New yellow lines have been painted in Formby

Yellow lines have now been painted in streets around Formby that are nearby the two beach sites - Lifeboat Road and Victoria Road.

The summer months can bring traffic chaos for residents who live near to the National Trust and Lifeboat Road beaches as thousands of visitors descend in our Bubble from across the North West With limited parking spaces at the two beach sites, the nearby streets get extremely busy, with sometimes dangerous obstructions taking place which make it impossible for emergency vehicles to pass. Harington Ward Labour Councillor Nina Killen backs the implementation of parking restrictions in the area but says the restrictions should balance the needs of residents, visitors and the emergency services. At the time, Councillor Nina Killen backed the scheme to ask residents what they wanted and that has now been listened to and implemented. Cllr Killen said: "The parking can get very bad on hot days, to the point where residents cannot leave their homes due to cars blocking streets and driveways. Residents have reported inconsiderate visitors parking over their driveways and in certain instances even hurling abuse when they've been approached. You cannot get prams down the street due to cars parked on the pavements. This is clearly unacceptable. The emergency services have also experienced difficulties during the sunnier days as the roads become completely congested. We need to find a solution for the sake of the residents and visitors and for the wider safety of the community. We implemented parking restrictions on roads near to the National Trust site last year, but this has caused displacement of the problem onto other roads, particularly the streets near to Lifeboat Road. It has also caused problems for residents of the restricted streets because they themselves and their visitors find they cannot park outside their own homes during the summer months." Sefton Council wrote to hundreds of residents to ask exactly what problems they have faced and what solution they would like to see. They have obviously used that information to make a decision about what restrictions are necessary.

Nina Killen and Tom Donnelly

Cllr Killen went on to say: "What I don't want to see is blanket restrictions which restrict all parking because that can make things difficult for residents who live on the streets and can simply displace the problem parking onto other roads. We have to find a balance between stopping the dangerous obstructive parking and maintaining some on-street parking, because there just simply are not enough car park spaces at the National Trust and Lifeboat Road sites." Double yellow lines have now been installed around many of the junctions in the area, which will improve access. Cllr Killen said: "While I support the introduction of yellow lines at the junctions around Lifeboat Road, I want to see all residents living in side-streets in that area have their say on what they want for their roads.

Near to the National Trust site, where there are restrictions all weekend and bank holidays from April to October, some residents are finding this has created more problems than it has solved, with some finding it impossible to have family and friends over to visit. I don't want to see that happen on other roads. I would favour the introduction of one yellow line down one side of each road which would leave some parking available for residents and visitors, but would stop the dangerous double parking. That seems to me to be the most sensible compromise solution."

The double yellow lines are now painted on junctions of roads including:

Beechwood Drive, Bushbys Park, Trap Hill, St. Lukes Drive, Lime Tree Way, Greenloons Drive, Kirklake Bank.

Single yellow lines are painted down one side of each road including:

Kirklake Bank, Greenloons Drive, St Lukes Church Road, Lime Tree Way, Beechwood Drive, Trap Hill.