Community Hopes To Reverse Bad Parking Habit
An Easter Ross community partnership wants to put the brakes on an increasing antisocial problem in its area by appealing to residents to change their habits.
The Alness Community Partnership, a partnership of the Alness residents groups and agencies, decided to have a drive to tackle problem parking and driving across parts of Alness as it became obvious from community surveys and complaints at resident group meetings that these are fast becoming one of the community’s biggest nuisances.
With the help of the Community Wardens, the ‘Community Against Antisocial Parking & Speeding’ Campaign (CAAPs) will be delivering a newsletter it has produced to large parts of Alness shortly to encourage drivers to think how their actions affect others and to be less anti-social when they park and drive.
Jennifer MacLeod, Chair of the Alness Community Partnership, said the group was trying to appeal to people’s sense of community to improve things for everyone.
“There are a lot of communities across Ross-shire and I’m sure elsewhere, that are finding their pavements are broken and blocked by cars on them; buses struggle to get around bends because of parked cars; and grassed areas that are churned up to get a car an inch or two nearer a house. A minority are spoiling communal areas for everyone, and folk have had enough,” she said.
“We appreciate that planners of housing areas 30 or 40 years ago couldn’t have foreseen that households may have 2 or 3 cars and a works vehicle each, but we want to encourage car owners to use those car parks that are under used in some areas or to walk a few more steps to park more considerately,” she added.
The one-off newsletter, paid for with funding to help Registered Tenants Organisations tackle anti-social behaviour in their communities, also highlights where a temporary speed calming device will be used to encourage lower speeds. The ‘smiley face’ has been paid for by the Cromarty Firth Ward discretionary budget for use across the ward.
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