Don’t blame tourists - it’s not clear to locals either
ARE these parking signs clear?
Dozens of motorists are regularly given tickets for parking illegally at famous Snowdonia beauty spot at Pen Y Gwryd, near the Gwynedd and Conwy border.
Parking wardens regularly patrol the area and ticket dozens of cars at a time.
Gwynedd Council have been criticised for unclear signage but they say any ticket which has been issued unfairly can be appealed.
Swathes of cars being ticketed at once has been a regular occurrence this summer.
On Monday morning, despite reports, several cars were still illegally parked and some parking tickets were seen thrown on the grass.
One motorist said: “Don’t blame tourists: it’s not clear to locals either. It’s really not clear where you can and can’t park. It doesn’t help that there’s a pay and display point further up the road.
“It is not clear at all where the pay and display on the side of the road begins and ends.”
There are three signs nearby which are blue with a red cross on.
The sign means the road is a clearway and there should be no stopping.
There is also a nearby car park which is often full at peak times.
But Mark Jones, who lives nearby, said: “I‘m sure it’s not just tourists, although obviously it’s going to be worse with more visitors around.
“Local day trippers are no less likely to try and find a free parking spot.
“People in general are too lazy to park away from the hot spots and use the bus service.”
A Gwynedd Council spokesperson said: “For most of the year there are plenty of parking spaces in this part of Snowdonia. However, during peak holiday periods, demand exceeds the number of available spaces and unfortunately some motorists chose to flout the parking restrictions.
“Motorists who ignore these restrictions are endangering other drivers, cyclists and pedestrians on these narrow mountain roads as illegally parked cars can cause significant difficulties for emergency service vehicles.
“As a Council, we encourage motorists to use the car parks at Penypass and Llanberis, and to use the Sherpa bus services to get around the National Park.
“Council Civil Enforcement Officers routinely patrol parking flashpoints to ensure that vehicles are parked safely and legally. Parking tickets are only issued to drivers who ignore the law.”