You should have recently received a questionnaire from the Council through your letter box. It’s a two page Parking Consultation and the Council needs to hear your views.

More and more people living in our ward are telling us that parking is a major problem. The number of cars in our roads is increasing and the limited number of parking spaces just can’t cope with the demand.

In roads near railway stations, schools, St Helier hospital and the town centre, the parking problems are even more serious and residents are struggling to find parking spaces near their homes. The emergency services tell us it is a problem to get past the parked cars in some roads and the waste lorries have similar difficulties.

Up until now, the Council has agreed to various solutions on an ad hoc basis – timed parking restrictions, double and single yellow lines and parking bays. The problem is that solving the immediate issue in one road just displaces it to the neighbouring roads.

So we need a comprehensive approach that deals with the problems in the whole area and doesn’t make it worse for others. As you can see from the questionnaire, it has been sent to residents living in and around the town centre and further north up to St Helier.

Please do fill in the questionnaire and return it in the envelope provided. You don’t need a stamp as it is a Freepost address. And please do encourage your neighbours to reply as well. Without your feedback, the Council can’t decide which solutions will work best in the road you live in.