Clifton and Hotwells
Improvement Society (CHIS)

Yellow lines in Sion Hill

• Mid August 2011: Sion Hill is resurfaced.
• 15 August Resident complains to Trevor Blyth (our councillor):
  Sion Hill has just been resurfaced and Cemex have covered the cobblestones on the left hand side of the carriageway as you go up Sion Hill. They have left the ones on the opposite side nearest the houses.
  Last Saturday morning I spoke to the workman in charge who assured me that their instructions were to Tarmac everything that had been covered with Tarmac and nothing more. The people who live here are not happy about this. I have left a message with John Burton, 07885 778039, Area Manager, and will discuss the situation with him.
  The company have also painted yellow lines over drain covers, across the carriageway of Sion Lane and other incorrect places further up the street.
• Another resident complains to me:
  Brian has asked that you are made aware of the tarmacing of Sion Hill which has gone over the cobbles/stone setts(?) and now a single yellow line in Sion Lane where there was nothing before
• I complain to Trevor
  a load of cowboy builders seem to have resurfaced sion hill covering up the cobbles. could you contact the appropriate people and ask them why they have done such a shoddy job in such a sensitive area and ask them to redress the situation
• Highway Operations Manager:
  I have been asked by Councillor Blythe to reply to your e-mail.
  The works at Sion Hill included planing out the existing road surface and resurfacing. There was some excavation and deeper construction where required. I am informed that during this process the cobblestones that you refer to were exposed and then surfaced over. It would have been too expensive to reshape the road to leave the cobblestones exposed or to relay the cobblestones to new levels.
  The Highway Technician who planned and supervised the work should have photographs to illustrate the situation before works started and I hope to be able to produce these when he returns from holiday next week.
  It was noticed that there was a mistake with the yellow lines when the road marking contractor was on site and we are obtaining details of the traffic regulation order to ensure that they are accurately corrected.
  You will be contacted early next week to confirm the situation regarding the cobblestones. Yours sincerely
• My response:
  Such sloppy workmanship is inexcusable even in a non-conservation area. If the roadsurfacers have managed to keep tarmac off the cobbles for the last n years then why should it be so difficult now? This road is adjacent to a grade II listed terrace; is a main route to the grade I bridge; is a main route for tourists who must gasp with astonishment with the wobbly yellow lines, the messy asphalt. Have you no pride? It is nothing to do with money, it is a question of taking care.
  What is the point in having a Clifton Conservation appraisal document that says "More than half the streets have cobbled gutters" and features pictures of the cobbles and describes Negative Feature: Loss of traditional street surfaces and street features.
  I shall put pictures on the CHIS website, and shall raise this matter at the next neighbourhood partnership meeting unless the situation is redressed next week.
  No response
• Another resident to me:
  As the road now looks wider (and very neatly suburban) people will drive along it faster!!
  If they wanted to cover the cobbles they could have lifted some and replaced missing ones on the residents' side, instead of filling in those gaps with tarmac. As I am sure you know the double yellows go across the top of sion Lane instead of round the corners, and were incorrectly put outside houses 16-20. These have now been half painted out with black.
  I asked them to ensure my water meter (which is in the road) can still be opened. I havent tried it yet, but presumably they did, as they have broken some metal off the corner of it!!
  Whoever organised this work is on hol this week, but clearly has no feel for a conservation area!
• Neighbours further up the hill arranged for the Evening Post to photograph
• Evening post full page spread about residents getting parking tickets after new yellow lines had appeared:
  Miss Hartas of Bristol City Council responded:
  Sion Hill – like many of the city's roads – was hit by the winter weather with a number of potholes that needed repair. "We've re-surfaced the road and filled in the potholes, and feel that a good job has been done by the contractors. We've retained the cobbled channel, and restored surfacing that had to be removed as part of the work. If any residents have concerns, we will be happy to meet them to discuss further."
• Evening Post comments:
  What happened to consultation? BRISTOL City Council would undoubtedly claim to be a council that consults its residents. In fact, critics of the council might say it has a tendency to over-consult. Which is why it is hard to understand how the council has managed to deface one of the city's most historic streets without any apparent consultation.
  Residents of Sion Hill, which overlooks Clifton Suspension Bridge, came home to find their cobbled street covered with Tarmac and double-yellow lines painted outside their homes. And they have been amassing parking tickets ever since. One has, so far, collected four.
  Meanwhile, visitors in cars to Bristol's most famous tourist attraction no longer have anywhere to park near it. Worse still, some of the yellow lines have already been blacked out by contractors, perhaps conceding their over-zealousness. It's no wonder the residents are angry and demanding the immediate removal of the parking restrictions. Without consultation, they're probably worthless anyway.
  The city council has an unfortunate reputation for penalising Bristol's car drivers. It is a reputation that it has, in the past, sought to deny This shambolic, undemocratic treatment of motorists simply reinforces it.
• BBC news:
  Terry Bullock, Highways Manager at the council said:
  "We do care. He has only tarmacked the guttering that was exposed, no new areas have been covered over as far as I can tell, but he has made a mistake with the yellow lines unfortunately. "They should have had plans and worked to them, there's obviously been a communications break down. They will have to remove the yellow lines and make good the errors they've made."
• Result:
  Some of the double yellow lines have been painted out

Do they go round the gutter? Let us cover up the cobbles and have a nice wavy line.	Perhaps they go over?
Perhaps they go round even though last time they went through! Decisions Decisions	Just got up to the Suspension bridge corner, perhaps we had better leave some cobbles uncovered!
lets put double lines across a road entrance to stop motorists parking there! Lets put some black paint on the cobbles instead of tarmac!	Notice says Nice one! but this car is legally parked. Have a look at the situation and check with someone with intelligence
Only got 2 parking tickets at this stage, later on accumulates 4!	Perhaps we had better paint over some of the yellow lines!