Parking row rumbles on as land deal is no go say council chiefs
A shop owner says she has the ideal solution to the current parking issues in Shotts.
Thelma O’Connor, of Beau Jangles, said a local builder is willing to sell to the council derelict land near the Chinese takeaway in the Stane area of the town. And it could provide parking spaces for 12 vehicles, including two or three disabled bays.
But Mrs O’Connor fears her plans are falling on deaf ears.
She said:“I spoke to Councillor Cochrane about this and he said that the council don’t have any money.
“The councillor said that the businesses would have to pay for the land themselves. “How can we do that when we are already struggling?
“I am told that nothing can be done about our situation. “Where do we go from here?”
The fresh plea to resolve the parking row comes after the Wishaw Press reported how the council were looking at building a car park for about 30 vehicles at the former Herbison House to compensate for a loss of parking caused by barriers going up in Station Road/Main Street.
Said Mrs O’Connor:“The car park proposed at Herbison House is too far away for my disabled customers.”
Mrs O’Connor, who was speaking on behalf of several small businesses in the area, said that there had been no incidents in her time at 28 years at the shop.
Shotts Community Council shared Mrs O’Connor’s concerns and called for something to be done to tackle the parking problem in the town.
A council spokesman said: “There are no plans at the moment to create car parking in this location.”
And Mrs O’Connor and other residents have called for a pedestrian crossing in Station Road.
“There is no safe place to cross and to me that is more of a safety issue,”she added. “Traffic lights need to be introduced.” Now the council are set to investigate safety issues on the road.
A council spokesman added:“In relation to the request for the installation of a pedestrian crossing on Station Road, Roads and Transportation will arrange for pedestrian and traffic flow surveys to be carried out to assist in the assessment process of establishing if the criteria for the installation of a pedestrian crossing facility can be met at this location.”