Keswick’s car-jammed streets could be about to get a residents’ parking scheme.
But fears have been raised that it could lead to a loss of spaces for homeowners and guesthouses.
It follows areas such as Blencathra Street and Helvellyn Street experiencing “terrible” parking problems this year, a meeting was told.
While supportive of a solution, Keswick councillor Tony Lywood fears that highways authority Cumbria County Council may insist on rolling out extra double yellow lines as a safety measure to accompany any scheme – which could render the exercise pointless, he said.
Cllr Lywood expects any scheme to involve residents having to “register” their cars and have a permit.
It would aim to “exclude” commuters, shoppers and day-trippers from dumping cars in certain town centre streets, said Cllr Lywood.
But he added: “My only worry is that the county council may insist that double yellow lines are put in in such a way that they reduce the stock of parking so dramatically that it puts the whole project in jeopardy.
“If they insist on actually having splays around corners so that people cannot park, that may actually reduce the number of parking spaces we have.”
Demand for free parking close to the town centre has been so high this year that the problem is now affecting Windebrowe Avenue, town councillors heard.
There have also been examples of vehicles being left parked outside the ambulance station on Penrith Road, said councillors.
A top level meeting next month looks set to discuss whether a residential car parking scheme is now required. While no scheme has yet been established, the town’s parking woes will be top of the agenda of a stakeholders’ meeting on October 12.
It will be attended by town council members, Cumbria County Council, and residents and affected B&B and guesthouse owners.
It follows what Cllr Lywood called the “worse year than any other” for poor parking in Keswick.
The town’s representative on the county council, told a meeting of Keswick Town Council that a scheme was now in the offing.
Cllr Lywood said: “I am negotiating with the county to ensure that they are not as draconian as they could be. We don’t want people to park on corners but we don’t want to lose car parking spaces.”
Residents in places such as Windebrowe Avenue have experienced problems with non-residents dumping their cars – often badly parked – on the junction – which can cause problems at peak times such as school pick-ups.
Cllr Markus Campbell-Savours said parking schemes could result in “displacement” with motorists then driving to other areas of the town and simply moving the problem elsewhere.
Cllr Lywood said: “There’s no doubt in my mind that if you put parking restrictions in those areas and stop people like day-trippers, commuters or shoppers – they will move on to find somewhere free.
There’s a rule of a thumb that displacement will keep going on to peripheral streets until it gets so far away that people won’t walk in.
“That may actually happen and it may be that the county needs to make the net larger to encompass other streets and areas.
He added: “This is not going to go away. Basically what we want to try and do is avoid cars arriving at the central car park of Bell Close and then driving round and round and round because it is completely full yet they don’t know the peripheral car parks exist, they don’t there’s one at Rawnsley, they don’t know there’s one at the Pencil Museum or that there’s one at the rugby club.”
Cllr Paul Titley said there were “stupid” examples of displacement parking on Penrith Road this year.
He said sometimes up to “a dozen” cars had been parked along Penrith Road and sometimes outside the ambulance station.
“We are amazed that some people could be so dumb as to do that,” said Cllr Titley.
