Kirkcaldy Promenade: imagine a waterfront with greenery, cafes & a playpark instead of ugly car parks

With news emerging that Fife Council is attempting to sell two multi-storey car parks on the Esplanade to developers, now is a good time to reflect on the role car parks play in shaping the town’s image—and how we might reimagine the future.

Car parks are, by their nature, utilitarian. Functional and grey, they are rarely sources of inspiration, so it is unfortunate that Kirkcaldy’s seafront is dominated by them. Alongside the three multi-storey car parks - one currently closed - there is surface-level parking along the Esplanade, around Volunteers Green and at numerous other locations all across the area.

Add in the car parks for Lidl, Morrisons, The Food Factory and B&M, and the aerial view reveals a sea of grey rectangles.

Many of these car parks are a legacy of a bygone era, when Kirkcaldy High Street was the retail hub of Fife. Those days are long gone, and while car parks were once essential to support shoppers, many now stand underutilised.

Take Esplanade A and B by the promenade: they are usually completely empty. Most others are rarely even half full. For visitors driving by on the Fife Coastal Route or walking along the Coastal Path, whose first sight of the town is of a long line of largely empty parking spaces, their thoughts may well be that Kirkcaldy isn’t worth stopping in. That perception may be unfair, but first impressions matter.

All this isn’t to say that all car parks are unnecessary. As a car owner myself, I rely on them. Better-designed ones, like those around Kirkcaldy train station, show that parking can be integrated into the townscape without spoiling it.

Trees, bushes and banking can soften their impact, blending them into the surroundings. A balance between providing parking and keeping an area attractive can be achieved. Sadly, Kirkcaldy’s seafront car parks weren’t sensitively designed.

They also take up a lot of excess space that could instead host attractions like gardens, a playpark, a skatepark, cafes and gift shops, or hotels. Many cities are transforming their waterfronts/seafronts with a lot of success.

Dundee and Edinburgh (Leith) are local examples.

Then there’s Belfast’s Titanic Quarter and the London Docklands. Why can’t Kirkcaldy also do something imaginative and appealing, albeit on a smaller scale?

Imagine walking along the prom, surrounded not by grey and uninspiring car parks but by trees, greenery, bustling cafes, a nice hotel, a super playpark and families enjoying a day out. Kirkcaldy’s seafront could be and should be beautiful —making our town a place people want to visit, and not just pass through. Am I alone in thinking this or do others agree?