Parking on grass verges may be prevented with new by-law
Crawley Borough Council is to debate the next step in the process of potentially introducing a by-law to prevent motorists from parking on grass verges.
A report due to go before both the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Cabinet next week questions whether a by-law would be a fair and financially sound way of cracking down on antisocial parking.
The report, by the council’s head of legal and democratic services, Ann-Marie Brown, advises members that, should a driver breach the by-law and park on a grass verge, the only sanction available to the council would be to mount a prosecution in magistrate’s court.
It added: “The process is likely to be expensive and the resultant fine, should the member of public be found guilty, is unlikely to cover the council’s costs.
“A successful prosecution under the by-law would result in the member of public receiving a criminal record and this may be seen as inconsistent with the sanctions currently facing drivers who park inappropriately on roads/verges which are subject to a Traffic Regulation Order.”
The issue of damage to the verges due to off-road parking was raised by members of the public at the 2011 State of the Borough debate and an action plan was approved by members of the Cabinet a year ago.
The council has been working on a series of Alternative Interventions – such as fencing off verges and putting bollards around them to prevent parking.
Funding has been made available to carry out the necessary work and two pilot schemes – one near St Francis Primary School, Southgate, and another in Three Bridges – are being carried out to assess the effectiveness of the idea.
Another option being considered for some areas is the hardening of some verges to allow access for refuse lorries.
Following a meeting with West Sussex County Council in December, nine high priority areas were agreed and the work is currently being priced.
The overview and scrutiny committee will meet at the town hall on Monday (January 14) while the Cabinet will meet on Wednesday (January 16) at 7.30pm. Members of the public are welcome to attend.
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Weather for Crawley
Sunday 19 May 2013
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