1. Over 50 Orange Bags with recyclable waste were left on the ground overnight since yesterday mornings pickup. Evidently, there were more Orange Bags than room in the recycle Blue Bins. It started raining yesterday afternoon and rained steadily for hours. After stopping during the night, it was raining steadily this morning during the recycle Blue Bin pickup.

• This operation took over ten minutes to complete due to the necessity for putting the Orange Bags on the ground into recycle Blue Bins after they had been emptied once.

• There was an auto parked in the middle of the solid yellow line at the drop kerb preventing the truck from being backed onto the Estate in front of recycle Blue Bins for easy, safe and quick pickup.

• Recycle Blue Bins had to be wheeled between parked cars into the street for emptying into the back of the truck followed by a struggle to pull them back over the kerb.

• A vehicle had to wait until the operation was completed. Fortunately, it arrived near the end of this long period of time.

• Another vehicle departed from the other side of the road during the operation. Fortunately, it was not blocked by the truck stopped in the middle of the road.

This noisy operation was carried out too early on a Sunday morning. The illegally parked vehicle worked a hardship on those carrying out this work making it more difficult and taking considerable longer than usual. Vehicles were either blocked or could have been blocked from road usage. Leaving this rubbish in such a large quantity overnight attracts vermin and provides an unfortunate example of official fly tipping of which there is a problem in this area. It contributes to the over junk yard atmosphere of the environment and degrades it for the inhabitants contributing to antisocial behaviour.

If such operations are to be carried out on a Sunday morning, equal parking enforcement should be provided to ensure that vehicle traffic flows freely since the solid yellow line for access to the Estate area of the recycle Blue Bins was blocked preventing the truck from being pulled onto the Estate. This created more and difficult work for those involved, impeded traffic flow and, in the case of emergency vehicles, would have resulted in their delay which could have serious consequences.

	After emptying a recycle Blue Bin, it is filled with Orange Bags and bits left on the ground overnight. Second person removing a recycle Blue Bin from row with hood pulled up over his head to protect against the falling rain.
	First emptied recycle Blue Bin filled with 31 Orange Bags that were left on the ground overnight.
	He's now starting to fill the second recycle Blue Bin with the remaining Orange Bags and bits left on the ground. There were some 20 that went into this one for a total of over 50 Orange Bags and bits left on the ground overnight.
	Each time an emptied recycle Blue Bin is brought back from the truck in the road there is a struggle to get it up over the kerb between the parked cars.
	This vehicle is parked squarely in the middle of the solid yellow line blocking access to the recycle Blue Bin area at the point of the drop kerb.
	This vehicle is stuck behind the truck until the recycle Blue Bin emptying operation is completed. It did not arrive until the end, so it did not have to remain long for this operation which went over ten minutes due to the extra Orange Bags on the ground.
	A couple hours later the vehicle parked on the solid yellow line is gone. There is some debris left most likely because it was unsuitable for recycling. It can be seen mostly obscured by the leaves on the branch slightly to the left of centre. Since this is a couple hours after pickup, it could have been dumped here afterwards.

2. A month after I sent the Email below on 22nd April 2007, received a telephone reply on 22nd May 2007, with a message left on my answering machine. Although the Email was addressed to "Parking," the telephone reply came from "Waste Management." He was perplexed as to why they had gotten this Email and noted that it should have been directed to the "Parking" people adding that it came to them by mistake. The Email was sent to "Parking" which is clearly noted in its address below. Somebody was fobbing this off on another department perhaps to avoid doing work.

He took the trouble to come out here and look at the situation anyway which was not a good use of his time under the circumstances, and I'm sorry to have seen this happen. I was hoping that the photographs would prevent any unnecessary trips. It's unfortunate that this came to them, but it did, and he took the time and trouble to address the problem. He says that "we don't have much of a problem in collecting refuse there." I have a bit to say about that (see my web journal entry for 14th April 2007 and most especially the one on the following day 15th April 2007, but this was not the explicit subject of the Email. At any rate he said that he would forward it to the proper people to see what might be done such as a double yellow instead of single yellow.

That's all well and good, but this has to be coordinated between these departments so that if this extra trouble is undertaken whatever it might be, it will lead to usage by those picking up the recycle Blue Bins. It seems to me that just enforcing the existing singe yellow line is all that is required. Since he did not leave his telephone message, and no return call was necessary, I'll leave this as is for now and see what happens. Perhaps as this continues maybe someone will see this situation published here, not have to leave his/her desk and deal with it in an effective manner if it is a problem that can solved.

---------- Forwarded Message ----------

Subject: Question concerning single yellow line parking on Sunday mornings blocking recycle Blue Bin truck access
Date: Sunday 22 April 2007 14:09
From: Gary D Chance
To: parking@rbkc.gov.uk

Dear Sir or Madam

This is a question which came up today as you will see at:

http://garydchance.bravejournal.com/archive/04/22/2007

including photographs and a description of the problem.

On Sunday mornings a recycle Blue Bin pickup vehicle blocks Whitchurch Road on the edge of the Lancaster West Estate off Bramley Road.

This presents a danger by impeding emergency response vehicles on a narrow road where there is not an easy and quickly taken alternative route.

There is the facility for vehicles to pull up onto the Estate in front of the recycle Blue Bins from a dropped kerb area with a single yellow line in front of it and four bollards preventing other than official access.

My reading of your information at your web site tells me that there can never be any parking on single yellow lines at any time of the day or night and on any day of the week including bank and public holidays.

1. Parking occurs here because this is not enforced on Sunday mornings when there is a need for such access due to Council recycle Blue Bin emptying.

2. If parking here was stopped due to enforcement, would those picking up these recycle Blue Bins actually use this access to the Estate as they have done in the past by backing the vehicle onto it in front of the recycle Blue Bins if they were given the means to lower/let down the bollards?

As can be seen in the photographs, a police car on a non-emergency patrol had to wait for a portion of this six minute long collection to end before it could proceed this morning.

Can this problem be solved here by the means I describe above?

Thanks for your help.

Yours sincerely

Gary D Chance

*****End of the Email*****

3. Also this morning the inline skate jumping take off board was still on top of the security "cage" below my kitchen window on this rainy Sunday morning. The big storm has yet to arrive although there was an advance one which arrived yesterday afternoon. The overall problem remains that these antisocial issues feed each other when these items are left about like this board and the 50+ Orange Bags are left on the ground by the recycle Blue Bins. These tend to create the "junk yard" effect which leads to more antisocial behaviour. I hope that there will not be high winds with this storm coming in tonight.