M1-A1

9 years ago


Deterring inappropriate parking

Since taking over the operation and maintenance of M1 Junction 46 in 2008, Connect and its Operator, Balfour Beatty, has noted that the maintenance access to the balancing pond at this location was often being used as a temporary parking location, including by HGVs for over-night stays.

Whilst this in itself may not seem like a safety issue, parking in a maintenance access on the off-side of a dual carriageway did pose some hazards and issues for both road users and road workers alike, namely:

  • Inadequate width for parking, particularly for HGVs and wide/long vehicles;
  • Slow moving vehicles unexpectedly pulling out into lane 2 to re-join a dual carriageway just after a roundabout exit;
  • Parked vehicles obstructing maintenance access to the balancing pond and oil/petrol interceptors. Access is required for emergency shut-down of pollution control valves by maintenance personnel to prevent damage to the environment;
  • Risk of occupants of parked vehicles being injured if their vehicle is struck by an errant vehicle leaving the adjacent carriageway;
  • Significant quantities of litter and debris discarded from the inappropriately parked vehicles having to be collected by maintenance personnel.

 

To  deter this, Balfour Beatty installed temporary traffic management, placing cones along the access to prevent illegal parking. However, this was not always a sufficient deterrent and the operatives then had to routinely check, and on occasion replace/repair, the traffic management on an ongoing basis. This increases the operatives interface with live traffic – a significant hazard risk to operatives.

To resolve the issue Connect has funded, designed and installed a permanent solution involving the installation of 40 bollards along the maintenance access.  This will prevent inappropriate parking whilst maintaining emergency access for maintenance personnel.

Additionally, this minor scheme should also support road user and road worker safety through eliminating and/or mitigating against the hazards above, and reducing the amount of litter and debris that needs to be collected.

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