'An accident waiting to happen': Residents plead for parking answers on busy Walsall road
Families living on a busy road have issued a road safety demand as parking wars escalate near their homes.
Walsall Council has been urged to find a resolution to the dangerous situation on Daw End Lane, Rushall, which has been going on 'for years'.
Residents said bumps and scrapes between cars happened weekly and it was only a matter of time before a serious accident happened. For a short time, Daw End Methodist Church allowed residents to park on its site to help alleviate the problem.
But now it is being turned into a nursery and the parking is no longer available. Residents said the situation was so dangerous it stopped them going out in their cars or having visitors. They feared the problems would worsen with increased traffic from the nursery once it opened.
Between the front doors of the affected homes and the busy main road, there are front gardens big enough for a driveway, a footpath the width of a car, and a steep grass verge owned by Walsall Council. Residents said a one-way service road in place of the footpath would be the answer to the problem.
John and Katy Fiore, parents-of-five, are among several residents who have been mounting the grass verge to park. But they said that led to them being accused of trespass by Walsall Council.
John, 43, said: “There have been many accidents on this road. I drive up the grass verge. I’ve no choice but to do it. It’s muddy and it’s impossible in winter. We drive across the council land so it’s classed as trespass. We need a road.”
Care worker Katy added: “If I parked with all four wheels on the main road, the grass verge is too steep I wouldn’t be able to open my door. I’d have to open it into the road. I’ve got a two-year-old and a ten-year-old.”
Linda Hillman, another Daw End Lane resident, said: “It’s an accident waiting to happen.”
A Walsall Council spokesperson said: “The council is aware of the road safety and parking issues on Daw End Lane and the road is included in the long list for the councils Local Safety Schemes programme.
"Road safety improvements are prioritised based on the risk and delivered as funding becomes available. The programme and available funding is reviewed annually and considered by Cabinet as part of the council’s wider transport programme every March.
“Regarding the parking situation, we recognise the availability of on-street parking is a problem at countless locations across the borough. For safety reasons and the prevention of damage, driving across a footway is not permitted unless there is a vehicular crossing point in place. Unfortunately the need to prioritise investment in road safety and highway maintenance means there is no budget available to create resident parking unless it is part of priority road safety works.”
