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Neighbours angry at parking ban to speed up buses

Victoria WaltonOxfordshire political reporter
News imageBBC Two people are standing the right of the picture. A man and a woman. To their left is a green bus.BBC
Residents say bus companies are being given priority over their need to park their cars

Neighbours are fighting changes that will see them unable to park outside their own homes for a large part of the day.

From next week, the residents in Radley Road, Abingdon, will not be able to park between 08:00-18:00, Monday to Saturday, under plans to remove a bottleneck on the street and speed up bus journeys.

Oxfordshire County Council said the decision followed a full public consultation and the proposals would also improve cycling in the area.

The Oxford Bus Company, which runs the number 35 route between Oxford and Abingdon along Radley Road, said it did not ask for the change but was supportive of the move.

News imageA man is standing in front of his door. It is painted yellow. There is brickwork to the left and right.
James Broome said older residents would become more isolated

James Broome said it feels like residents' lives are being unfairly affected.

"We have families with young children, we have elderly residents, we have lots of people who need their cars for work and the council is essentially saying our parking needs don't mater because they want to prioritise shaving a couple of seconds off bus journey times," he said.

The decision follows a deal between the bus companies and the local authority to bring 159 electric buses to Oxfordshire.

The bus companies agreed to invest in the low carbon fleet if the council delivered policies to speed up buses by 10% by the end of last year.

The county council missed that target, but has committed to continuing with the initiative.

News imageA woman in a blue coat is standing in front of her house. The door is black and there is brickwork to the left.
Angharad Saunders says she will struggle to find a place to park once the restrictions come into place

Angharad Saunders lives two doors down from James and says neighbours will now need to park on streets much further up the road, where it is narrower and may lead to more problems.

"We have very few parking alternatives. The houses are Edwardian and many don't have off-street parking so we are going to struggle," she said.

The neighbours have grouped together to complain, saying the data the council collected was inaccurate and suggesting alternative ideas like permit parking for residents.

A council spokesperson said it was "aware of further complaints about the decision" and "officers are currently in the process of investigating before responding directly".

But plans to paint the single yellow lines next week are still set to go ahead.