Parking

I've been in discussion with City Council Planning & Transportation officials over the past few days regarding concerns about delivery delays to some residents of the survey on parking issues.

The Council’s parking consultants have now agreed to meet with me in my capacity as Planning and Transport Convener to discuss the concerns and to ensure that all residents and businesses definitely get their say over parking problems in the consultation areas across the City, which include two parts of the West End.

The timeframe set by the consultants for the return of the many questionnaires issued was tight, but I have been concerned to learn from residents in a number of West End streets – Bellefield Avenue and Thomson Street in particular – that delivery of some of the questionnaires had been delayed making the timeframe for return extremely tight.

The postal delays have not helped the process of getting a large number of returns and although the deadline has been extended, I have arranged to meet the consultants to discuss return rates across the five areas of the City being consulted at this stage, and see if there are any streets that will require a re-survey.

I would stress that it is not too late to send back your questionnaire and also there will be consultation meetings across the areas before any recommendations are made by the consultants. However, as Planning & Transport Convener, I want to ensure that we get as large a response to questionnaires as possible because all residents and businesses are rightly entitled to their views on parking problems and how these could be tackled. I am looking for reassurance from the consultants that the questionnaire exercise has been meaningful and looking for them to take any additional steps to improve the process.