Southsea motorists plead with traffic bosses to reinstate MB and MC parking zones

FRUSTRATED residents have stepped up the pressure on traffic bosses to bring back their parking zones.
Residents' parking in Bramble Road, SouthseaResidents' parking in Bramble Road, Southsea
Residents' parking in Bramble Road, Southsea

Communities have rallied to get the MB and MC parking zones, which cover 3,000 homes in Southsea and Fratton, reinstated.

Residents are angry that the parking restrictions were taken away despite pleading they would pay to keep their permits – while another parking zone in Somers Town was kept after a campaign from people living there.

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Portsmouth Tory traffic official Ken Ellcome says MB and MC were treated differently as they created huge issues with ‘displacement parking’ – where people who don’t qualify for permits leave vehicles in roads elsewhere without restrictions.

But MB and MC motorists say they want the council to play fair and treat them in the same way. They’ve been backed by local Lib Dem councillors.

Samantha Woodland, 43, of Lorne Road, Southsea, which came under the MC zone, said: ‘The unfairness of it all is one of my major issues.

‘We campaigned for the introduction of the zone.

‘The restrictions were only for two hours, just enough to stop people parking their second vehicles in our zone.

‘Then as far as I got told, it arbitrarily got taken away.

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‘Now I am parking a five-minute walk away, sometimes further. My personal record is 15 minutes.

‘I was soaked by the time I got home and my phone died in my pocket.

‘We only have one car, we are a family with two children, so we feel we should have a chance of parking.’

Clive Goodwin, 66, of Bramble Road, Southsea, formerly under the MC zone, said: ‘It’s a nightmare trying to park.

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‘When we had the zone, everything seemed to be working well, but no-one had thought about the displacement into other areas, so we have a domino-effect with parking.

‘Either there is a city-wide parking zone plan, or nothing at all. At the moment, there is just a mish-mash of ideas.’

Steve Richardson, of Orchard Road, that fell under MB, said: ‘I have got a company car, so I was prepared to pay £75 a year to park in my street.

‘When the zone was in place, there wasn’t a problem. It makes me so cross.’

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