Residents trapped in homes and prams forced onto the road – is this Hull’s most gridlocked street?
GODDARD AVENUE RESIDENTS ARE FED UP OF INCONSIDERATE PARKING IN THEIR STREET. ALEX GROVE REPORTS
Residents living in Goddard Avenue have spoken of their anger at “inconsiderate” drivers parking on the pavement and stealing residents’ spots.
They say they are often unable to park outside their own homes as shoppers and workers from Newland Avenue park down their street.
Others say drivers come down their street too fast – despite there being a lot of congestion – while wheelchair users and parents with prams struggle to pass the parked cars, forcing them onto the road.
Last year Hull city councillor John Fareham proposed a number of ideas to try to fix the problem including implementing a one-way traffic system, removing grass verges and even installing traffic lights.
But, to the frustration of the residents, a viable solution still has not been found.
Audrey Barker, 63, has lived in Goddard Avenue for the past five years, and she says parking has been an issue on the street since she moved in.
She has disabilities and without a wheelchair, she cannot go outside. This week Ms Barker became stuck on the street in her wheelchair when she was trying to get past a parked car, which had driven on to the pavement outside her home.
The resident also says it is not the first time this has happened, and that her grandchildren’s prams have also not been able to pass through the space between cars and houses in Goddard Avenue.
“The way that people park around here is so inconsiderate,” said Ms Barker.
“The only way I can get out and about is in my chair, but several times I’ve become stuck between my wall and a parked car because the car has parked up too close on to the pavement near my house.
“It feels awful when I can’t even get out of my own home, and the people responsible should be ashamed of themselves.
“When my grandbairns come round to see me, their prams often get wedged between the cars and the wall, so they have to walk on the road to get around.
“Something definitely needs to be done.” Kenneth Hanson, 85, has lived in Goddard Avenue for more than 20 years, and says the parking and traffic down the street has got worse over the years.
He said: “I’ve virtually had cars almost parked outside my door before.
“A lot of people that park up here are just thoughtless and don’t think about pedestrians or people that live on the street that need ease of access in and out of their homes.
“The way that they park often means that
if you meet another pedestrian walking down the street, you have to wait to let the other person pass before you can get by.
“I don’t use a wheelchair, but I’ve seen people in them having to go on the road as they can’t get by on the pavement because of how far forward the cars park, and prams have the same problem.
“There used to be a white line in place as to how far forward cars could park, and the police gave drivers a ticket if they went over the line, but that doesn’t happen anymore.
“I don’t know how they will solve the problem really – if they put fencing or bollards up, they’d only just get knocked down.”
Olga Cannan, 81, has been a resident for more than 30 years, and is very frustrated by the way cars block the pavement on the street, as well as the increasing build-up of traffic on the road.
When we spoke to her she had just been to the shops and, as a pedestrian, she was finding it a struggle to get past some parked cars due to the lack of space.
“My husband uses a scooter to get around and often it’s a real struggle for him to get past some of the cars on the pavement – it’s just ridiculous,” said Mrs Cannan.
“I mean, in fairness, it is difficult to park down here without backing on to the road, but drivers are very inconsiderate when they come so far on to the pavement.
“We often see delivery drivers blocking the road and the pavement and my husband once asked one of them to move because he just couldn’t get by on his scooter without going on to the road, which would have been too dangerous.
“Perhaps they should paint a yellow line over where the white one was to stop cars coming too far forward.
“The road is always busy around teatime with lots of queues as well, and there are often stand-offs between cars who are trying to get down the road and past one another, and they really do come whizzing by.”
David Norton, 79, has lived in the street for more than 40 years and says the parking problem needs to be tackled.
His partner is in a wheelchair, and he is frustrated at her being forced on to the road due to the way cars have parked.
“The issue is that cars are now getting bigger and bigger every year, so they are taking up a lot more room when they park,” said Mr Norton.
“Some cars have almost parked up to the post near my house, and I’ve had pedestrians walking in my doorway before because cars have blocked the path.
“It’s not the people that live down here that cause the problem I don’t think, it’s more people that use the street when they
“The only way I can get out and about is in my chair, but several times I’ve become stuck between my wall and a parked car Audrey Barker
come shopping in Newland Avenue, or work in Newland.
“I feel very frustrated, but it doesn’t seem like anything is going to be done about it.”
“All it wants is a bit of common sense really, but that’s something that a lot of people don’t have, and a lot of them can be very thoughtless.”
One woman who lives in Goddard
Avenue, but who does not want to be named, says that residents should be given permits to solve issues she has with finding a parking space, which she also says would stop the pavement being blocked.
“I’ve often left some not-so-nice notes on people’s cars because they have blocked the pavement, as it’s really not fair on wheelchair users or pushchairs.
“I’ve been saying for years that residents should get permits, and there should also be the odd couple of spots for visitors, because it’s not people that live here that park badly.
“Shoppers down Newland and people that work there often park down this street, and they’re the ones that cause the problems, so that’s why a permit would work.”
Hull City Council is aware of the issue that residents are facing in Goddard Avenue, and is currently exploring different options to improve the situation.
Councillor Mike Ross, of the Beverley and Newland ward, says there are plans to increase the amount of parking capacity down the street.
He said: “I’ve had a number of reports over the past few months from residents in Goddard about issues with how cars are parking, especially near the post office and Lloyd’s Bank and I’ve gone on to raise this with traffic parking enforcement.
“There is some support for removing an underused street crossing area, which would help increase parking capacity down the street.
“In my family we have two young kids in pushchairs and we can find it an inconvenience to go on the road to get around the cars, so I do know that it’s a problem.
“People need to be mindful of other users of the road when they are parking, including pedestrians.
“Hopefully, we should have an update on the issue soon.”
I’ve often left some not-so-nice notes on people’s cars because they have blocked the pavement Goddard Avenue resident