Drivers flouting Wick parking rules
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CALLS are being made to change the traffic restrictions in Wick town centre because motorists are constantly ignoring the rules.
Members of the Royal Burgh of Wick Community Council have suggested opening up the area to all traffic or closing it off completely.
They are asking for clarification on the rules regarding traffic restrictions in the High Street – from the foot of Shore Lane to the traffic lights – and Market Square.
The area is currently classified as a pedestrian-priority zone and traffic is prohibited from driving through. Disabled motorists and taxis are allowed to park in the spaces provided in Market Square and goods vehicles and vans can park for the purposes of loading and unloading only.
However, a number of business have reported unauthorised vehicles parking in the square for a long periods of time.
Community councillor Wendy Campbell, who runs the Crown Bar in Market Square, said that businesses are getting increasingly fed up with the situation.
She is calling for the area to be open to all traffic or closed to traffic completely.
“The situation we have at the moment is not working,” she said. “Motorists who are flouting the rules by parking in the pedestrian area and this is happening on a daily basis.
“Cars constantly park on the pavement areas of the pedestrian area.
“There have been even cases where cars have been left unattended in the middle of the road, blocking access for everyone else. If it is not going to work we should open up the whole square or close the road off completely.
She added: “We seem to have traffic wardens and town wardens patrolling the streets but none of that seems to be working.”
Chairwoman Coreen Campbell said that the public needs greater clarification on the rules regarding the pedestrian-priority area.
She said that at the moment it is a grey area.
“The public needs to be aware that the pedestrian area is not a drive-through,” she said.
“By parking in Market Square and being unauthorised to do so, people are breaking the law. The rules are not clear enough to people that parking is for loading and unloading only.
“There needs to be a greater effort to educate people about who can and who can’t access the area.”
The Highland Council’s local ward manager, David Sutherland, agreed that unauthorised parking in Market Square is a persistent problem in Wick.
He said that they have worked constantly to get the message across that the pedestrian area is not a drive-through zone.
But he admitted that the message still doesn’t seem to be getting across with some drivers.
“We’ve been highlighting this issue for some time,” he said. “People still seem to think that the Market Square is open for access.
“One of the problems we have highlighted is that people are ignoring the signs at Shore Lane. They clearly state no access at any time except for access. He said motorists might be confused about the term access.
“We want to make clear that vehicle access is prohibited unless they are loading and unloading goods to the stores,” explained Mr Sutherland.
“There is no maximum time limit which goods vehicles have to enter and leave the pedestrian area to make deliveries.”
He added: “Cars with disabled badges and taxis are also authorised to use the area. But it is not for people to park in and pick up a paper or go to the café or pub.
“The traffic wardens have booked a number of people who been caught parking in the area illegally in recent months. But they can’t be there all the time which is why the issue still remains a problem.”
PEDESTRIAN AREA RESTRICTIONS:
Goods vehicles are authorised to drive into the area to make deliveries to stores. They can stay as long as it takes for them to complete their deliveries.
Disabled motorists and taxis are allowed to park in the spaces provided at Market Square.
Vehicles are banned from driving through the area to access Bridge Street or stores.
