Council forced into embarrassing £265,000 U-turn after painting parking lines ‘too narrow’ for cars
A council has spent £265,000 on a town centre resurfacing scheme only to discover workers painted parking spaces too small for cars to fit in them.
The embarrassing blunder in Goole, East Yorkshire, means motorists are now forced to mount kerbs simply to park within the newly painted lines.
Council workers painted parallel parking spaces that were narrower than the width of an average car as part of recent eco-friendly repair works.
The mistake has sparked complaints from local residents and businesses, with some drivers avoiding parking on Pasture Road altogether due to the undersized spaces.
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The workmen painted the spaces just 5ft 7ins (1.7 metres) wide, despite East Riding of Yorkshire Council bosses requesting a width of 6ft 7ins (two metres).
According to the British Parking Association, there is a minimum width requirement of 5ft 11ins (1.8 metres) for on-street parallel parking.
Local officials have now promised to repaint the road markings after admitting they fall short of required standards.
Town Mayor Anthony Raspin personally measured the bays after receiving complaints from residents.
He said: “I have been down with my tape measure and the bays area are 1.72m, which is less than the guidelines. The average car is wider than that.”
Mayor Raspin expressed concerns about the impact on local businesses, stating: “It is unfair to the shops down Pasture Road losing customers because people don’t want to park there.”
He confirmed local traffic wardens had been instructed not to issue tickets “as long as people park sensibly and as close to the bays as possible”.
Local worker Andie Appleyard also criticised the council’s handling of the situation, saying: “I think it just sums Goole up and everything they do at the moment. They never do it correctly, it’s all a bit of a rush job.
“Someone complains about potholes and they’ve solved that situation, but then they’ve made another job for themselves.”
The road was resurfaced on November 1 as part of a trial for environmentally friendly methods championed by council chiefs.
The £265,000 scheme used a special product developed by Tarmac that incorporates granulated rubber from recycled tyres.
Workmen will now have to burn off the incorrect markings and repaint them to the correct width. The road will be closed on Wednesday 27 November to complete the remedial work.
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An East Riding of Yorkshire Council spokesperson said: “We investigated the size of parking spaces at this location and they fall slightly short of that guide width.”
“We will therefore carry out work to change the widths of these spaces to 2m and are due to do this on Wednesday 27 November under a road closure.”
“Thank you to residents for bearing with us while we rectify this situation. Drivers can park as normal and no parking fines will be issued in the meantime.”