Neighbours are left bemused by newly-painted tiny parking spaces… which aren’t even big enough for a ‘toddler’s bike’
- Pictures show new bays in Borough Green, Kent, can only fit half a car inside
- Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council admits there was ‘clearly a mistake’
- Have YOU spotted a parking or road sign failure? Email [email protected]
Neighbours have been left bemused by newly-painted tiny parking spaces which they say are not even big enough to for a ‘toddler’s bike’.
People living in Kent village Borough Green have branded the spaces as ‘hilarious’.
Pictures show vehicles of all sizes straddling the white lines with only half the vehicle parked inside. The faded much wider lines are still visible.
It’s thought the lines were repainted on Monday with a sign showing free parking is available for two hours.
Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council has since admitted the new lines were ‘clearly a mistake’ and said parking fines would be suspended until the issue was fixed.
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Pictures show vehicles of all sizes straddling the white lines in Borough Green, Kent, with only half the vehicle parked inside
Mary and Christopher Scott have lived on the road for around seven years, are both bewildered by the paint job
Mary and Christopher Scott have lived on the road for around seven years, are both bewildered by the paint job.
‘It’s quite ridiculous,’ Mr Scott said. ‘I don’t know what they think the size of a car is. It was a waste of time and money.
‘It happens all the time, doesn’t it? You can’t expect every single penny of taxpayers’ money to be spent wisely and judiciously.
‘If they did come back and redo them, they’ll probably do it wrong again, anyway.’
Mrs Scott added: ‘You could fit a toddler’s bike on it – that’s about it.
‘Nobody sent a letter through the door or anything, it just suddenly happened.
‘The cars are still parking as normal.’
Some people claim the short lines may be there to encourage drivers to mount the kerb, though no accompanying lines are visible on the pavement.
Young homeowner Kaine Sharp, who only moved to the area around five months ago, branded the bays ‘hilarious’.
Kaine Sharp, 22, has branded the spaces ‘hilarious’. He parks his van further down the road out of fear it might get hit as he doesn’t ‘really fancy any scratches on it’
Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council has since admitted the new lines were ‘clearly a mistake’ and said parking fines would be suspended until the issue was fixed
The new lines ‘just suddenly happened’ with no prior warning given to neighbours, with one saying they are not even big enough to fit a toddler’s bike in
However, not everywhere has fallen victim to the embarrassing error, with new lines correctly painted on a road elsewhere
The 22-year-old said: ‘It’s a small bay, you can’t really fit much in it, but I assumed it was for the lack of space on the road.
‘It’s quite hilarious. I have a van, so I park further down the road to prevent it from getting hit.
‘I don’t really fancy any scratches on it.’
Kitty Peploe says when she first moved into the area around seven years ago, Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council decided to widen the pavement to make it safer for pedestrians.
She said: ‘They never adjusted the width of the parking bay, so it was always half the parking width.
‘It didn’t really matter as much because the lines were quite faded, but now they have come back and gone over the original lines which makes it look a bit ridiculous.’
‘I can only assume the person that they hired was just told to go over the original lines and that is exactly what they did.
‘Obviously they didn’t pay attention to the fact that the lines need updating.’
The small spaces also prompted comical reactions from Facebook users after photos of the bays were uploaded to a local community group.
The original post read: ‘You’ve got to park your car on its side to fit within the lines’, and one user commented: ‘Traffic wardens will have fun with this.’
Another said: ‘Must be for the new generation Noddy cars.’
A sign showing parking is available to park for free for two hours. The local council has vowed to rectify the parking line error ‘as soon as possible’
But a spokesman for Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council admitted the lines were an error.
He said: ‘We’ve been to the road and inspected the repainting of parking bay lines carried out on our behalf by a contractor and clearly a mistake has been made.
‘It appears that old white lines, which were in place prior to a widening of the pavement, have been gone over instead of the newer wider ones.
‘We will get this put right as soon as possible and in the meantime will not be issuing any penalties for parking outside the lines.’
MailOnline has contacted Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council for further comment.
Have YOU spotted a parking or road sign failure? Email [email protected]
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