Post by Dave on Mar 16, 2010 17:25:22 GMT
Your roving TFF reporter brings you the saga that is on everyone’s lips in Bideford and no it does not have anything to do with Torquay United playing there to night. Will they be white or will they be black? This is the question I have been asking myself every Tuesday and Friday for the last three weeks.
There is another question I ask and that is how long it will go on and when will it end? I think I know who will be the winner in the end Torrington District Council for sure but it might take some time and it might cost them plenty of wasted money.
Halfway up an hill and hidden by the buildings that run along the quay close to the old Bideford Bridge is the old market building that I expect due to its name was once the home of all the town butchers as its called butchers row (bloody smart us Devon boys hey) but these days all the units inside are taking by a mix of traders.
In the first picture you will see the entrance to the market and just above the entrance there are four one hour parking places all marked out. The wardens are very hot around the market and many of the traders have had parking tickets, one last week because he parked in the top bay and his sprinter vans back wheels were 6 inches over the line as it was longer than the parking bay.
The second picture just shows what it is like inside the market.
There is a large hall next to the market and it is all part of the same building and it’s the road that runs along the top side of the whole building that is having all the fun, only Torrington District Council are not laughing mind you.
The road around the whole building is one way only and when you approach it from the top of the hill you have to turn left and this road is the one that runs alongside the top of the market. It’s always a bit tight to get through in the van as cars are parked on the left hand side (this is all private parking for the home owners) and there are six cars parked on the right hand side next to the market buildings top wall.
It is where the six cars park on the right that is causing all the fun and games and there has been a sign of the wall for many years stating the parking there was only for one hour. Only it has never been enforceable because it did not have any white lines painted on the road.
No one could tell me just how long this had been the situation but it seems people have always parked there as long as they have wanted nearly as long as there have been cars on the road.
Then out of the blue Torrington District Council painted lines on the road three weeks ago and wardens starting sticking tickets on cars and as you might guess this sure upset many people as many who park there do live across the road.
They only lasted two days before they had been painted out by the mystery Phantom White Line Painter outer overnight. When the wardens arrived the next day they were not able to issue any tickets as the while lines were no longer there. So a few days later Torrington District Council painted them back in again and once again they were painted over a few days later. Last Tuesday when I was there they had been painted over and the wardens just walked past the parked cars. On Friday last week they were while again and tickets were being issued.
Today they were painted over again and who knows what will greet me this Friday. I expect the Council will in the end put up some camera to try and catch the Phantom White Line Painter Outer but will that then be the end of it? While I was told who the Phantom White Line Painter Outer might be, I was also told there are others who will take his place.
I have never known a saga like this one before and it will be interesting to see what happens next.
Pictures two and three show the parked cars there today with the white lines painted out.
There is another question I ask and that is how long it will go on and when will it end? I think I know who will be the winner in the end Torrington District Council for sure but it might take some time and it might cost them plenty of wasted money.
Halfway up an hill and hidden by the buildings that run along the quay close to the old Bideford Bridge is the old market building that I expect due to its name was once the home of all the town butchers as its called butchers row (bloody smart us Devon boys hey) but these days all the units inside are taking by a mix of traders.
In the first picture you will see the entrance to the market and just above the entrance there are four one hour parking places all marked out. The wardens are very hot around the market and many of the traders have had parking tickets, one last week because he parked in the top bay and his sprinter vans back wheels were 6 inches over the line as it was longer than the parking bay.
The second picture just shows what it is like inside the market.
There is a large hall next to the market and it is all part of the same building and it’s the road that runs along the top side of the whole building that is having all the fun, only Torrington District Council are not laughing mind you.
The road around the whole building is one way only and when you approach it from the top of the hill you have to turn left and this road is the one that runs alongside the top of the market. It’s always a bit tight to get through in the van as cars are parked on the left hand side (this is all private parking for the home owners) and there are six cars parked on the right hand side next to the market buildings top wall.
It is where the six cars park on the right that is causing all the fun and games and there has been a sign of the wall for many years stating the parking there was only for one hour. Only it has never been enforceable because it did not have any white lines painted on the road.
No one could tell me just how long this had been the situation but it seems people have always parked there as long as they have wanted nearly as long as there have been cars on the road.
Then out of the blue Torrington District Council painted lines on the road three weeks ago and wardens starting sticking tickets on cars and as you might guess this sure upset many people as many who park there do live across the road.
They only lasted two days before they had been painted out by the mystery Phantom White Line Painter outer overnight. When the wardens arrived the next day they were not able to issue any tickets as the while lines were no longer there. So a few days later Torrington District Council painted them back in again and once again they were painted over a few days later. Last Tuesday when I was there they had been painted over and the wardens just walked past the parked cars. On Friday last week they were while again and tickets were being issued.
Today they were painted over again and who knows what will greet me this Friday. I expect the Council will in the end put up some camera to try and catch the Phantom White Line Painter Outer but will that then be the end of it? While I was told who the Phantom White Line Painter Outer might be, I was also told there are others who will take his place.
I have never known a saga like this one before and it will be interesting to see what happens next.
Pictures two and three show the parked cars there today with the white lines painted out.