Parking restrictions approved to help stop obstructive parking in the Powis area
06 September 2018
Parking restrictions for the Powis area were approved at committee today (Thursday 6 September) to stop vehicles from parking near junctions, parking partially on a pavement, or causing access issues for emergency or delivery vehicles.
The members of the City Council’s operational delivery committee agreed to the changes after they considered a report from council officials.
The report said council officers observed that there is significant level of parking within the Powis area which has been displaced from the Old Aberdeen Controlled Parking Zone (Zone RR), with a number of students from the University of Aberdeen utilising the on-street parking in this area.
Residents have previously raised concerns regarding the often-indiscriminate nature of the parking, with parking occurring within close proximity to junctions and in a manner, that may cause obstructions to emergency vehicle access.
Consequently, officers proposed that lengths of prohibition of waiting at any time be introduced on Powis Circle, Powis Crescent and Bedford Avenue to preserve visibility splays at junctions, ensure access for emergency vehicles is maintained, and protect safe pedestrian/vehicular movements within this area.
The committee instead agreed to an amendment to proceed with implementing the proposed waiting restrictions on Bedford Avenue from its junction with Bedford Road to the layby at the Bedford Road shops. It was agreed not to proceed with the proposed waiting restrictions from Powis Circle and Powis Crescent and parts of Bedford Avenue.
Aberdeen City Council transport spokesman Councillor Ross Grant said: “Obstructive parking can be dangerous as it can prevent emergency vehicles from gaining access during situations when every second can count.
“As a result of agreeing to proceed with restrictions on Bedford Avenue we hope the residents in the Powis area will see a reduction in the number of vehicles which are obstructing roads and pavements.”
The report said one objection was received in relation to this proposal, the main concern raised in this letter is the loss of kerb side parking available to residents of the area, due to the introduction of waiting restrictions.
Officers response stated that unrestricted kerbside parking should not be viewed as a right for motorists, but as an additional benefit that is derived from the local geometry of a road. This type of parking should only be accommodated when it is safe to do so and does not negatively impact on the safety or movement of other road users. As noted previously, the waiting restrictions for the Powis area seek to address issues relating to obstructive parking.
This includes vehicles being parked near to junctions and thus obscuring visibility splays, vehicles being parked partially on the footway, or adjacent to dropped kerbs provided to assist pedestrians experiencing mobility issues, and consequently hindering safe pedestrian passage, vehicles being parked in a manner which results in the available carriageway width being significantly reduced, and therefore potentially causing access issues for emergency response vehicles, as well as other large vehicles which may require to take access to the area.
The parking restrictions have been designed to formalise the parking patterns in this area, to prevent the current obstructive parking which is occurring, and thus improve road safety conditions for all categories of road users, whilst ensuring access for emergency vehicles in the area is maintained.
In this respect, the proposed waiting restrictions cover only those sections of kerb side where there is a requirement to prevent the obstructive parking practises and therefore the only loss of parking in the area is at locations where parking should be considered inappropriate.