A permanent ban restricting blue badge holders from parking on a road near Lincoln City Square is imminent and will be finalised very soon.
The restriction had been on trial since July 2017 following reports of an increased number of blue badge holders parking on double yellow lines and breaking regulations by driving down the road from 10am to 4pm.
This scheme will prevent anyone parking on Waterside South with the exception of a four spaced disabled area and loading bays located further down the road.
A spokesperson for Lincoln BIG said “We submitted plans to the county council to come up with a solution to this problem because many of the businesses down Waterside South have struggled with transport due to cars parked on the road.
“We have had no word from the council about how businesses have coped with the changes or how it has impacted them, but they should find it a lot easier to get places now parking restrictions are in place.”
Amongst residents, the news created a mixed reaction with one person calling it “a cynical move to force blue badge holders to pay for their parking in the new car park rather than improve access to the market area.”
This was only highlighted further in August 2017 when Lincolnshire County Council confirmed that they received multiple complaints about a lack of alternative parking within distance of the City Square.
However, some local residents welcomed the news with one person saying there is “nothing wrong with the new car park” and that the city has “greatly improved since the new measures were put in place.”
The scheme was designed after the council received multiple requests from businesses across the city to provide a solution that would remove anything that could have an impact on travel.
Lincolnshire County Council officers met on Monday 3rd December to discuss the planned move. The decision to implement the scheme received unanimous backing with some arguing that the scheme will improve public safety and remove any obstruction that could be present on the road.
Simon Burgess, Strategic Communications Officer for Lincolnshire County Council Highways, said “It’s difficult to measure the impact of the scheme yet since it’s only just been implemented, but we believe residents will agree with this move since traffic isn’t technically supposed to be driving down this road.”
“So far, we’ve had no complaints from businesses about parking on the road so we believe it could be a big success.”