Residents on the Middlethorpe estate have rejected a suggestion that concrete bollards could be installed at some junctions in the hope of protecting verges from being overrun by heavy vehicles (such as at the junction of Whin Road and Middlethorpe Grove, pictured below).
In response to a request for feedback in the Spring 2018 edition of Focus, all but one respondent said that they did not favour bollards being installed. Reasons given included that they would be ugly and would be difficult to mow around.
One alternative suggestion put forward was for template letters to be drafted which residents could be put on the windscreens of vehicles parked inappropriately, asking them politely to park elsewhere.
This suggestion chimes with a recommendation coming out of the grass verge scrutiny review in 2016, which was that:
“The Communications Team produces a pro forma letter to further promote community and neighbourhood pride and advise that it costs council tax payers £35 per square metre to repair damaged verges, which can:
- Be made available to ward councillors for distribution to drivers and residents when a particular problem is identified or reported;
- Be circulated to residents online or by text message via the new My Account system;
- Form the basis of a poster to be displayed in local libraries, community centres, other public buildings and included in relevant council publications.”
