Residents of a Dundee street claim their cars are being damaged due to the new pavement parking ban.
People living at the western end of Balunie Drive in Douglas say their street is too narrow to accommodate vehicles parking on both sides of the road.
Drivers used to park on a grass verge but now park on the road to avoid being fined.
John Davie, 53, claims he has had his wing mirror smashed three times in the last six weeks because drivers are being forced to squeeze through a narrower gap.
Balunie Drive ‘has got narrower’ since pavement parking ban
He said: “Since the new pavement parking rules have come in, the street has essentially got narrower.
“As a result, residents are constantly getting their cars damaged.
“In the last few weeks, I’ve had my wing mirror smashed in three times while others on the street have had various bumps and scrapes.
“It’s got to the stage where we have to do something about it as it’s causing thousands of pounds worth of damage to cars.”
Since February 26, parking attendants have been dishing out fines to drivers whose vehicles are found to have one or more wheels touching the pavement.
According to the Dundee City Council’s pavement parking rules, grass verges must also be avoided, unless there is an exemption.
John added: “The issue is we used to be allowed to park on the grass verge, which still left plenty of space for pedestrians to get by on the pavement.
“However, since the introduction of the pavement ban, we’re having to park along the street.
“The way the road sweeps doesn’t help – and no one sticks to the 20mph limit.
“The road is inundated with heavy trucks and buses that come flying along, and cars have nowhere else to go except hit the parked cars.
“The worst thing is most people just drive off.
“We’ve tried to contact the council but we’ve not been getting anywhere. If we could park on the grass verge it would fix the problem.
“The other solution would be to build some parking bays within the grass verge.”
Fellow Balunie Drive resident David Cook, 70, said: “I’ve had my wing mirror hit just the other day.
“The road has always been known for it, but it’s got so much worse since the new rules.
“It’s unfit for purpose and only a matter of time until someone gets hurt.
“Several residents have contacted the council about getting an exemption but we’re not getting anywhere.”
Council considering request for pavement parking exemption on Balunie Drive
A Dundee City Council spokesperson confirmed the local authority has received complaints from residents.
They said: “The residents’ concerns and requests to have Balunie Drive added to the pavement parking exemption list have been received and they will be considered on their merit in due course.
“We have issued four penalty charge notices on the street since enforcement was introduced on February 26.”
A businessman on Ure Street in the Blackness area previously branded the new rules “ill-conceived”.
Conversation