[David9694]

A new catch-all Tea Shop thread for those miscellaneous new stories that don’t quite fit with parking, crashing into buildings or trapped/prisoners in their homes. 

Topic

[Rendel Harris]

Not quite absolutely, at

Not quite absolutely, at least in London: both black cabs and minicabs are allowed to stop to collect or drop passengers on red routes.

[SimoninSpalding]

I vaguely remember red routes

I vaguely remember red routes in the Highway Code and they are absolutely no stopping. I didn’t commit it fully to memory because as far as I knew they were only in major cities, and as a country boy any paint on a road is a novelty!

[David9694]

views on this?

views on this?

Two very different towns Chippenham and Hanley introducing widespread parking restrictions, to improve the flow of motor traffic, and to protect bus and cycle lanes in Hanley. I can’t decide on this – part of me thinks parked and manoeuvring cars act as a kind of traffic calming, and buffering if you’re on the pavement.   But they have a habit of obstructing bike lanes – paint only type so of questionable benefit, and delaying buses.  I assume a red route means “no stopping and we mean it”?

On the specifics of the car-dependent take away, this always seems to me like a depressingly unhealthy lifestyle. I’m sure he doesn’t mean parking right outside the shop as there’s a pedestrian crossing just behind us here. Peeking up over the rooftops is a multi storey car park – not really relevant to the “I’ve just got to nip in here” hazard flasher parking, I guess. 

https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/well-lose-everything-hanley-traders-9829002

https://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/24865580.chippenham-parking-restrictions-planned-towns-roads/

EDIT/ UPDATE 

Chippenham parking restrictions plan divides residents

https://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/24869729.chippenham-parking-restrictions-plan-divides-residents/

No, Mr Editor, it really doesn’t.  Residents want the restrictions, drivers are whining about it.  

 

[David9694]

Traffic calming – so drivers,

Traffic calming – so drivers, let me see if I have this right… 

Fears Chippenham road’s chicanes are causing crashes

https://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/24865886.fears-chippenham-roads-chicanes-causing-crashes/

[chrisonabike]

David9694 wrote:

David9694 wrote:

views on this?. I can’t decide on this – part of me thinks parked and manoeuvring cars act as a kind of traffic calming, and buffering if you’re on the pavement.

EDIT – I wonder if this is coming from the realisation of “we can’t drive through quickly now – because of those *other drivers*”? If so is it too much to hope that people will start to see that problem is a lot more general? Indeed, one of the big issues with mass motoring?

I guess it’s “what do we want from our spaces”? Motor vehicles – driving or parked – take up a significant proportion of our public space. Roads and ready parking facilitate and encourage driving, more driving. While “we can drive there” it will be “we *have* to drive there” and the ability to make any changes which impact driving and parking will be very limited.

If you want buffers – how about cycle *paths* (for pedestrians) or small trees, or mini parks or rain gardens?

Amsterdam’s changing streets: the new Weesperzijde along the Amstel

https://therantyhighwayman.blogspot.com/2021/08/rain-gardens.html

If you want traffic calming – apply actual traffic calming like road narrowing, surface treatments (less smooth), horizontal deviations and level changes. Many can be seen in this aricle: https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2025/01/08/when-is-there-no-need-for-protected-cycling-infrastructure/

OTOH in the UK we’re currently stuck in a cul-de-sac of motornormativity. Without (easy, attractive) alternatives to driving many people will see no choice. (Those alternatives of course are hard to provide – because cars).

And even with heavier parking enforcement than we normally want to fund people will chance it. Which as you allude to more often leads to antisocial or dangerous parking of the “sod it” variety.

[David9694]

Driverless van crashes into

Driverless van crashes into man outside Tesco – he’s now ‘seriously injured’ in Royal Stoke

The collision happened outside a Stoke-on-Trent Tesco Express store

https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/driverless-van-crashes-man-outside-9874059?int_source=nba

Owner-less too? 

[David9694]

Parking ticket fears as

Parking ticket fears as drivers stuck on Wolstanton Retail Park for 90 MINUTES

The car park was described as ‘absolute carnage’

This one mentions the opening of a new road, as well as road works as being the problem. Great time saver you’ve got there. 

A Friday in January. 

https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/parking-ticket-fears-drivers-stuck-9874079?int_source=nba

[David9694]

Hereford traffic and parking

Hereford traffic and parking problems in city centre

https://www.herefordtimes.com/news/24867217.hereford-traffic-parking-problems-city-centre/

A Saturday afternoon in January. 

The city fathers are in for such a shock when it turns out that the traffic problems continue despite their attempts once again to build their way out of trouble, 
 

Bypass ‘only choice’ to solve Hereford congestion

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c515p0v4w2jo

Bypass ‘will bring over 10,000 new homes west of Hereford’

https://www.herefordtimes.com/news/24856398.bypass-will-bring-10-000-new-homes-west-hereford/

[David9694]

The story, in case you meet

The story, in case you meet the Kent Online paywall, is that he parked his EV in the car park, connected it but, he claims, his ‘phone was dead which meant that the charging terminal would not work, so he walked home (“5 minutes” is mentioned), plugged in said phone and started the car charging from there. 

The commenters aren’t having it, though – charge your ‘phone like a normal person seems to be the message. 

I assume the vehicle was observed wrongly parked for longer than 5 minutes before the ticket was issued. 

Drivers always want to stretch the rules – if you’re a public transport user whose ticket is on a dead ‘phone or you’re 5 minutes late, there’s going to be a consequence. 

I always think there’s a social problem to solve with EV charging – drivers use a petrol pump and generally they move on.  An EV needs to be left for a while, but site proprietors need a way to get charged up vehicles to clear the space for the next customer.  

Middle Street, where he lives, looks to be a car’s width wide – how can anyone possibly live there???

Mercedes Benz EV owner slams charging fine in Deal car park

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/deal/news/my-phone-died-so-i-couldn-t-charge-my-vehicle-then-i-was-318798/

[wtjs]

Even I would say ‘report
Even I would say ‘report horse ramming to the police ‘ because just ignoring that report is viewed as less acceptable than if it was a cyclist – especially when you have good video.

[David9694]

I’m sure Mark H would also

I’m sure Mark H would also say to report the matter to the police, rather than DIY it over Facebook. 

[stonojnr]

not always if the card

not always if the card processing system glitches or the authentication keys arent accepted for whatever reason, or the system thinks its a fraud attempt as small amounts used to signal attempts to hack your account, it can treat it like a failed payment, and it returns the money to your account to try again.

there was a story late last year in the local press about a payment through a car parking app that did just that, she thought she’d paid, closed the app, the bank decided otherwise returned the money to her account, and of course the parking firms view then was she hadnt paid for a ticket & heres this ridiculous charge we call a fine instead.

The only record she had was on a bank statement saying the money had gone out of her account, but then come straight back again, as the payment hadnt gone through the app itself said there was no history of an actual paid ticket, and the car park firm were playing the hardball version of the this doesnt prove you paid and no we dont have records of your failed payment either, honest.

[Hirsute]

Who the hell rams a horse

Who the hell rams a horse deliberately ?

Mark Hodson says

“High end “Problem Group” participant ….using a motor vehicle as a weapon to harm or intimidate…offender should be treated in the same manner as someone who used a firearm to do the same….and result in a lifetime ban, as you would with a firearms licence.”

 

[Hirsute]

But the photo shows a ticket

But the photo shows a ticket issued that you would place on the dash. What is the point of the ticket given it forms no validation of a stay given the outcome?

The payment system should have tried to take the payment again not issued a PCN !

People do moan about payment apps on your phone but at least you have a very clear history and trail of what happened.

[David9694]

I carry a few notes for those

I carry a few notes for those “the tills are down” moments and I’ve long since stopped carrying change for the random amounts of coin required for dropping a few coins in a machine. 

[Author]

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