A WOKINGHAM man that has seen multiple crashes outside his house, is calling for safety improvements.
Terry Hallt, who lives in Waterloo Cottage, near to the level crossing on Waterloo Road, said there has been a motorbike and car crash outside his house on two separate occasions.
He is concerned the road has become increasingly dangerous due to parking.
Mr Hallt’s driveway is next to a path leading towards the walking routes in Montague Park.
He said walkers are parking on the junction and creating a risk.
“I have lived at my property for over 30 years, now with my Daughter, Son-in-Law and three Grandchildren, and have continually had problems with vehicles obstructing the entrance to my drive,” he said. “The situation was not too bad to start with and I used to talk kindly to the offending vehicle owners and they used to move their cars and not return.”
But this has worsened, he said.
“Now no one at all takes any notice of my requests — because I never seem to get the same vehicles returning..
“It has reached the point where I cannot take this anymore.”
Mr Hallt is calling for the borough council to make the junction safer, by painting double yellow lines there.
He added: “I reached out to the council only to be told that if I had vehicle obstructions then I should contact the police to get them moved.
“The Police said it is the council’s responsibility as there was no signage or yellow lines, so technically it was no crime.”
Although the Highway Code states drivers cannot park on or within 10 metres of a junction, this is not legally binding.
He added: “There are two roads leading off of Priest Avenue that both have yellow lines marked on the entrance to their Cul de Sac roads.
“I asked the council why the lines were marked there but I could not get any on the area outside my drive, I could not get an answer.”
Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, executive member for highways at the borough council, said they were first made aware of the issue in January — and on the same day suspended parking in the area by placing traffic cones around the affected area.
“We also instructed our civil parking enforcement officers to monitor the area and enforce against any on street parking,” she added.
This is an ongoing short term measure from the council, while it works on a long term solution, Cllr Jorgensen said.
“We are proposing to restrict parking by adding double yellow lines along Waterloo Road from just west of Priest Avenue to the railway line,” she said.
In January, Cllr Jorgensen had said that nearby residents would be consulted on the proposal in February, with restrictions in place later in the year. But the consultation is yet to happen.
“We take all complaints from our residents seriously and respond promptly, as have done in this case,” she added.
The council said it has been in contact with Mr Hallt over recent weeks, over the new temporary restriction. But he said the parking is still proving a problem, and has seen little improvement.
A spokesperson for the council said it is also speaking with Network Rail to ensure that its contractors do not park there.
