Sir,
I believe that efficient and consistent traffic management has been long overdue in Tenby and, in general, the recent stricter enforcement of parking regulations is a great improvement. Traffic seems to flow more easily with significantly reduced congestion and the streets seem much safer for pedestrians.
I would beg to differ with those who claim that it will drive visitors away as most visitors come from a traffic disciplined environment and they are frequently amazed at the lax enforcement regime in Tenby. I would also suggest that the majority of offenders are local residents who over the last decade have become accustomed to parking as and where they like.
However, as with all new schemes, I do feel that there is a need for some tweaking to eliminate anomalies.
Doctors and nurses on duty are exempted from the constraints of the parking regulations, but this exemption has not been extended to home carers who, have to a large extent, assumed the role of the district nurse in the community.
This needs to be addressed urgently before some elderly person's life is put in danger. I have been advised that, for some legal reason, it would take up to nine months to amend the regulations.
Jones Terrace, Augustus Place and Hamilton Court have a large concentration of elderly residents who currently are at risk.
As a temporary expedient, could the PCC allocate three spaces at the front of the multi-storey car park for home carers on duty?
Thirty years ago electricians, plumbers and gas engineers could probably carry all their necessary tools by hand, but these days the utilities are so complex that they need their vehicles close by to access their equipment.
Currently, the strict restrictions are making the walled town a no go area for these workers and it is the ratepayers who are suffering.
I accept that this is a complex matter to resolve, but as a temporary expedient, could the enforcement be relaxed sufficiently to, at least, allow them to use the loading bays?
When pedestrianisation comes into force in the summer, many delivery men will park in a loading bay in order to make a delivery within the walled town, but if the delivery takes more than a mere five minutes, then they will be penalised as the PCC policy requires goods to be loaded/unloaded from a vehicle every five minutes.
I have deliberately used the term 'policy' as I have been unable to find legal justification for this action in respect of loading bays.
When pedestrianisation was introduced to Tenby, it took five years of lobbying to find an acceptable compromise, I do trust that the mandarins at County Hall do not take as long to resolve the present issues.
I have been assured that County Hall will heed representations through the appropriate channels which, of course, are not this newspaper.
I understand that Ms. Burns and Ms. Evans, our previous AMs, have both approached County Hall on these issues with no apparent result to date. Perhaps our town council might see fit to make representations on behalf of the electorate. Assuming of course that they are considered an 'appropriate channel'.
John H. T. Griffiths,
Tenby.