Parking restrictions in Ipswich Street, Stowmarket will be reinforced in the coming weeks, through the combined work of Stowmarket Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) and the town and county council, to ensure that traffic flows freely through the town centre, and pedestrians and other road users stay safe. This will be reinforced through publicising the current restrictions in place and the launch of an enforcement campaign that will begin in early February to deter people from parking illegally on the street.
The Stowmarket SNT has received numerous complaints about illegal parking in Ipswich Street, both from shops and the general public. Concerns were raised by the public about the safety of pedestrians around the shopping area, and ease of access for buses, emergency vehicles and shop deliveries.
Ipswich Street is a restricted zone, which means that vehicles are not allowed to park anywhere along its length. There is a disabled bay for disabled vehicles displaying their blue badges only, a bus bay, and two loading bays for delivery vehicles to unload in. No other parking is permitted in the bays.
In response to the complaints, a multi-agency meeting was held on 14th January 2009 to discuss the issues and ways to resolve them. It was identified that some of the signage was ambiguous and this needed to be improved. It was decided that the loading bays need to be clearly marked, and that in the future additional disabled bays will be created.
Letters will be sent to all the business and shops in the town centre to inform them of the future improvements and to highlight the current parking restrictions in place. The letter will also highlight that they do not wish to deter the public from using the town, and that they are encouraged to inform their customers and delivery drivers of the restrictions to encourage them not to break the law.
Inspector Sally Gallant of Stowmarket SNT says “It is important for many safety reasons that the parking restrictions currently in place are adhered to. Over the next few weeks the SNT is looking to educate the public and businesses so that they understand they are not allowed to park on Ipswich Street by law, other than for the allowed reasons within the designated bays.
“We are hoping that through education we can reduce the number of tickets that are issued in Ipswich Road in the future. Safety is our key concern and by keeping the street clear, this allows emergency vehicles access if needed. However for those who continue to ignore the law and endanger others, they may be issued with a £30 fixed penalty notice. There is ample car parking in many of the surrounding streets such as Milton Road, Bury Street, and at the Regal Cinema, which visitors to the town should be using.”
