Parts of of Armley and Farnley & Wortley wards are to be included in an experimental Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to remove “obstructive and indiscriminative” parking stopping waste collection crews from doing their jobs, writes Keely Bannister.
Leeds City Council’s decision making Executive Board will decide tomorrow (Tuesday 7th January) whether to progress the scheme, which would see formal waiting restrictions applied in locations where inconsiderate parking results in refuse collection wagons being unable to secure safe passage and fail to empty residents’ bins.
A council report states:
“There is a significant problem across the city whereby vehicle passage into and along streets is being restricted due to inconsiderate parking, whether that be along the street itself or on corners of the entrances to that street meaning larger vehicles cannot turn into the street.
“This is having a significant impact on the delivery of refuse services, evidenced by an increasing level of contact to the Council and Ward Members, as residents report missed, scheduled collections.
“Access issues are also impacting service resources, both in terms of the need for front line crews to return to locations to recover bins, and supervisory/back office resources to deal with enquiries/complaints.”
The report also explained what an experimental order involves:
“An experimental order is used where the need for traffic management measures has been identified but there is a need to test the proposals to determine whether the scheme provides the desired solution.
“In this instance the experimental order will allow the Council to address the identified problems at the multiple locations across the city as opposed to the police, whose finite resources wouldn’t be capable of dealing with the city wide problems.”
A mapping exercise was carried out in 2019 to locate where bin collections were being repeatedly missed due to access issues for refuse services with around 200 locations being identified across the city in 13 electoral wards.
The 13 wards suggested to be included are: Ardsley & Robin Hood, Armley, Beeston and Holbeck, Burmantofts and Richmond Hill, Chapel Allerton, Farnley & Wortley, Gipton & Harehills, Horsforth, Hunslet & Riverside, Middleton Park, Morley North, Morley South and Weetwood.
The 200 individual locations were then presented to local councillors ward-by-ward for their input and knowledge.
Lasting for 18 months, locations will be added/removed/amended from the order as it is put into practice.
The report states that consultation will be carried out with affected residents including leaflet drops and statutory notices.
It is envisaged that the scheme will be implemented by May 2020 for £25,000 or around £1,900 per ward based on the current list of 13 electoral wards to be included.
Missed rubbish collections have long been a source of concern in West Leeds.
Cllr Amanda Carter (Cons, Calverley & Farsley) voiced concerns over issues residents living in Calverley, Farsley and Rodley were experiencing last summer saying there was an “epidemic” of missed bin collections which was “unacceptable”.
Fellow councillor Peter Carlill (Lab, Calverley & Farsley) said that the missed collections were due to staff shortages.
Calverley & Farsley councillor Andrew Carter sits on the Executive Board as a representative for the Conservative Party.
You can read the full report here.
Hurrah! It’s about time that drivers were made to think about how they park.