Following a recent change in procedure at Milton Keynes City Council (MKCC), parish, town and community councils now play a larger role in the process of establishing double-yellow lines on public roads. Applications follow a 6-stage process before lines can be installed. The stages, drawn up by MKCC, are as follows:
Stage 1: Enquiry
A resident or residents want double yellow lines to be installed on a road or footway. They should contact their local parish (or town/community) council. The parish council acts as a coordinator to carry out an informal consultation within the local area, including a petition to gather support or objection for the proposal.
Stage 2: Engagement
The parish council asks local residents and business about the proposal to install double yellow lines at the location requested by the resident(s). This should be in the form of a petition. At this stage the parish council can gauge what level of support there is for this proposal.
Stage 3: Application
The parish council collates all the relevant information required to support the application and sends it to the Highways Liaison Team of MKCC, who log and check the documents received. If there are any missing items, the team will contact the parish council to let them know. If the application fits all the criteria, it will proceed to Stage 4.
Stage 4: Review
The Traffic and Network team will review the application, carry out any further checks and prepare the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) documents: the ‘Notice of Proposal’, the ‘Proposed Order’ and the ‘Statement of Reasons’.
Stage 5: Consultation
The TRO is published for public consultation on the MKCC’s website. Depending on the TRO, MKCC may also decide to carry out additional communications, although this is above the statutory requirements.
Stage 6: Implementation
If there are no objections, the TRO will be ‘made’. This is when it becomes legally enforceable and MKCC will then arrange for the double yellow lines to be painted on the road or footway and for any necessary signage to be installed.