Parking permit holders in high-demand Edinburgh district face daily battles

Local residents have spoken out over their regular parking issues – in scenarios which are experienced across Edinburgh.

Janis Hobb, 57, Care Worker.

Janis Hobb, has lived on Glenlee Gardens for 23 years and already battles permit parking issues on a daily basis in her job caring for people with disabilities.

She says: “It’s very difficult for people to get Blue Badges [so they don't have to pay for permits] these days, I’ve had clients who have serious brain injuries or missing limbs and cant get one.”

Parking woes: Josie Balfour pOSSIBLE CASE STUDY - JANISE HOBB, CARE WORKER FOR CHILDERN WITH LEARNING DIFFICULTIES

She’s particularly worried that it will change the nature of her neighbourhood for good: “It’s really sad, some of our neighbours are already talking about moving if it goes through. I’m heartbroken, I love these guys, I’ve seen their babies grow up.”

On her own behalf she feels that the cost of buying permits on top of having to run a car to get around the city to visit clients is a slap in the face from the council, especially when care workers and NHS staff are being advised by the government not to travel by public transport in order to avoid spreading Covid. She says: “I can’t help but feel that we are being punished after having worked so hard throughout this pandemic.”

John Ketchin, 81, Pensioner.

John Ketchin is frustrated by how difficult it has been to access the online CPZ consultation meetings, saying: “Usually, you would have a town hall meeting and go down and say what you think. You can get an idea of the feeling in the room. I couldn’t get on to the first online meeting. I just gave up. It feels like they’re [the council] deliberately trying to divide us up so we can’t complain.”

Josie and residents of Glenlee Gardens

Some neighbours helped him get onto the second meeting but he knows of other people in the area who have also missed out on the consultation because technology got in the way.

John’s been getting up at 5am every morning to walk the area putting letters on cars and through letterboxes to make people aware of the consultation. So far he’s gone through four reams of paper. He’s hard pushed to think of a reason why he feels so strongly on this issue but the isolation of Covid may play a part. He says: “Of course I couldn’t afford a car at first, when I moved here fifty years ago, but now it gets me to the golf course. It’s a lifeline, really.”

Irene Courtney, 21, Lollipop Lady,

Irene Courtney lives locally and helps kids cross at the junction between Paisley Crescent and Willowbrae Avenue. She’s most concerned about how these changes will affect her family.

“My daughter’s got her kids staying with her just now and they all have cars, they'll need more than two permits. For us, having cars means we can live close to each other and still travel to work. My granddaughter uses her car to get up and down to Aberdeen for university.

“I don’t like the idea of cars being pushed into parking onto Paisley Crescent and I don’t like the idea of the parking restrictions, but then I live in the area.”

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