Ambulance delayed by illegal parking
CALLS FOR MAIN STREET TO HAVE ‘BUS ONLY’ PARKING ZONE
AN AMBULANCE was unable to get to a man who was bleeding out on West Street because the area was blocked by a bus forced to stop in the middle of the street because cars were parked illegally in the bus stop.
The ambulance had approached the scene via Duke Street but was unable to get any further. The ambulance eventually managed to make it’s way to the injured man and convey him to hospital but the situation has once again highlighted the problems surrounding parking on West Street.
A ‘ MAD siauation’ that saw an ambulance struck in traffic, yards from a man bleeding on the path close to Tesco on West Street has again raised issues over the continued chaos on the town’s main street.
Just before 6pm last Thursday, emergency services received a call that an injured man was discovered ‘covered in blood’ on West Street and was in need of an ambulance.
It duly approached the area via Duke Street, but once it got onto West Street was brought to a standstill.
It’s arrival coincided with the town bus service and with vehicles parked in the bus/ loading bay, they were unable to get out of the way.
‘It was crazy. The ambulance was there with the siren on and the lights flashing, people were queueing up and some were on the bus and others about to get on, there were vehicles blocking the buses from getting out of the way,’ an eye witness stated.
‘A man went over to the bus and asked the waiting passengers to just walk up past Tesco and get on the bus there,’ the witness added.
The ambulance then managed to get to the man and convey him to hospital.
The incident again highlights the issues with parking on West Street.
Some traders believe it should be turned into a ‘ bus parking only’ zone while there have been further calls for the town bus service to be staggered, with one bus arriving on the hour and the second one 15 minutes later to ease congestion.