‘Nowhere for folk to park’ – concern about council cars parked in public spaces
CONCERNS have been raised about the number of Shetland Islands Council-owned cars being left in public car parks in Lerwick.
Lerwick Community Council’s (LCC) meeting on Monday night heard that some people were unhappy about council vehicles being left all day in public spaces.
The meeting heard this was constricting already tight parking in the town, which chairman Jim Anderson said could be an issue as more cruise ships begin arriving in Lerwick.
Anderson said there was often “nowhere for folk to park” in the town.
He added the LCC had written to Shetland Islands Council to ask whether “an alternative home” could be found for council vehicles during the day.
“We think they never got the letter because they’re still doing it,” he added.
Anderson made reference to “small white Japanese cars” being the issue, in reference to the council’s fleet of white Toyota Aygo vehicles – which are mostly used by social care workers.
However Lerwick South councillor Dennis Leask said some of those care workers actually went out of their way to park elsewhere, meaning they then had to walk further to visit their clients.
Often then, he said, they had to walk back to their cars “in the dark of night” after a long shift.
There was a brief conversation at the meeting whether the police would ever step in, but community councillor Graham Nicolson said the police would only ever intervene in parking matters if the vehicle was parked on a pavement.
The LCC last year called for a traffic warden to monitor “illegal” parking around the town, with one resident telling a meeting in November that parking in Lerwick was “the worst I’ve ever seen it in my lifetime”.
Roads manager Neil Hutcheson said his department would carry out a study into parking in Lerwick, which would likely be presented to councillors this year.
Lerwick parking study ordered by SIC after traffic warden calls
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