The Council’s new decriminalised parking scheme
finally went live on Monday 6 October and it is fair to say that the public
reaction, not unexpectedly, has been mixed.
It is worth recalling that the Council introduced
this scheme following the problems caused by the unilateral decision of Police
Scotland to withdraw its traffic wardens from Inverclyde in July 2011 to save
money. It soon became evident that due to the lack of parking enforcement a
minority of motorists felt they could park where they wanted and for as long as
they wanted.
The Council therefore took the reluctant decision
to develop proposals for a decriminalised parking scheme for approval by the
Scottish Government. Professional
consultants with experience of similar schemes across the UK were engaged to
design the scheme for central Greenock.
Following extensive public consultation and a
review of the proposals by an independent expert the final scheme was approved
by the Scottish Government and the Council.
The aim of the parking scheme is not, as some would
have you believe, to make money. Any money raised through parking charges and
penalties will go towards the costs of running the scheme. The Council will not
make a profit from it.
The objectives of the scheme are to make Greenock
Town Centre work better for local residents and businesses and to make our
streets safer for motorists and pedestrians.
While a great deal of thought went into designing
the scheme even the professionals were not able to anticipate in advance how
motorists would react to the introduction of new parking restrictions and
charges, and to the enforcement of existing traffic regulations that had not
been consistently enforced for over three years.
It is probably true to say that in some respects
the new scheme has been too successful in that more motorists have moved out of
the inner town centre than was necessary. While it is still early days it is
clear that changes are required to the scheme to ensure that visitors to the
town centre have enough time to shop and that there is sufficient turnover of
spaces so that other visitors are not dissuaded from coming into the town.
It is also important that we ensure that public car
parks are used effectively. While we want to have sufficient spaces for
shoppers it is equally important that car parks don’t lie half full with all day
parkers clogging up streets on the periphery of the town centre.
As a listening Council we have pledged that we will
review the operation of the scheme within 12 months. Where we identify specific
issues that need to be addressed more quickly however, we will take action.
Officers will be bringing an update report to the
Environment & Regeneration Committee on 30 October, which will give elected
members the opportunity to consider changes to the scheme.
On
Saturday morning I attended a service in Greenock’s Westburn Church to
celebrate the life of Jill Jones, Head Teacher of Kilmacolm Primary School.
Jill
was an inspirational and highly respected teacher and Head Teacher and a great
friend to many. She will be sorely missed by everyone within the school
community and the wider education community in Inverclyde.
My deepest condolences go to her loved ones.
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