Strathearn residents hit out at bad parking

Jul 1 2011 by Katy Gordon, Strathearn Herald

STRATHEARN residents have hit out at people causing parking obstructions.

Readers of the Herald contacted the paper through our Facebook page to let us know they are fed up of inconsiderate parking causing problems in towns and villages around the Strath.

One user fumed: “Crieff High Street: people going for lunch at the bakery parking all up the bus stop side outside Subway, parking on the very corner where Paparazzi is as well.

“They should get on-the-spot fines. People in the area moan about parking attendants. If you're parked in the correct place you have nothing to worry about.”

He added that drivers parking on double yellow lines on the High Street near the Clydesdale Bank also created problems for traffic.

Another pointed out the area outside the Post Office and Dalginross Bridge in Comrie are two problem spots, as well as Creiff’s Kincardine Road.

Comrie community councillor Sandra McRitchie explained that the issue is a regular feature of their monthly meetings.

She said: “Repeatedly raised at Comrie Community Council meetings: parking on yellow lines at newsagents, the bridge and the bank.

“Parking at the bank restricts vision at the junction for both driver, pedestrians and our lollipop lady.”

Community crime officer Sarah Jane Bell told the Herald: “Parking on double yellow lines was decriminalised some years ago and it is now the responsibility of the traffic wardens to enforce parking here.

“We can step in and issue a fixed penalty notice if it is assessed a vehicle parked on double yellow lines is causing an obstruction. There is an exemption for drivers who hold blue disabled badges, in that they can park on double yellow lines providing they are not causing an obstruction to other road users.”

However, PC Bell added that assessing whether someone parked on double yellows is causing a problem can be subjective.

She continued: “The area outside Subway, etc, is one which is frequently complained about and we do move cars on if they are parked there but the road is also quite wide so usually the passage of traffic is not greatly disturbed if there is just one blue badge holder there.

“We will hopefully be carrying out another joint operation with the traffic wardens soon but unfortunately there is no easy answer for this one.”

Delivery lorries, which are also a cause of congestion on Crieff High Street, also have exemptions for loading and unloading goods.

PC Bell said: “As far as delivery trucks go they can also park on double yellow lines for the purposes of loading and unloading, providing there is no where else they could satisfactorily carry this out.

“The area at East High Street is pretty narrow but realistically there is not really any other option for businesses to get their deliveries. Mitchell Street is far too narrow to get a lorry down, as is Ramsay Street, and if a lorry did get down these roads it would block the whole road.”

A Perth and Kinross Council spokesperson explained that while their 17 parking attendants can hand out fines they have no authority to move vehicles on.

The attendants work on a weekly rota, including focus on Strathearn. The council regularly liaises with Tayside Police to tackle areas flagged up as having parking problems.

Anyone who would like to discuss parking problems in their area can contact PC Bell or her colleagues by calling Tayside Police on 0300 111222.