Call made for traffic warden to help solve illegal parking in Shetland
An appeal will be made for Lerwick to have a traffic warden to help tackle the “horrendous” level of parking in the town.
The plea has been made at tonight’s meeting of Lerwick Community Council after a letter raised concerns about cars being parked illegally.
Community councillor Amanda Hawick sympathised with concerns raised, and said the appointment of a warden could help ease the problem.
“Shetland doesn’t have a traffic warden, which probably would take most of the stress away on issues like that, so you [the police] can deal with more important things.
“Should we write to the council and reiterate how important it is to have such a person. It’s not just illegal parking on double yellows. It’s parking on disabled bays. It’s happening all over Shetland,” she said, adding raising the issue with culprits often leads to an aggressive response.
“It is an accident waiting to happen. I don’t know if it’s worth the community council just writing to the council urging them to consider reinstating a traffic warden in Shetland.”
Fellow member Andy Carter said the issue was one of several “low level irritations that was very difficult to nail down.
He urged the council to make it easier to identify to motorists where they should or should not park.
“One of the things the council could do is make sure that, where there are supposed to be double yellow lines, they’re actually there.”
Ms Hawick was backed by fellow member Jonathan Duncan, who described parking around the town as “horrendous”.
Chairman Jim Anderson said parking was something that had been “spoken around this table far too frequently - and a traffic warden would probably go a long way.”
However, Karen Fraser said the issue was not one which would be easily solved.
“There’s never going to be enough parking to satisfy everyone,” she said, adding more and more people lived in multi-car households, and few seemed willing to walk anywhere.
Ms Hawick added moves by Lerwick Port Authority to close down the parking at Victoria Pier during the summer cruise season only made the matter worse. The meeting heard the car park there was capable of taking around 100 cars.
SIC councillor Stephen Leask said traffic wardens used to fall under the remit of the police force, but would now fall under the auspices of the council or a security agency.
“I think that Amanda and Jonathan’s point would be worth putting forward to the council.”
Mr Carter added a “smattering of fines” could help alleviate the issue on Commercial Street.
But it was long-standing member Avril Simpson who pointed out Commercial Street was not supposed to have access on it at all.
Concerns were also raised that a backlog of traffic was often seen at Holmsgarth Road due to traffic coming and going from the NorthLink terminal during peak times.
The discussion came after an un-named resident raised her concerns at the meeting.
“Parking around the town is the worst I’ve ever seen it,” she told community councillors.
“Commercial Street, especially, there seem to be cars left everywhere, just abandoned and sitting there all day.
“It just seems to be everywhere I go.
“I’m just worried there’s going to be a serious accident.”
Police advised reporting any obstruction by telephoning the station or emailing on contactus@policescotland.uk