“I can’t fit in there!” Now you can

“I can’t fit in there!”  Now you can

A councillor’s long-running campaign to improve parking in one part of Southport town centre has finally succeeded.

Earlier this month Lib Dem councillor Simon Shaw got council officers to agree to repaint the end-on parking bays in Portland Street, next to Lord Street, near the Prince of Wales Hotel.  They are now wider than they used to be, to the proper minimum standard.

Previously the bays were so narrow so that, if adjacent bays were occupied, motorists were unable to get in and out of their cars.  In some cases, in the past, motorists have received tickets for not parking wholly within the narrow bays.

“The national standard is that parking bays should be at least 2.5 metres wide,” says Councillor Shaw.  “The old bays were barely 2 metres wide which means that it wasimpossible for motorists to use them all.”

“The good news is that getting this redone properly won’t cost local council tax payers anything.  I confirmed with the Council a few months ago that this part of Portland Street was due to be resurfaced after being used as a contractors’ compound for the Lord Street resurfacing.”

“In the last couple of weeks I secured agreement that when the re-lining was done following that resurfacing, the bays would be laid out to the correct width.”