Vaccination centre parking issues looked at by council
A Blairgowrie councillor has welcomed what he describes as the “pragmatic” approach being taken by council officers regarding parking around Blairgowrie Town Hall while it is being used as a vaccination centre.
Councillor Tom McEwan, one of the Blairgowrie and Glens ward representatives on Perth and Kinross Council, raised concerns on behalf of locals and the council has now agreed to remove the parking restrictions around the town hall for a two-week trial period.
Speaking at a recent meeting of Blairgowrie and Rattray Community Council, he said: “I have received comments from local residents who have said that the use of Blairgowrie Town Hall as a Covid vaccination centre is having an impact on their daily lives.
“They are obviously aware of the importance of having a vaccination centre in the town but as time goes on issues are arising from being unable to park outside their homes, for example.”
Residents have said that they have been unable to park outside their homes for five months while the vaccination centre and related parking restrictions have been in place, which has increased pressure on parking spaces on adjoining George Street.
And they say that the restrictions are in place even when the vaccination centre itself is not in use, and that parking attendants have been patrolling the area, affecting residents in their daily lives with everything from carrying shopping, bags of rubbish, garden waste and other household equipment and items between their vehicles and their homes.
Cllr McEwan also contacted PKC officers highlighting the residents’ concerns in an attempt to find out what the long-term plans were for the town hall.
He said: “The activities which took place in the town hall prior to the pandemic are very important in terms of people’s mental health and wellbeing and I would hate for them not to be able to take place because of this.”
Sandy Thomson is a community councillor for Blairgowrie and Rattray and is also on the Blairgowrie Town Hall Association committee.
He told the meeting: “Thirteen agencies were involved in the decision-making process and a number of venues were looked at for the vaccination centre but were rejected for various reasons.
“The issue is that the opening hours for the vaccination centre are variable
depending on the amount of vaccine supplies available, which is not known in advance.
“I appreciate that the car parking situation in particular is difficult, it is a very busy street at the best of times, and especially so now the shops are opening again.”
A council officer contacted Cllr McEwan to say that PKC has decided to remove the parking restrictions from May
28 for a period of two weeks and that the situation will be monitored.
The council officer said: “Initially it was felt that there was a safety issue with the volume of traffic attending and dropping off at the mass vaccination centre but now that the weather is improving and we are vaccinating the younger cohorts there should be a reduction in the amount of vehicle movements.”
Commenting on the decision, SNP elected member Cllr McEwan said: “I am glad to see that the council is taking a pragmatic approach to parking on Brown Street during the vaccination centre activity.
“Striking a balance between the needs of the public, residents, businesses and the vaccination team was always going to be challenging and I think this approach to test lifting the restrictions is a very welcome, practical approach.”