Narrow Swindon alleyway painted with double yellow lines

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Double yellow lines have been painted in an alleyway that is too narrow to drive down.

Lines have been painted on both sides of the passageway, off Newhall Street in Swindon, leaving a gap of just 13in (33cm).

Nathalie Fisher, a local resident, said it was a "bit of a mystery" as "you couldn't even fit a motorbike down it."

Swindon Borough Council said the authority will be "taking it up" with their contractors.

Ms Fisher, who lives on Newhall Street, said it had been "good that the council came around to clean all of the back alleyways up".

She added: "But to find out the only reason was to double yellow everything they could physically see was a bit of a mystery."

The council said local residents had asked the authority to "deal with illegal parking in alleyways".

A spokesman said: "It seems that our contractors forgot just how big cars actually are when they painted this one. We will be taking it up with them."

[JayMac]

This was the 'And Finally' item on the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) one o'clock news yesterday. One vox pop said, "Only in Swindon."

 

[bobm]

Ironically this was probably the same gang who removed the yellow lines and other road markings near me - when resulted in a huge number of flecks of yellow and white paint blowing into my garden and then turning to something resembling wallpaper paste when it rained!

[JayMac]

An update from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Swindon alleyway's double yellow lines painted black

Double yellow lines painted in an alleyway that is too narrow to drive down have been covered over.



The lines painted on both sides of a passageway, off Newhall Street in Swindon, which left a gap of just 13in (33cm) have been repainted black.

Local residents have criticised the repair work as "totally ridiculous".

But Swindon Borough Council said it was a "temporary measure" and the lines would eventually be "burnt off" by the authority's contractor.

'Even more bizarre'

The alleyway, according to resident Nathalie Fisher, is so narrow "you couldn't even fit a motorbike down it".

Despite that, two sets of double yellow lines were painted along it by council contractors to combat illegal parking.

Residents have described painting the lines in the first place as a "little bizarre" but painting over them in black paint as "even more bizarre".

But a council spokesman said they had been removed as the authority wanted drivers to know that double yellow lines "are there for good reason and are capable of being enforced".

"These particular lines didn't get close to meeting either criteria," he said.

"The lines will be burnt off, but in the meantime they have been painted over as a temporary measure."

He added that the contractor had agreed to meet the cost and the council would "not be paying for the painting of the lines or for their removal".

Why could they not have been left in place until the contractor was ready to remove them? 

[trainer]

An enterprising local could have set up a burger van there and made a pile out of it as a tourist novelty.  Another attraction after visiting Steam instead of shopping. 

[paul7575]

Once the four lines are 'burnt off' it still won't really be back to the original condition.  The residents should hold out for a full resurfacing I reckon...   

Paul

[Network SouthEast]

At least I can park my motorbike down that alley now