URGENT consultation is needed to make sure a planned parking zone benefits residents blighted by commuter congestion, it has been argued.
Glasgow City Council is in the process of developing measures to tackle problems caused by commuter parking in Hutchesontown and Gorbals.
But a community councillor told an officer from the city authority that they were “not getting to the heart of the community” to solve the issues.
She believes consultation is needed before the council draws up plans to combat the parking problem.
“The Gorbals is a car park for anybody and everybody,” a representative from Hutchesontown Community Council said at a meeting of the city council’s Southside Central Area Partnership. “They’re going to kill somebody at the speed they come round.”
She said all of Gorbals needed to be involved in the consultation and raised fears that tackling the current problem would only push cars into surrounding areas.
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But a council officer said the authority was unable to launch consultation until there was a plan to discuss.
He said this had been a “long-standing issue for a few years”, which was now being addressed in a work plan.
Consultation, including discussions with police, fire and ambulance services, is expected to start in spring next year, he said.
“This solution does well in other areas of Glasgow. I don’t see why it shouldn’t work in this area,” he added.
“We cannot just do a blanket scheme on any area there may be displacement. We have to focus on the problem just now.”
Three schemes are predominately used to combat issues: controlled parking zones, restricted parking zones or event day parking zones.
Controlled parking zones see shared use parking bays, where residents and local businesses can buy permits and visitors can purchase a ticket or buy parking time via a mobile phone system.
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The zone uses traditional signs and yellow lines to highlight the restrictions.
Restricted parking zones operate in a similar way to controlled parking but yellow lines are not required and entry signs are used.
Event day parking zones mean residents and businesses are provided with permits and they park as they would on a non-event day.
Councillor Mhairi Hunter said work had been started on a smaller scheme, focused on New Gorbals, in the past, before the council started looking at a parking zone.
“Over a number of years, the community council and residents’ association have been in dialogue with officers,” she said. “This needs to be done in partnership with those people who have already been involved.
“I’m not against going off in this direction, it’s probably the most sustainable solution.”
She added: “There’s no ideal solution to this, we’ve got to find the best we can.”
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