Residents win parking fight after new pavement ban sparks arguments and chaos in street
Residents in a Fife street will not be fined for parking on the pavement as a plan is drawn up for an exemption to new legislation.
A petition requesting that Cameron Park in Thornton is not part of the pavement parking ban went to Glenrothes Area Committee on Wednesday.
Local resident Marc Kilpatrick told councillors that many cars had been badly damaged as vehicles were having to stay off walkways and park in the narrow road.
“Insurance is going to go through the roof – someone is going to get killed,” he said. “Bin lorries have said they cannot access without driving along the pavements. The fire service is going along at 20mph; someone is going to get hurt.” He added: “Everyone is seriously angry about it. No-one wants to park their car on the street because it is going to get damaged. It is causing arguments in the street and it is just going to get worse. It was much safer when they were all parked on the pavement. It has been like that since the year dot.”
A petition with 147 signatures called for a “sensible and balanced” approach to parking in the community.
Local councillor Daniel Wilson said it was a safety issue.
“This is a problem being created by the legislation,” he said. “The legislation also allows it to be fixed. “It is very, very tight. There could be a fatality. You cannot see if someone steps out.”
Councillor Lynda Holton said the issue had been raised at her surgeries, and added: “The strength of feeling is huge.”
Steve Sellars, lead consultant in road safety, acknowledged the concerns and said the quadrant was “particularly narrow” and understood why residents were up in arms
He pledged to develop proposals for an exemption but warned that marking bays where parking was possible would still mean there wouldn’t be as much parking as before.
He said: “There are number of these raised in various locations throughout Fife and we are putting together a package that is going to be looked at. We will come back to committee. In the interim, we will not do any enforcement while we develop this so no-one is in danger of getting a ticket.”