10RED ROUTES
10.1 Where urban roads are heavily trafficked and there is a need to control parking to maintain the free flow of vehicles, it is normally sufficient to prohibit waiting and loading at specific times of day as described in section 6. However, this does not prevent vehicles stopping for the purpose of picking up and setting down passengers, which in itself can contribute to traffic congestion on very busy roads.
10.2 A relatively new type of control is the red route, first introduced in London. This prohibits stopping, much like the rural 24-hour clearway (see section 9), but is more flexible as it does not need to operate for the whole day and provision can be made for parking and loading at certain times. Red routes are intended to be used strategically to deal with traffic problems assessed on a whole—route basis, not to deal with issues on relatively short lengths of road. Unlike the 24-hour clearway, the prohibition of stopping applies also to the verge and footway. A licensed taxi may stop to pick up or set down passengers, and the driver of a vehicle displaying a blue badge may stop to pick up or set down a disabled person; drivers of other vehicles are not permitted to stop for any purpose other than in an emergency. As the name "red route" implies, the road markings are red (but see para 10.9), so a red route has to be introduced in isolation and cannot be combined with the more conventional yellow line restriction. It is not possible to introduce a peak—hour prohibition of stopping with waiting restrictions at other times; red and yellow lines cannot both be laid along the same length of road. Therefore red route controls either operate for 24 hours or, if overnight parking can be permitted, throughout the day, typically 7 am to 7 pm.
10.3 Provision will need to be made for loading where this is essential for businesses along the route and cannot be accommodated either off-highway or on adjacent roads. A red route can therefore include loading bays which operate either for the full duration of red route control or for some shorter period. Loading bays might not be required where the red route operates during day-time hours only and loading can take place overnight. Provision may be made for on-street parking, particularly for disabled badge holders, where there is no alternative. Time-limited waiting by any vehicle might be required where small retail businesses, for example, could be adversely affected by red route controls. Parking and loading bays should normally be the exception rather than the rule and should be provided only over short lengths of road. To do otherwise could undermine the concept of the red route, which is intended to provide a road free of stationary vehicles. However,where controls that operate throughout the day (e.g. 7am to 7 pm) are primarily intended to prevent stopping during peak hours, it will not be necessary to restrict the provision of loading and parking bays if these are required only during off—peak periods. A bay may have dual use, e.g. used both by disabled badge holders and for loading.
10.4 Figures 10-1 to 10-13 illustrate signs and markings for red routes. These are not prescribed by the Regulations and need to be authorised. An authority seeking to introduce a red route should enter into early discussions with the Department before developing a detailed scheme.
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Figure 10-1 Road marking: No stopping on red route at any time
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Figure 10-2 No stopping on red route
Used in conjunction with figure 10-1
10.5 A red route that prohibits stopping at any time is indicated by a double red line (see figure 10-1, but also para 10.9), similar to the double yellow line meaning no waiting at any time. It is accompanied by the upright sign shown in figure 10-2 facing oncoming traffic. A single red line is used where the red route operates for part of the day or where it operates for 24 hours, but not on every day of the week (see figure 10-3). A typical upright sign which accompanies the single red line marking is shown in
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