Community group for status quo

Bridge of Allan Community Council is recommending that waiting times in Henderson Street stay as they are following their survey of parking in the town.

Responses to the survey, carried out in March, included feedback from more than 600 business owners, employees and residents.

Results were presented at the community council’s meeting on Tuesday, May 15.

It followed a separate survey carried out by traders last year which found that a majority of them favoured an increase in waiting times in Henderson Street – as well as a social media survey carried out by the community council which found support for waiting times to be increased from 30 minutes to 60 minutes, with some favouring a mixture of these times.

The latest community council survey found that a majority (39 per cent) supported the introduction of a 30-minute wait on the north side of Henderson Street and a 60-minute wait on the south side.

However, 101 respondents (19 per cent) wished to retain the existing 30-minute wait on both sides and 139 respondents (26 per cent) did not support any of the proposals put forward, accounting for 45 per cent of respondents.

The group calculated that at the moment there are, over a 10-hour period, 880 parking opportunities on Henderson Street and these would be significantly reduced if waiting times were increased to 60 minutes.

Community council chairman Mike Watson said of the recommendation to retain the parking status quo on Henderson Street before Tuesday’s meeting:“We believe the slight gain potentially achieved for some merchants is outweighed by the disadvantage it would bring others.”

The group also concluded that 30 minutes on-street parking in Fountain Road outside the post office be retained as more than 70 per cent of respondents supported this option.

A suggested three-hour restriction to the waiting time at the Fountain Road car park outside the Co-op was rejected as“a number of significant issues were raised by a number of stakeholders.”

To access the survey go to: www. ccbridgeofallan.org.uk/ parking-survey-report/

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