Query Regarding Dropped Kerb Criteria
Discussion
Good Morning All,
I have submitted a query to my local council in regards to this, but have to wait up to 10 days for a response, so wondered if anyone on here has done this before and would know the answer.
One of the criteria in the self-assessment is as follows:
"The proposed dropped kerb is 10 metres away from a junction"
Does this refer to junctions that are on the same side of the road as the proposed dropped kerb or just in general? I live on a main road which is directly opposite a junction into a side road which could be potentially just under 10 metres.
All the diagrams I found online in relation to this show the junction on the same side, but I'd rather not throw away the £395 inspection fee if it's going to be a no.
All the other criteria in the list I believe would be fine, it's just this one I am un-sure on...
Thanks!
I have submitted a query to my local council in regards to this, but have to wait up to 10 days for a response, so wondered if anyone on here has done this before and would know the answer.
One of the criteria in the self-assessment is as follows:
"The proposed dropped kerb is 10 metres away from a junction"
Does this refer to junctions that are on the same side of the road as the proposed dropped kerb or just in general? I live on a main road which is directly opposite a junction into a side road which could be potentially just under 10 metres.
All the diagrams I found online in relation to this show the junction on the same side, but I'd rather not throw away the £395 inspection fee if it's going to be a no.
All the other criteria in the list I believe would be fine, it's just this one I am un-sure on...
Thanks!
I am currently working through the Planning and Highways processes in an attempt to get a dropped kerb.
I don't know for sure, but I'd expect a junction on the opposite side wouldn't present an issue. I think this all relates to visibility, which would only be an issue on your side of the road.
I don't know for sure, but I'd expect a junction on the opposite side wouldn't present an issue. I think this all relates to visibility, which would only be an issue on your side of the road.
Drumroll said:
Sebring440 said:
Show us the pics then.
https://news.merton.gov.uk/2019/01/21/council-installs-bollards-outside-homes-to-stop-illegal-crossover-parking/And I know of a couple of other councils who have done the same.
But then I wonder if the council are partly to blame for charging a couple of thousand, and then I realise that if I was renting I wouldn't be in a rush to spend that money on something I couldn't take with me either.
Boils my piss when I see someone use a pedestrian crossing as a free dropped kerb though (saw that when I was waiting to cross. They got upset that I didn't immediately think"oh, they're clearly going to drive across the pedestrian bit to a s
t patch of gravel, I must leap aside")I’d expect planning to refer to highways for their view irrespective on what side of the road as planners like to defer
Highways may judge it ok if the junction is opposite whereas not ok if the same side. Every circumstance is different, if the traffic is light by you then it’s more likely to be fine than if this is a busy road, same with visibility, width of road, the need to reverse off the road/likelihood people will reverse into the road etc. Our local planning/highways have a big thing about visibility splays at the moment, if you’ve good visibility in all directions before rejoining the carriageway then that’s a plus point, otherwise a dropped curb can be refused irrespective of nearby junctions on some roads. Try and look at the layout with a glass half empty and dispassionate mindset and ask yourself would it be safe? Any “it’s ok if you’re careful” type thoughts entering your head are red flags, and that’s both for traffic coming from every direction as well as traffic using the dropped curb to enter and exit. A neighbour thought she could mitigate a splay issue by sticking up a mirror which meant she could see before exiting, but mirrors aren’t suitable in general because traffic on the road cant be expected to use a roadside mirror to see if anybody is about to exit when the splay is bad, it wasn’t good enough to argue she’d not pull out on someone who couldn’t see her, I hope this last bit makes sense.
Highways may judge it ok if the junction is opposite whereas not ok if the same side. Every circumstance is different, if the traffic is light by you then it’s more likely to be fine than if this is a busy road, same with visibility, width of road, the need to reverse off the road/likelihood people will reverse into the road etc. Our local planning/highways have a big thing about visibility splays at the moment, if you’ve good visibility in all directions before rejoining the carriageway then that’s a plus point, otherwise a dropped curb can be refused irrespective of nearby junctions on some roads. Try and look at the layout with a glass half empty and dispassionate mindset and ask yourself would it be safe? Any “it’s ok if you’re careful” type thoughts entering your head are red flags, and that’s both for traffic coming from every direction as well as traffic using the dropped curb to enter and exit. A neighbour thought she could mitigate a splay issue by sticking up a mirror which meant she could see before exiting, but mirrors aren’t suitable in general because traffic on the road cant be expected to use a roadside mirror to see if anybody is about to exit when the splay is bad, it wasn’t good enough to argue she’d not pull out on someone who couldn’t see her, I hope this last bit makes sense.
I think I got away with one recently when I installed a dropped kerb in front of my house to access my gravelled drive/parking area. A couple of years later the council installed a zebra crossing so close to my house that my dropped kerb now exits across the zig zag lines. I don’t think I would have got away with it if the sequence of events had been the other way round.
Gone fishing said:
Any “it’s ok if you’re careful” type thoughts entering your head are red flags, and that’s both for traffic coming from every direction as well as traffic using the dropped curb to enter and exit. A neighbour thought she could mitigate a splay issue by sticking up a mirror which meant she could see before exiting, but mirrors aren’t suitable in general because traffic on the road cant be expected to use a roadside mirror to see if anybody is about to exit when the splay is bad, it wasn’t good enough to argue she’d not pull out on someone who couldn’t see her, I hope this last bit makes sense.
What annoys me about this is that they will tell someone they can't have a dropped kerb because of a lack of a splay, but do nothing about people actively blocking sightlines by inconsiderate parking. So then when someone isn't allowed a driveway, where do their vehicles go? Onto the street, blocking someone else's view. The cycle continues.
Drumroll said:
Sebring440 said:
Show us the pics then.
https://news.merton.gov.uk/2019/01/21/council-installs-bollards-outside-homes-to-stop-illegal-crossover-parking/And I know of a couple of other councils who have done the same.
Amazon should be able to deliver a new keyboard the next day though?
donkmeister said:
As someone who went through the correct channels and paid the money for a legal dropped kerb years back, I do feel a tinge of annoyance when I see someone has done the DIY ramp approach.
But then I wonder if the council are partly to blame for charging a couple of thousand, and then I realise that if I was renting I wouldn't be in a rush to spend that money on something I couldn't take with me either.
Boils my piss when I see someone use a pedestrian crossing as a free dropped kerb though (saw that when I was waiting to cross. They got upset that I didn't immediately think"oh, they're clearly going to drive across the pedestrian bit to a st patch of gravel, I must leap aside")
Where my wife’s sister lives, pretty much every house on the corner plots uses the pedestrian dropped kerb to access a ‘not a real driveway’. One household started it and everyone else followed when they realised the council were never going to do anything.But then I wonder if the council are partly to blame for charging a couple of thousand, and then I realise that if I was renting I wouldn't be in a rush to spend that money on something I couldn't take with me either.
Boils my piss when I see someone use a pedestrian crossing as a free dropped kerb though (saw that when I was waiting to cross. They got upset that I didn't immediately think"oh, they're clearly going to drive across the pedestrian bit to a s
t patch of gravel, I must leap aside")Tommo87 said:
Where my wife’s sister lives, pretty much every house on the corner plots uses the pedestrian dropped kerb to access a ‘not a real driveway’. One household started it and everyone else followed when they realised the council were never going to do anything.
This is basically the same boat I’m in on my road. I’ve only lived here a year, but every house has a, “front drive” which technically gets accessed illegally. I’d happily apply for and pay for a dropped kerb for the ease of access, but am aware that if they say no because of the junction opposite, then I’ve effectively grassed up the whole road and brought it to the council’s attention! The only other available parking would be a few permit spots and the bottom end. Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff