Bin crew faces disciplinary action after double yellow line debacle
The Urbaser lorry was parked on double yellow lines in Princes Mews, Royston, causing a 'hazard' to other drivers and pedestrains, according to a concerned resident. Picture: Supplied - Credit: Archant
An Urbaser crew may be facing disciplinary action after parking on double yellow lines in a busy Royston road on Monday.
The refuse lorry was parked on double yellow lines in Princes Mews for around 15 to 20 minutes, a resident has claimed.
The resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the parked lorry outside Morrisons was a “hazard”.
She told the Crow this week: “The refuse lorry was blocking the road by parking on a double yellow line for at least 15 to 20 minutes.
“It took me to carefully manoeuvre my pick-up truck around the hazard, while observing pedestrians trying to cross the road and effectively blind to the traffic pulling into Princes Mews.
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“The crew were absent – I saw the driver buying cigarettes or some such from the kiosk in Morrisons.
“Then as I was leaving, still having to squeeze around the lorry with eyes in all directions for stray pedestrians, they were all sitting in the cab tucking into their mid-morning snacks.
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“They had absolutely no regard for the continuing traffic and pedestrians trying to negotiate safe passage.
“I’m afraid I waved to them and gave them a thumbs-up on my way back to my legally parked car. They still didn’t get it.”
Princes Mews, where the refuse vehicle was parked, is the access road to two car parks used by visitors to the town centre and Morrisons customers.
An Urbaser spokesman said: “A formal investigation will be conducted by our management team to understand the circumstances of this occurrence, subject to the findings of the investigation disciplinary action may be taken.
“Urbaser takes its safety record seriously and requires all of our staff to act in accordance with our policies and procedures.”
Urbaser took over the North Herts District Council waste collection in May this year, and has faced difficulties with service standards since then.
Last week, during an NHDC overview and scrutiny committee meeting, Urbaser representatives highlighted its challenges – which included staffing problems – and listed proposed resolutions.
The contractors stated that staff were now more familiar with round and the new technology, which should resolve some problems with missed collections.
