An Aberdeen community is calling for action amid claims there have been “road rage incidents” outside a local nursery – caused by just a handful of parked cars.
Residents in Cove say access through the increasingly-busy Cove Road is being hampered by poor visibility and impatient drivers.
They claim the problem stems from a gap in double yellow lines outside Cove Bay Kindergarten, providing enough space for around six cars.
But when these fill up they block the eastbound carriageway, leaving just one free lane for cars to tackle a steep hill and tight corner.
And during heavy rush hour, the road becomes a rat-run for commuters – leading to increased complaints about road rage incidents outside their homes.
Tanya Dovgan, who lives nearby, has called for drivers to make a conscious effort to help traffic flow in both directions.
She said: “We have to wait for ages at the bottom of the hill observing a steady flow of cars who would not care to stop.
“Yes, this is a long line of parked cars and it is not ideal that it is there, but you surely can see the headlights of the cars down below if you stopped and checked before overtaking.”
Proposals were tabled several years ago to extend the double yellows, but these were turned down.
The community council said the parked cars were acting as an informal traffic calming measure, preventing motorists from speeding round the corner.
Local councillor Sarah Duncan said: “Outwith commuting hours that junction is quite quiet so that route is probably being used as a rat run.
“It’s unlikely that the junction would meet the tests to become signal controlled because it is not that busy most of the day.
“I will ask officers for their views on this and whether there are examples of other technical inputs from other parts of the city that could be used to deter rat-running at this spot.
“Ultimately, this is a problem of drivers and people parking their cars not thinking about the impact of their behaviour on other road users and technical measures such as yellow lines and traffic lights don’t really address that.”
She added: “Hopefully, with a bit of advice from council officers, we can come up with practical, acceptable solutions.”
