Seasonal snarl-up at store
Fuming motorists doing their last piece of Christmas shopping at a city supermarket faced delays of more than 45 minutes trying to exit the car park last week.
Those buying groceries from the Sainsbury’s store in Drip Road were left sitting in massive traffic queues trying to leave the complex around noon on Friday.
Vehicles leaving the store, its petrol station and the McDonald’s outlet there ground to a halt because of the snarl-up.
Teams of stewards, from the firm Horizon Parking, were deployed to try and direct the flow of vehicles in an orderly manner.
Some motorists blasted their horns in frustration as they were stuck in almost the same position in the car park for more than 45 minutes as they tried to get out on to Back O’Hill Road.
One driver, who clocked up 46 minutes sitting in the car park, said that she had been circling the premises searching for a way out. She added:“It’s been a nightmare. There’s traffic coming from certain sides of the car park that are getting through much quicker, but I’ve been here without moving for almost half an hour.”
Another driver had spent in excess of half an hour plotting her escape. She said:“I can’t believe this. I’m actually finding myself becoming less nice. Where normally I would let cars pull out, I’m just blocking them in because I need to get out of here.”
The issue appeared to stem from the traffic lights at the entrance to the car park. The lights would turn green for a short period of time for traffic exiting, only letting through a handful of vehicles at a time.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We’re committed to minimising disruption for our customers and are in close contact with the council. We’re sorry for the inconvenience this may cause.”