A local councillor has called for a measured approach to issuing parking fines until Leuchars Railway Station’s car park gets a much-needed extension.
In just nine months 290 tickets have been issued to motorists at Leuchars. Some drive from as far afield as Dundee and Angus to park for free at the station, leaving commuters struggling to find spaces for their cars before boarding trains.
Tay Bridgehead councillor Tim Brett expressed concerns about the strict enforcement before the problem is resolved.
During the same period since April 1, only 22 penalty notices were issued at Markinch station and 76 at Kirkcaldy.
Mr Brett said of Leuchars: “The car park at that station is full from very early in the morning until late in the afternoon. Up to four dozen cars are then parked along Station Road, all the way from the footbridge up to the junction at Toll Road.
“The situation is getting intolerable, not helped by the strict enforcement by the council’s car-parking team, although we know that new parking facilities should be provided soon.
“The difficulty at Leuchars is that there are no alternative on-street parking sites available, so I would caution motorists to be very careful about where and how they park. Urgent action is needed to deliver the extra parking spaces that have been promised, with a clear timetable of when this will be achieved.”
The majority of fines were imposed for parking outside marked bays.
This year Fife Council agreed to fund an extension to the car park and planning permission has been granted for the development. It expects to learn in the new year whether it will get additional cash from the Scottish Government for the work.
Soma Raviraj, senior manager in asset, network and passenger transport, said: “We’ve expanded the car parking at Leuchars Railway Station twice over the last 20 years. The number of people using the station has increased and, therefore, so has the demand for parking spaces.
“We appreciate that there’s more demand than there are parking spaces. We’ve identified funding to increase the number of parking spaces further but it isn’t enough to pay for the full extension.
“To meet the shortfall, we’ve submitted a bid to the Scottish Station Fund, which is administered by Network Rail on behalf of Transport Scotland.
“We’re expecting a decision on whether we’ve been successful in the new year.
“In the meantime, we would like to remind motorists travelling to and from the station from Dundee and St Andrews to take advantage of the frequent bus service if they can.
“The parking bays at Leuchars Railway Station are clearly marked and, like all the other car parks across Fife that we’re responsible for, we must make sure pedestrians can use them safely and that traffic can flow freely.”