MP backing drivers baffled by car park

Jul 18 2008 by Lorraine Howard, Irvine Herald

CENTRAL Ayrshire MP Brian Donohoe is backing drivers who say they are baffled by parking rules at one of Irvine’s busiest car parks.

Over the last few weeks drivers had been issued on-the-spot £30 fines for parking outside bays in East Road Car Park.

They contacted the MP as they felt wrongly persecuted and accused parking rules in the car park of being unclear.

Now, Mr Donohoe has stepped in and said there will be fewer fines issued.

The fines were slapped on to cars that were: “left in a parking place other than in the prescribed manner”.

Although the ticketed drivers were parked outside marked spaces at the busy car park, they claimed they weren't blocking anything, and pointed out there were no signs to say that parking was confined to marked areas.

Strathclyde Police told the MP the car park is listed as a Designated Parking Space within a 1987 order issued by Strathclyde Regional Council and that the order says “the method of parking shall be within the area delineated for the purpose”, and that ”no vehicle shall be parked in such a position as to cause obstruction to the entrance or exit of the parking place or otherwise hinder the operation of the parking place”.

The Central Ticket Office at Strathclyde Police have confirmed this means if a vehicle isn't parked within a marked bay then it is liable to a ticket, and as such all the tickets subject to complaint have been issued legally.

But Mr Donohoe believes the situation remains unclear.

He said: “Drivers shouldn't be expected to read between the lines of obscure parking regulations. “Motorists are too often caught out by technicalities like this, and I would like a great deal more clarity in the signage in all controlled parking areas.

“To me there's a huge difference between a driver who intends to break the law, and one who inadvertently contravenes a confusing local parking regulation.”

Following his representations on behalf of penalised drivers, Strathclyde Police have now informed Mr Donohoe that new parking signs saying “Only In Marked Bays” will shortly be displayed in the East Road car park, and in the meantime traffic wardens have been instructed to exercise their discretion before issuing further tickets.