Motorists who leave their vehicles on Lancaster’s Ashton Road are being reminded they will be fined if they park illegally.
Police have received a number of letters from drivers given tickets after parking on a section of the road that is now covered by a solid white line system
However, the fines have been upheld.
Police point out that Ashton Road carries a high volume of traffic and is a major bus route. Bevcause it’s in close proximity to both Ripley High School and the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, it’s also attracting many drivers looking for roadside parking.
In the past, motorists used to be able to park along this road. However, a number of serious accidents caused by vehicles having to cross the carriageway because of the way in which people had parked led to the intervention of the police, councillors and residents and the white line system was introduced.
Motorists cannot park on the double solid white lines, which includes a single solid white line adjacent to a broken white line. It is also dangerous to park on the crest of the hill. Those who do so will be issued with a fixed penalty notice either for unnecessary obstruction or contravention of a solid white line.
“Sadly, motorists still ignore the dangers and park on the crest adjacent to the twin solid white lines which prompts complaints to the police,” comments Sgt Nigel Ralphson, of Lancaster’s road policing unit. “If we ignored the issue, and a serious crash occurred, the organisation would have failed in its duty of care to the public.
“I would like to reassure those motorists who have received fixed penalty notices that any action we take is purely for road safety and casualty reduction purposes.”
"In the past, motorists used to be able to park along this road". That's a porky from the Police. The solid white line has been there as long as I've known Ashton Rd, which is 25 years… They've just rarely bothered to enforce it before.
Received a fixed penalty notice last week ….along with 6 others.This must be every day . The police are obviously more interested in revenue raising than "safety" …otherwise they would have requested yellow lines and signs put up. The road is so wide that there is clearly no obstruction when a car is parked.
The fact that the police know that they have fined so many motorists would suggest that perhaps it is not clear to motorists it is illegal to park there. How many mototrists know that "double white lines" means only one solid and a broken line.
The council needs to sort the police out on this one. I wish I was retired and I would have the time to waste everyone elses going to court …..