A HILPERTON resident has urged Wiltshire Council to rethink its stance on having double yellow lines on one side of the road after some ‘close calls’.

Just under two years ago, the authority put in double yellow lines on one side of the road by Geoff Richards' home in Ashton Road.

The 91-year-old says the traffic calming measure forces motorists to drive on the wrong side of Devizes Road to pass parked cars.

Mr Richards was under the impression that both sides of Devizes Road, between the Church Street and Ashton Road junction, would be painted with yellow lines to stop inconsiderate parking in the area but only one side has been done.

He says this problem has not gone away and that double yellow lines should be on both sides of the road.

“There have been some close calls with drivers. It is dangerous, many of us along the street agree because we deal with it a lot,” he said.

“Unfortunately the lines were only placed on the south side of Devizes Road whereas the main danger at the junction was from traffic proceeding along Devizes Road from the direction of the Lion and Fiddle due to the limited visibility for traffic coming out of Ashton Road.When challenged, Wiltshire Council stated that this was to allow parking on the north side of Devizes Road.

“Semington bound traffic is forced to use the wrong side of the road due to the parked cars. The only unsatisfactory method of dealing with this is to report illegally parked vehicles to the police, who have many important matters to deal with, without having to cope with the illegal actions of Wiltshire Council.”

A Wiltshire Council spokesman said: “We worked closely with Hilperton Parish Council to make these changes on behalf of residents. Following a public consultation we kept the existing parking on the north side of Devizes Road for residents but also to act as traffic calming. Also the wide junction provides clear visibility for vehicles exiting Ashton Road, which was the main reason for the request.”