Parked cars ‘stop me getting on bus’

A pensioner and wheelchair user in a Herefordshire village says inconsiderate drivers are preventing him using its bus stop, and the council won’t step in to help.

Thomas Gundy, 81, of Ewyas Harold near the Welsh border, said: “I have asked Herefordshire Council to come and have a look, but they don’t seem interested.”

He said the spot, opposite the Temple Bar pub, needs to have a double yellow line to discourage parking, even though he claimed drivers “are not allowed to park at the bus stop anyway”.

When they do, “the bus drivers can’t pull up properly”, he said, adding the problem “has been going on for years” and he is not the only one in the village affected by it.

“Parents with pushchairs and prams also struggle to get on,” he maintained.

This means he can not always get into Hereford, a hour-and-a-half ride away, either for appointments, or “just for a day out”, Mr Gundy said, adding:

“My neighbour has also struggled to get to appointments at the county hospital.”

But he stressed he had no issue with the bus service itself, which is run by local operator Yeomans.

A spokesperson for Herefordshire Council said it is “committed to making our streets and highways safe and accessible for all users”.

“Residents who believe there is an issue with how a road is being used in their community – for example, parking restrictions or speed limits – can apply to the council for a traffic regulation order (TRO),” they pointed out.

The council’s website explains that such applications, which can be made via local ward or parish councillors, go onto a waiting list, updated every January and ranked by priority. Not all lead to a TRO, a process which can take a further nine months or more.

“If a vehicle is causing a dangerous or unnecessary obstruction in an area without parking restrictions, residents should contact the local police, who have the authority to enforce the law,” the council’s spokesperson added.