‘Worried’ drivers fear leaving houses over parking issues – ‘every square inch matters'

Residents in Barton are worried that parking restrictions near Gloucestershire Royal Hospital will bring more traffic their way. Gloucestershire County Council are currently considering whether to introduce resident permit parking to certain areas.

Trudy’s husband, Dennis, also claimed: “Some people don’t know how to park properly and they come too far over on the pavement,” he told Gloucestershire Live.

Another local resident, Chris, said he feared for his children since there is less space for them to play on the street.

He said: “It would affect parking quite considerably. We have to keep parking further away from our houses. 

“If more cars are coming into the area, it’s going to make matters a lot worse.

“And there’s not enough spaces for residents to park their cars already. Every morning, people working in the hospital could park there.

“Residents are already struggling to park their cars and have to park far away.”

In response to the parking issues, Gloucestershire County Councillor Dave Norman, cabinet member for parking, said: “Following requests for improving parking provision in these areas of the county, we’ve looked into what we can do and now we want to know what residents think of our plans.

“We think we could offer parking that is fairer and easier for households, and I encourage everyone affected to give us their feedback.”

This was reiterated by fellow councillor, Jeremy Hilton, who said: “The parking survey carried out in 2020 showed that a number of streets in Kingsholm were severely congested with parked cars and some roads were near to their capacity.

“Many residents do not have off street parking and find it very difficult at times to park their cars near to their homes. I’m therefore pleased that the county council is now carrying out a public consultation on parking in my division.”

source: express.co.uk