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McArthur Ave, St Heliers - Broken yellow lines McArthur Ave, St Heliers - Broken yellow lines

Consultation status:  closed 13 June 2018

Proposal reference: BYL-276

We are proposing new broken yellow lines restrictions on McArthur Avenue in St Heliers. This proposal involves the removal of approximately 3 car parks.

View the consultation drawing for McArthur Avenue (PDF 306KB) 

Why the changes are needed

These changes are needed to ensure parked cars do not block emergency vehicles on this narrow road, and to provide better traffic flow.

Proposal outcome

This project will procced with changes to the next stage of detailed planning. These changes include additional broken yellow lines on the north side of McArthur Avenue. A summary of the community feedback we received and answers to questions and concerns is below along with the updated drawing.

View the updated consultation drawing for McArthur Avenue (PDF 324KB) 

Feedback received

  • Request that the broken yellow lines extend to the intersection with Vale Road. Extending the broken yellow lines to the intersection is not considered necessary, as parked cars are concentrated near the existing broken yellow lines, which often results in blocked access for residents on the western half of McArthur Avenue.
  • Suggestion for the broken yellow lines to be implemented for the length of the road, on both sides. The existing broken yellow lines were installed to improve visibility when traveling towards the crest, because parked cars were blocking visibility of oncoming traffic, as well as obstructing access through the narrow section of McArthur Avenue. We do not recommend extending the broken yellow lines for the entire length of the road as it is not necessary.
  • Suggestion for the broken yellow lines to be extended down the entire length of one side of the street. The broken yellow lines are not necessary along one side of the entire length of McArthur Avenue as the narrow section of the road has existing broken yellow lines, and the western side of McArthur Avenue is not considered narrow.
  • There is some concern over the removal of parking, as it is believed that there is enough space for residents to manoeuvre. We received numerous complaints about blocked access for residents. We initially sent out a letter respectfully requesting that resident’s park correctly to enable access through the street. However, following this, drivers were still observed parking incorrectly. The extension of the broken yellow lines are therefore necessary to enable access through a narrow section of McArthur Avenue.
  • There is concern that these changes will result in people parking on the nature reserve and grass verges. The proposal should discourage this parking behaviour as drivers usually park on grass verges to enable access through a narrow street. However, we do recommend reporting these infringements to our parking enforcement call centre, which operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 09 355 3553.
  • The parking removal will have a negative effect on residents and property owners, and therefore suggest dedicated off-street parking for the residences affected. The street is a public asset available for the use of all road user, and is not there for the exclusive use of the adjacent property owners; therefore, the provision of dedicated off-street parking is not appropriate in this instance.
  • Turn the grass verges into parking bays to compensate for the loss of parking. The installation of parking bays requires full reconstruction of the berm area and footpath, including relocating the power lines and other utilities to meet the minimum road standards. As we have limited funding and the cost of such works are very high, we normally do not install this type of facility. Therefore, there is no proposal to install additional parking bays.
  • The proposed broken yellow lines will only move the issue further down the street. Therefore suggest widening the road, create parking at the end of the street, or adding gobi bricks on the grass verges to allow for off-road parking.. The widening of a road is usually undertaken to increase the efficiency of traffic movements through a street. This is important for arterial roads that have the main function of moving people and goods efficiently, however is less important for other road classifications unless there is a significant safety reason to do so. McArthur Ave is classified as a local road carrying approximately 400 vehicles per day and is a cul-de-sac, therefore widening of this street would not be justified from an efficiency or a safety perspective.
  • Disagree with the proposed location of the broken yellow lines as, due to the volume of housing on that side of the street, the spaces are needed for residents, and therefore suggest the broken yellow lines are moved to the opposite side of the road as the houses are fewer and spaces are in less demand. The proposal has been amended to maximise the number of parking spaces retained. The existing broken yellow lines on the northern side of McArthur Avenue have been extended by one space.
  • Suggestion for the broken yellow lines restrictions to only apply to the north western side of McArthur Avenue, in order to maintain some consistency. The broken yellow line proposal has been amended so that one space has been removed from the northern side of McArthur Avenue.

Next steps

This work will happen in between August 2018 and June 2019, but we will let you know if there are further changes or delays.

Our contractors will send notices to affected residents 48-hours prior to construction starting.