Leader: Advertising boards

AFTER so many years of wrangling about street clutter, it is slightly odd to finally see the Royal Mile free of advertising "A-boards".

A council-imposed ban means they are now no more than a footnote in the famous street's history, although few – other than local traders – are likely to get nostalgic.

Good riddance is the view of many who saw them as an eyesore and pavement obstacles.

But the move may yet prove short-sighted and confusion remains about what it aims to achieve.

One of the main motivations appears to be public safety – yet can anyone recall a single accident they caused?

If the aim is improving the street's look, then the council's plans for tighter controls on the Royal Mile shops it owns – a third of the total – will surely have more effect.

At one time too many boards did get in the way of pedestrians, but tight licensing controls seemed to have controlled that.

It is to be hoped the cost of the ban is not the death knell of businesses who struggle to advertise effectively, particularly those tucked down the Royal Mile wynds.

Excuses don't cut it

IT IS easy to feel a bit sorry for Darren McPhee, who has been revealed as Edinburgh's worst parking offender.

The 24-year-old from Fountainbridge has clocked up a staggering 160 tickets and 9,000 in fines since he started parking his van outside his house just ten months ago.

Darren says he started his "can't pay, won't pay" campaign after one warden told him he could leave his van to pop inside to grab something – only to find he had been ticketed by the time he returned.

Since then he has been out of work so his van has been sitting on the roadside, gathering tickets which he says he simply can't afford to pay.

Darren's tale is one of woe and we hope he picks himself up and finds work soon. But he really can't hide behind such lame excuses.

Parking regulations may be a pain, and they may not always make sense. But they are there to keep the city moving and to prevent any selfish individual causing an undue nuisance to others. Darren is being just such a nuisance.

So our advice to him is to move on. And he should start by selling his van and offering the proceeds to the council – even if it will go for just a fraction of what he owes them.