Lots of hot air but no progress being made

Dear Editor

I cannot believe the lunacy of the utterance emitted by Councillor Jim Thomson (Observer, March 6, 2019) who claimed it was unfair to just blame Stirling University for the increase in the number of cars within the areas surrounding the campus.

When I last checked in 2018, the university had approximately 1700 parking spaces and parking demand at peak time during semesters exceeds that.

The university is listed as a ‘historic designed landscape’ and increasing the car parking spaces would therefore be an issue for the planning department so nothing is done. There is also a distinct reluctance to alter the ‘visual amenity’ of the campus which is used and enjoyed not only by students but by many visitors, so to hell with the ‘visual amenity’ of the residents of the properties immediately outside the campus who can just accept that vehicles have to park somewhere.

I have, annually, raised the issue of the increasing ‘university’ parking at the tennis court end of Keir Street which is killing the ambience of a residential area and is currently reducing the street to one way at peak times with the growing congestion.

This is a serious road safety issue and there has already been a road collision last year. If the vehicle infestation levels continue, there will be a serious road accident – fact. The key part of the problem outwith the ‘visual amenity’ issue is simply the growth in car ownership by students and the can get away with it. There is a short stretch of road at the top of Spittal Hill, at its junction with Hillfoots Road, that does not have double yellow lines so they park there. We have experienced our vehicles being blocked in by inconsiderate parking and a neighbour, who is fortunate to have a driveway, had it partially blocked by a vehicle. The police are not interested when we call them because they are too stretched to deal with issues like this.

If the university had sufficient parking spaces to meet the number of permits issued it is unlikely we, the residents, would have a parking problem so how Councillor Thompson can say that the university is not to blame is beyond belief.

Catherine Campbell Logie Road Stirling

costs associated with attending university, with more students electing to stay at home and travelling to university daily.

Discussion on this matter have taken place at full council meetings plus meetings with the students’ union, university management, traffic management teams, transport development teams, steering bodies and public transport teams. That’s quite a list and clearly plenty of hot air is being emitted but currently to nil effect.

Insufficient university car parking spaces, increased university micro cars and bureaucratic inertia equals parking chaos which is out of sight and therefore out of mind.

John Clarke Bridge of Allan