Breaking News English

A man in New Zealand has taken road traffic [safely / safety] into his own hands. For the [past / passed] 20 years, Russell Taylor has been [illegally / illegal] painting yellow parking-restriction lines [in / on] the road outside his house. Mr Taylor told the BBC news agency that the reason [for / why] his actions was to improve traffic safety in his neighborhood in the capital, Wellington. He also wanted to protest [for / against] gentrification. Mr Taylor said he initially painted the yellow lines after becoming [freed / fed] up with the local council's lack of interest in following [up / of] residents' complaints about road safety. He explained that he had seen [numerous / numbers] accidents and near-collisions on his [narrowly / narrow] street and that his actions have made the road safer.

Wellington City Council confirmed it was aware [of / by] the road markings and that they would be [removal / removed] . It pointed out that it was illegal to [install / instill] "fake traffic devices," such [has / as] Taylor's homemade yellow lines. It said: "We're aware of problems and [complaints / complains] about parking in Holloway Road, and that the fire service had [trouble / troubled] getting to a house fire there in the past year because of parked [vehicle / vehicles] ." It also said it would be meeting residents to discuss the idea of installing no parking signs. The council [addition / added] that Mr Taylor would not be prosecuted for his illegal road markings. It said: "[Taken / Given] the glorious and healthy history of civic activism in Holloway Road, we would [rather / prefer] not pick an unnecessary fight."