Parking Is Wheelie Out of Hand on a Birmingham Street

Parking Is Wheelie Out of Hand on a Birmingham Street

Residents on a Birmingham street are so pushed for parking spaces that they are using wheelie bins as cones to make sure they can park close to their homes.

Some residents of Ivor Road in the Sparkhill area of the city, admit that it’s a ‘bit naughty,’ but said they have no choice if they want to park anywhere near their homes. The problem appears to be caused by households who have two or three cars, and nowhere to park them.

One resident said she put her wheelie bin out in the street because people kept parking outside her home, even though there is a dropped kerb. She said putting her bin out has worked and people are put off parking there.

In another nearby street, a builder had to block the roadside with sandbags, just so there was access for deliveries to his business. The builder said he pleaded with the council to introduce double yellow lines, but his request was denied. He claims he has lost huge contracts as suppliers couldn’t get their trucks in and out because of parked cars.

A disabled resident of Ivor Road said that he even had to put a wheelie bin on his clearly marked disabled parking space because drivers were parking in it.

Residents in surrounding streets say the sight of wheelie bins reserving residents’ parking spaces is quite common and say that it’s largely due to a lack of off-road parking, terraced homes, or because the street is close to a busy main road with shops.

One driver said that people put out wheelie bins to block spaces on his mother’s street, but he said he simply moves them or asks a family member to move them so he can park. He does agree that the parking situation is out of hand, however, with vehicles, often large vans, regularly being double parked, which blocks access, especially for emergency service vehicles.

A spokesman for Birmingham City Council said that there is no legal right for residents to park directly outside of their property, and they don’t have the right to reserve spaces by causing an obstruction and stopping other people from parking there legally either.