Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Delays caused by parking a ‘matter of life and death’
Concerned council officials are calling on drivers to think about how they park so fire engines and rubbish trucks can get through tight roads without being obstructed.
Firefighters have joined forces with the city council and Serco to promote the issue, which highlights the importance of leaving enough space for the vehicles.
They launched a campaign in Wynn Road, Whitstable – the street in the district where residents have the most disruption to bin collections because rubbish trucks are unable to get through.
Kent Fire and Rescue Service’s James Ledger said: “While we all like to park as close to our homes as possible, we need people to be considerate when parking their vehicles.
“Take a quick look around and make sure that you have left enough space for emergency vehicles to get through and remember that a delay reaching a fire could be a matter of life and death.”
The campaign – called Are We Getting Through To You – aims to highlight how potentially devastating the consequences could be if emergency vehicles get stuck.
Whi t s tabl e counc i l lor Nei l Baker ( Con) said: “Fire engines and refuse trucks might be pretty much the same size but the potential impact of them not getting through is very different and that is what we are trying to get across in this campaign.
“We would urge people to just take a moment when parking their vehicle to consider whether access is still possible.”
Counci l of f icial s wi l l send postcards to residents in five streets in Whitstable – Wynn Road, Regent Street, Clare Road, Rosalie Avenue and Sydenham Street – to start the campaign.
They will then assess the impact of their efforts before extending it to other roads in the district.
The campaign will also involve regular messages and videos on the council and fire service’s social media pages and websites.
For information visit kent. fire-uk.org/gettingthrough.