All-day parkers causing havoc in busy village

All-day parkers causing havoc in busy village

8 April 2015

COMMUNITY officials and business owners in Crossgar are seeking an urgent meeting with senior roads officials to discuss mounting parking concerns in the village.

Frustration is growing at the number of drivers blocking footpaths in Downpatrick Street, forcing mothers with prams and wheelchair users to pass on the main road. Other drivers leaving their cars parked outside the village Post Office all day are hampering access to the facility for elderly customers in particular.

Crossgar Community Association chairman Paul Teggart and business owners Alan Graham, Steven Fitzsimons and Andrew Quinn, along with village sub-postmistress Margaret Ringland, have called for the parking issue to be addressed.

They have suggested a portion of land in Downpatrick Street could be redeveloped to provide a much-needed car park for drivers who park their cars in Crossgar and travel to work in Belfast.

The community and business representatives say the new car park 

would also remove security fencing around the derelict site which encroaches on the footpath, improving pedestrian access.

“The parking is getting out of control,” declared Mr. Teggart. “Some drivers park their cars on the footpath at Downpatrick Street early in the morning and do not return to early evening. Likewise outside the Post Office, workmen leave their vans and travel out of the village with colleagues in other vehicles in the morning, while people who take the bus to Belfast, leave their cars here as it is close to the bus stop.”

He said community officials have let notes on windscreens of cars owned by people who park all-day in the village encouraging them to park elsewhere have been ignored.

“The fact business owners are taking a stand alongside the community group shows the strength of feeling on the issue in Crossgar. We are planning to arrange a meeting with roads officials to ensure the all-day parking issue can be addressed to the satisfaction of residents and the business community,” he confirmed.

“Crossgar is a very busy village and addressing the all-day parking issue would free up much-needed parking, providing a boost for local businesses. We need a new car park and maybe the land at Downpatrick Street could be redeveloped to provide this.”

Mr. Teggart said mothers with prams and young families should not have to walk on the main road as a result of “inconsiderate drivers” who neither live nor work in the village.

Steven Fitzsimons believes addressing the all-day parking issue will benefit everyone in the village and said he shared the concern about pedestrian access along busy footpaths being impeded by motorists.

“A new car park could solve this problem and the development of such a facility is something well worth pursuing. The safety of residents and shoppers is vitally important in a village which handles a huge volume of traffic,” he added.

Alan Graham believes that in the short term, moving the security fence around the derelict site backwards would create some much-needed space for pedestrians and address the access issues some people are facing.

“If the fence ran parallel to the gable ends of the businesses either side of this vacant area it would give around one metre of extra footpath space which is badly needed. The creation of a new car park, if that is possible, is something well worth considering,” he added.

Andrew Quinn agreed that moving the security fence would provide additional footpath space and hoped agreement for this to happen can be secured as soon as possible. He also voiced support for exploring the potential to provide a new car park at Downpatrick Street.

He added: “We are all keen to ensure people walking in the village are safe. All-day parking is a problem we would like to see addressed as it will benefit everyone in Crossgar.”

Margaret Ringland admitted all-day parkers outside the Post Office “pose an inconvenience” for elderly customers with mobility problems and agreed the village requires additional parking provision.