The writing’s on the floor

No parking between the 16th and 31st

Traffic in Cormatin has always been a nightmare on the 1st and 16th of the month. Why? Well that is the day the "Great Parking Changeover" takes place. What’s that? I hear you ask. The art of compromise has determined that cars will be parked on one side of the main street for the first half of the month and then on the other side of the road for the second half of the month. This means that no one has to have a line of cars in front of their door on all the days, but it isn’t half confusing for the non-regular parkers in town and most particularly for the tourists, meaning that on 1st and 16th cars are parked on both sides of the road and traffic comes to a standstill.

Someone's been writing on the floor

A couple of weeks ago we were in town buying a newspaper and fresh baguette and we saw some mysterious writing on the tarmac. What could be happening? I duly took a photo for posterity and we went home to contemplate this bit of exciting news. Was Cormatin finally going to have a sensible parking policy?

A few years ago it was decided that something had to be done about this silly parking system. No, we couldn’t all park on just one side of the road (why? – no idea) there had to be a system of alternate-side parking, but not changing twice month, a permanent alternate-side parking.

One car not in an official space..

Much debate in the council meetings has been devoted to this subject, and there has been much argument in town amongst main street and non-main street residents and even though the plans were published two years ago, no one could agree and nothing has been done.

But those little markings on the tarmac, did they mean that something might actually happen?

The diggers moved in the following week and caused a lot of chaos in town, pavements have been torn up and curbs lowered. And then they left….. those daft parking signs were still in place.

Finally last week, the painters turned up and have marked parking spaces and the parking signs have been removed. We now have permanent parking spaces, but we have far fewer than before and nipping in for your newspaper or loaf of bread isn't as easy as it was.

Another car not in an official space.....

But the big question is, has life been improved for the parkers, the residents or the traffic flow - the jury is still out on that one, but I doubt it. Parkers have already taken an anarchistic approach and are ignoring the painted spaces and parking anywhere which is blocking up the road and lorries are still thundering through town at an inappropriate speed. But we will see the real effect next summer when the campervans and caravans start to clog up our main street again. Watch this space for an update!