Council spends £265k repainting road markings - but they're too small

A council has spent £265,000 on a re-surfacing scheme in a town centre only for workers to paint road markings too small for cars to park in.

Bungling work men painted the parallel parking spaces 5ft 7ins (1.7m) as part of the scheme.

However, bosses at East Riding of Yorkshire Council had requested for the width of 6ft 7ins (2m) for on-street parallel parking.

According to the British Parking Association, there's a minimum width of 5ft 11ins (1.8m) for on-street parallel parking.

The blunder has resulted in motorists having to park on the kerb to make sure their vehicles were within the spaces.

The town's mayor Mayor Anthony Raspin called for the freshly marked parking spaces to be resized after locals complained about the size of the spaces.

Workmen will now have to burn off the markings and repaint them, forcing another road closure on Wednesday.

Andie Appleyard, who works in Pasture Road, said: 'I think it just sums Goole up and everything they do at the moment. They never do it correctly, it's all a bit of a rush job.

Popular cars which wouldn't fit in these parking bays  

Volkswagen Golf – Width: 1.79 metres (5.87 feet, may vary depending on model)

Ford Focus – Width: 1.83 metres (6.0 feet) 

Toyota Auris – Width: 1.77 metres (5.81 feet)

Hyundai i30 – Width: 1.79 metres (5.88 feet)

Saloon cars 

BMW 3 Series – Width: 1.83 metres (6.0 feet)

Mercedes-Benz C-Class – Width: 1.81 metres (5.94 feet)

Volkswagen Passat – Width: 1.83 metres (6.0 feet) 

Ford Mondeo – Width: 1.85 metres (6.07 feet) 

4x4

BMW X5 – Width: 1.93 metres (6.33 feet)

Audi Q5 – Width: 1.89 metres (6.2 feet)

Volkswagen Tiguan – Width: 1.84 metres (6.04 feet) 

Volvo XC60 – Width: 1.91 metres (6.27 feet) 

Range Rover Sport – Width: 1.98 metres (6.5 feet) 

Minivans

Ford Galaxy – Width: 1.88 metres (6.17 feet) 

Volkswagen Sharan – Width: 1.90 metres (6.23 feet) 

Peugeot 5008 – Width: 1.84 metres

 'Someone complains about pot holes and they've solved that situation, but then they've made another job for themselves.

'And we're just ploughing money into ridiculous jobs when there's a lot of other things it could be going towards.'

The road was resurfaced on November 1 as part of a trial for environmentally friendly methods for repairing roads in the county, championed by council chiefs.

It was one of two schemes in the costing around £265,000 using a product developed by Tarmac that incorporates granulated rubber from recycled tyres.

But after the road was relayed, the parallel parking spaces in the street were painted just 5ft 7ins (1.7m) wide, smaller than the average car width of 5ft 11ins (1.8m).

Andie added that it was off-putting for motorists who were confused by parked cars poking out of the bays and fearing their road space was reduced.

Town Mayor Anthony Raspin went down and measured the spaces himself and told locals on social media: 'Pasture Road has just had its makeover and looks great.

'But I have been down with my tape measure and the bays area are 1.72m, which is less than the guidelines. The average car is wider than that.

'The local traffic wardens are aware and said as long as people park sensibly and as close in the bays as possible, they should not get a ticket.

'It is unfair to the shops down Pasture Road losing customers because people don't want to park there.

'It is also unfair for people to get a ticket if the spaces are smaller than the average car.

'It will have to be rectified, the council are aware of it and we are on with getting it changed.'

An East Riding of Yorkshire Council spokesman said: 'We investigated the size of parking spaces at this location and they fall slightly short of that guide width.

'We will therefore carry out work to change the widths of these spaces to 2m and are due to do this on Wednesday 27 November under a road closure.

'Thank you to residents for bearing with us while we rectify this situation. Drivers can park as normal and no parking fines will be issued in the meantime.'