New parking safety crackdown for busy South Tyneside junction

Last year, a new Aldi store opened in Glen Street, Hebburn, and, in recent months, South Tyneside Council have received complaints about road safety at the junctions for the supermarket and the Glen Medical Centre.

This included vehicles parking too close to the junctions and parts of the street being blocked.

A council report says visibility was ‘severely compromised’ by the parking with several accidents reported last year.

Parking services officer, Trevor Mackie , told the Hebburn Community Forum that parking rules are to be put in place to tackle the issue.

This includes waiting and loading restrictions on junction areas on Glen Street by Aldi and both the Victoria and Glen Medical Centres.

Coun John McCabe asked why the traffic issues weren’t picked up when the sore application was originally given the go ahead.

He said: “Could we not have foreseen that there was going to be a traffic problem outside Aldi because of a four-way crossing with traffic lights.

“I was witness to one of the incidents which could have been a fatality. We need to have a wider vision going forward and need to be looking closely at how we’re going to monitor the traffic.”

Durham Court resident, Peter Tallack, also raised concerns about traffic jams in the area and disruption caused by deliveries.

He said traffic could create a “perfect storm” for ambulance and fire services.”

Mr Mackie said: “I think once the new lines go in, people will stop parking on the junctions and there will be an improvement.”

The changes follow a consultation with residents and businesses.

No objections were received and the scheme is expected to be rolled out in March.

While some residents called for permit parking in the consultation, this was declined by council due to the availability of parking in the area, the meeting heard.

However, if there is any impact on nearby residential properties from the new traffic order on Glen Street, council officers will look at this in future.

The works are expected to start on March 14 and when completed, restrictions will be enforced.

For more information, visit: www.southtyneside.gov.uk

Caption: ‘No Waiting no Loading’ parking restrictions are set to be introduced in Glen Street, Hebburn, after concerns were raised about lack of visbility at the junction between Aldi and two medical centres in the area.

Caption: Hebburn Central where the Hebburn Community Forum took place on January 14

Chris Binding , Local Democracy Reporting Service