Residents see red over yellow lines in Wolverhampton street

Householders in Greenly Road and Malins Road, Parkfields, Wolverhampton, were so angry that they stopped council workmen from painting the lines midway through the job.

They blame inconsiderate parents who park in the roads to drop their children off at St Theresa’s Catholic Primary School for forcing Wolverhampton City Council to come up with the restriction.

But the residents say that they are being punished by not being able to provide parking for family and friends or for deliveries.

Michael Tolfree, 46, said he and his neighbours were strongly against the plan when it was first mooted in 2015 and sent a 60-name petition to the council asking that they drop the idea.

He said: “So when they started painting the lines, people were angry and they just went out and stopped it.

“We think there is a better alternative, by providing access to the school from Wolverhampton Road East by the Sikh School. The council says it has no jurisdiction over the land but we understand it is marked for council housing.”

“The current solution won’t reduce the problem because people will continue to park where they like, and even if they do observe the restriction, the problem will simply be moved to surrounding streets.”

He added that he and some other residents were worried about the effect on medical deliveries to elderly residents, including his own father.

Wolverhampton council spokesman Tim Clark said concerns were originally raised by St Theresa’s over the safety of their pupils due to ‘inappropriate’ parking in the vicinity of the school.

After a consultation, the council proposed the controversial parking restriction. Residents’ objections were taken into account but ultimately overruled on the grounds that the lines helped to improve the safety of pedestrians, he said.He added: “Residents have been informed that a traffic regulation order is now in place and our contractors will be returning to complete the work.”