Cumbernauld parking woes at college

Vehicles, mainly believed to be owned  by students of New College Lanarkshire which has a campus just off Carbrain Ring Road in central Cumbernauld, have been causing significant issues for residents, especially people in wheelchairs and other users of the footpath network in the area, as well as other road users.

Councillor Junaid Ashraf, one of the representatives for Cumbernauld South, said: “Myself and Cllr Cathy Johnston (also Cumbernauld South) had a meeting with representatives from the police, roads department, college and Community Partnership Manager to come to a solution.

“Cllr Johnston and I have arranged for pedestrian fencing to be installed at the pavement outside the college car park entrance to block cars from using the dropped pavement for mounting their cars onto the side of the road.

“Another section of fencing will be installed further up on the road near to the medical centre.

“Further to this, an agreement has been reached for the police, college, Community Partnership Manager and ourselves as local elected representatives to monitor the area more diligently as a team.

“The police have outlined several enforcement measures they are willing to use to enforce safe access for wheelchair users and prams to use the pavement and to ensure there is safe access for buses on the road who have found it difficult to pass by. Whilst we met at the location a few buses had to mount the island crossing just to avoid the parked cars.

“In addition to these measures, the process to ensuring that yellow lines can be introduced so that cars may be fined is going to be put into process. There will be public consultations regarding these new developments however the process will take some time.

“I will be working alongside the council and my local elected representatives to see that the progress of these developments are as smooth as possible.

“I’ve also agreed to work alongside the college to meet with the student association to see if a campaign can be launched to raise awareness regarding the dangers of parking irresponsibly and the stress these practices are causing the local community. The Community Partnership Manager will support us in our campaign financially and to help ensure a cohesive message of responsible parking is voiced.”

Councillor Allan Graham, Labour’s representative in the ward, said: “People should be aware that the police are active in moving people on if they are wrongly parked.  There will also be a meeting on October 11 to which the council, police, town centre management, the college and Tesco have all been invited. I’d also like to thank police area commander Inspector Neil MacLeod and his team who have been very active with regard to this issue.”

Martin Loy, Head of Estates at New College Lanarkshire, said: “We have been working closely with all students, staff and visitors to limit the impact that antisocial parking has on the local community.

“We will be running campaigns through the Students’ Association and the Learner Engagement Team to promote safe and conscientious parking and will continue to work with the local authority, community, Police Scotland and town centre businesses towards the provision of a suitable parking model for Cumbernauld town centre that takes into account the needs of all users.”

A North Lanarkshire Council spokesperson said: “We are working with elected members and other agencies to help identify possible solutions to the issue of parking in the area.”