PARKING chaos in an East Oxford street has accelerated calls for stricter traffic measures in the area.

Oxfordshire County Council will “urgently” paint double yellow lines along Rymers Lane, Florence Park, after drivers started ditching their vehicles on the pavement when a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) was introduced nearby last month.

This caused queues and reported incidents of road rage at peak times, while residents feared for the safety of children walking to St Gregory the Great Catholic School.

The new CPZ on Cricket Road, which runs into Rymers Lane, saw motorists take advantage of the free parking on the latter street.

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When this caused problems, county councillor for Cowley John Sanders insisted that double yellows were painted “as an emergency”.

He said: “Pedestrian safety seemed a very big concern.

“When you introduce a CPZ there’s an overspill.

“People who were parking inappropriately in nearby streets now find the nearest target is Rymers Lane.

“Double yellows aren’t the answer, but they’ll have to tide us over for a year or two.”

Oxford Mail:

Only drivers with a relevant permit can park in a CPZ, where vehicles can use designated bays and the rest of the kerbside space is restricted by yellow lines.

The lines should be painted on by the end of the month, but Mr Sanders suggested a school street scheme – where roads around schools are temporarily closed at drop-off and pick-up times – as a long-term option.

Tony Brett, who lives in nearby Reliance Way, filmed the parking situation while cycling through Rymers Lane last Monday and shared the footage on Facebook.

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While sympathetic to a school street scheme, he feared it was not enough to produce change.

Mr Brett said: “That moves us in the right direction, but Rymers Lane isn’t designed as a through road.

“There are no easy answers, because changing hearts and minds is really difficult.

“If only one parent decides not to use a car it’ll be really dangerous for them.”

He added: “It’s incredibly hard to cross the road safely if it’s double parked all the way along as you can’t see what’s coming.

“People have seen it grind to a halt and you just get drivers shouting at each other.”

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Rymers Lane is expected to be part of a planned Cowley Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN), which uses bollards or street furniture to block traffic and stop rat-running.

Oxford Mail:

The £50,000 scheme for Florence Park, Church Cowley and Temple Cowley was due to be paid for with part of the council’s £298,000 transport grant from tranche one of the government’s Emergency Active Travel Fund.

The August 31 deadline to spend the cash came and went, but a council spokesperson insisted progress would be made in the months ahead.

They said: “The engineer consultants are still working on preparing the drawings for consultation on the Cowley LTN.

"Council officers will soon agree on the timeline for implementation later this year.”