Sir, I was dismayed to read that our Town Council's proposed solution to the perennial parking problems in the town is to scrap the residents' parking permit scheme. How extraordinarily unimaginative! The scheme was introduced only recently, has a massive take-up, and benefits local people. I agree that it does not solve the town's traffic management problems, but that was never going to be the case. Surely its prime aim was to provide a service to the residents and to enable them to park somewhere close to their homes. The Mayor claimed that 'the majority' of residents are against the scheme. From my many dealings with Pembs. CC on the issue, the problem is that the scheme has too much support and there is not enough road space to cope; this hardly sounds like a majority against! One of my suggestions to the PCC was to issue permits to residences, rather than specific vehicles, so that home owners could, if required, give their permits to care workers, builders and so on, on a day to day basis. This would stop the prevalence of cards in windscreens saying, for instance, 'Working at ?'‚ As for the traffic management problems, surely the answer lies in clear and up-to- date signage, efficient park and ride and an effective enforcement of the Highway Code. Modern signs to our car parks, with the number of available parking places continually updated, would give visitors the positive message that we would like them to use the car parks, rather than drive round and around the town looking for that elusive free parking bay. Of course, this needs to be backed up by a reliable and efficient park and ride scheme. Perhaps most importantly, however, traffic regulations need to be effectively and consistently enforced. Just this week I followed a constable and traffic warden from Tudor Square to the Upper/Lower Frog Street intersection. Of the five cars parked in the disabled bays by the Bay Tree, just one had a blue badge. Three cars were parked on the double yellow lines outside the Nat West Bank and, around the corner, a further two vehicles were parked, and creating an obstruction, on the double yellows outside Fecci's Ice Cream Parlour. Not once in their perambulations did our intrepid pair pause, or even break stride to investigate these violations, so engrossed were they in conversation. Is there any wonder that Tenby parking is a matter of mirth to locals and visitors alike? The solution, then, is not to take the easy, knee-jerk option and further disadvantage townsfolk, but rather to seize the nettle and sort out the signage, back that up with a sound park and ride scheme, and ultimately to enforce the regulations consistently, continually and fairly.
Chris Lawrence