlemaps)

Had he run out of Rizla’s?

I can’t actually use the new googlemaps)

No one can – its shit

Euro – Member

That’s pretty irrelevant to the point being discussed

Are you sure? The ZZs are there because of the zebra crossing, which is there to provide a safe crossing point for peds. If there are no accidents despite the frequent nasty parking men illegally parking and being terrible criminals then …

It’s not just about accident rates.
It’s about making that street feel safer and more welcoming for those who live there.
Quality of life, innit?

Local tube station (Northfields in West London) just had cameras installed to police the parking on the zig zags at the crossing. A friend who received a ticket that showed 25 elapsed seconds while he let his daughter out of the car. In fairness to him he thought it was a fair cop. It’s a while since I saw anyone park there.

Not exactly related but middle child was knocked down on a zebra crossing on his like-a-bike by an impatient women in a range rover who thought the truck that stopped to let him cross with the child minder was parked. He was fine luckily enough.

impatient women in a range rover who thought the truck that stopped to let him cross with the child minder was parked.

neatly showing why parking on zig zags is a really bad thing, if everyone remembered that no-one can park on zig zags, ever, it presumably wouldn’t have happened.
Glad it was a minor incident.

It never ceases to amaze me how some people will park – very nearly had a situation kick off last week when a delivery van was parked so badly on a pavement that the person in an electric wheelchair trying to get by couldn’t fit in the gap he left.

The driver was sat in the cab, looking at her struggle and doing nothing. Thankfully as he saw me approach and clearly about confront him about it, he moved forwards slightly.

It’s not just about accident rates.

…and if it is, the important thing is preventing future accidents, not how many have happened in the past. As they say on financial products, past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Not exactly related but middle child was knocked down on a zebra crossing on his like-a-bike by an impatient women in a range rover who thought the truck that stopped to let him cross with the child minder was parked.

Please tell me the police took some action against her (not that I think it’s likely).

I posted the photo of the Nisa truck on their Facebook page. Their response:

Oh dear. This isn’t great parking is it? We will look into this. Did it look like there were any other places to park? Sometimes big lorries struggle to park on busy roads. Thanks for bringing to our attention.

Send smaller lorries then.

aracer, was that you that liked that on FB? 🙂

Please tell me the police took some action against her (not that I think it’s likely).

I tried to follow it up and was assured they would when I finally got through to the officer dealing with it, she said it was one of the the easiest cases they had ever seen with good witness statements from half a dozen people. That was the last I heard though.

aracer, was that you that liked that on FB?

😉