Meeting called in bid to solve town parking nightmare
by Winston Brown
Residents from a Market Drayton street are to meet with district and county council officials to try and solve an ongoing parking nightmare.
People living in the Burgage were given the news at a town council meeting last week after safety fears were again raised.
Motorists continue to park on the pavements during the day, as well as in residents’ driveways, because of the narrowness of the road.
Mark Byers, who lives in the Burgage, said: “I just want a nice, safe street to live in and anyone with any common sense would say it’s not a safe street to live in at the moment.
“The footpath is no longer a footpath – it’s a car path.
“It’s one of the oldest streets in the town and it’s had no attention paid to it.
“We want somebody who knows about roads to sort it out but we want them to sort it out for good.
"We want a permanent solution, not a plaster cast solution.”
The possibility of introducing a residents’ parking permit scheme in the Burgage is expected to be discussed.
Ivan Southall, who moved to Market Drayton from the West Midlands eight years ago, said: “I am 69 years old and I am almost frightened to cross the road.
“Last time we had a photograph taken for the Advertiser and I thought, for a few days, it was a lot quieter and people seemed to be taking notice.
“But I have seen six or seven people in wheelchairs being pushed along, in the road, because there’s no space.
“There’s supposed to be a 30mph speed limit and I’ve seen cars doing 60 or 70mph.
“This is getting out of hand.”
The meeting, to be set up by the town council, will be attended by Peter Armitage from North Shropshire District Council and the county council’s Traffic Management Officer, Kevin Aitken.
Residents from Rodenhurst House Flats in Arlon Square are also to be invited after calling for parking permits to be issued, allowing them to use Frogmore Road car park.
They will be joined by representatives from the Meres and Mosses Housing Association who run the flats.
Meanwhile, Market Drayton Chamber of Trade chairman Roy Aldcroft, has made an appeal for those parking in the Burgage to stop.
At a meeting this week, he said: “The Burgage at the moment is becoming a rat trap but there are plans to police it better.
“In the meantime, we are making a public appeal to all those with businesses in the town to please stop parking in residential streets.”
