A blind St Andrews resident was reduced to tears after she was almost knocked down by a car that mounted the pavement and parked on double yellow lines.
Catherine Rowe, who has previously campaigned against obstructive street furniture in the town centre, wants Fife Council parking attendants to take a tougher line over illegal parking and the police to take a harder line on aggressive driving.
Catherine, 73, a widow who lives near the cathedral end of North Street, was returning from a show at the town hall at around 5.15pm on Saturday when the incident happened, close to the new Domino’s Pizza outlet on Market Street.
“If it wasn’t for the prompt action of my guide dog, the vehicle would have hit me,” she told The Courier.
“A woman who witnessed it said the car parked outside the pizza shop. Another car drove away at high speed. I think there were also customers parked on the lines outside.
“The street can’t take that kind of traffic. For blind and disabled people, it’s like an obstacle race. When I got home I sat down and burst out crying. I was in shock. I had to phone my friend because I couldn’t calm down.
“I had an asthma attack. I thought, enough is enough, I’m going to the papers.”
A St Andrean born and raised who returned to the town a few years ago, Catherine suffers from a hereditary eye condition and has no sight in her right eye and only 3% sight in her left eye.
Registered blind for five years, she has been assisted by her guide dog Aysha for three years.
She raised similar concerns last year when she challenged the then Fife Council leader Alex Rowley to try walking in the shoes of a blind person to experience how frightening simply visiting a town centre can be.
Mr Rowley rose to the challenge set by Mrs Rowe, who was fed up with the obstructions caused by advertising A-boards and other street furniture.
Mrs Rowe said she feels a lot more still needs to be done, adding: “Things have improved a little but new businesses come into the town and they don’t adhere. Bin days, in particular, are horrendous.
“In Dundee there is a zero-tolerance approach to A-boards and that’s what I’d like to see here.
“Pavements are for people. That’s my motto. If I walked down the middle of South Street, the police would be down on me like a ton of bricks. So why do they not come down like a ton of bricks on people who clutter the pavements and illegally park? The public are not getting answers.”
Concerns about the incident were raised by St Andrews community councillor Marysia Denyer and St Andrews councillor Dorothea Morrison at a meeting of St Andrews Community Council on Monday night.
Tony McRae, council lead professional for parking and public transport infrastructure management, said: “Fife Council’s parking attendants patrol St Andrews on a daily basis and regularly issue fixed penalty notices to drivers parked illegally, which includes parking on double yellow lines. Incidents that involve dangerous driving should be passed to the police.
“Last summer we carried out a successful campaign to reduce the number of A-boards on St Andrews streets. If people feel A-boards are becoming an issue again, please contact us on 03451 550011 with specific details of the location/business and we will follow it up.”