Angry motorists are being hit with £60 parking fines after leaving their vehicles in what, for years, has been considered off-street parking near the Whitehall Theatre.
Traffic wardens have started to book drivers who park in a layby on Bellfield Street.
Upset drivers argue that there are no signs or road markings prohibiting them from parking there.
However, Dundee City Council has said that there are double yellow lines running along the road’s edge that, although do not follow the contour of the layby itself, mean no parking.
Carpenter Tommy Weldon, of Top Class Carpets, which is next to the disputed layby, said the situation is proving a “nightmare” for customers who are unsure of where they can legally park.
He said: “From about 9am each morning, students from Dundee Uni park outside for the day leaving no spaces free outside the shop.
“When people come here it is not a quick five-minute trip, so we have always got to ask customers where they have parked in case they have gone into that bay.
“And if we are loading something into a van or car, we must keep an eye out for wardens.”
“I used to park my car there until a notice was put on my windscreen telling me that if I do it again I will be booked. But there are no signs and people still consider it as offstreet parking.”
The apparent lack of notice is also an issue for electrical outlet Audio Visual Solutions.
Owner Arthur Downie said he is not badly disrupted by the problem because he has private parking
But he added: “It’s been used as off-street parking as long as we have been here and I think it is strange that traffic wardens choose now to start booking people.
“Luckily we have our own private parking so it doesn’t bother us too much but for our customers it can be an issue.
“If we know someone is coming down we always make sure to tell them not to park there or they could find themselves with a ticket. If we didn’t have our own parking then we would be furious with what is happening.”
A council spokesman said: “We are enforcing the double yellow lines that are laid down on that road.”