The new restricted parking zone (RPZ) in Helensburgh town centre will be going live from Monday 11th May. This means that, within the zone, motorists can only park in marked bays; parking anywhere else is a violation of the parking regulations. On street parking remains free of charge but is limited to one hour.

The RPZ was a long-term aim of the public realm project and is entirely separate from the ongoing parking review.

There will still be designated disabled and loading bays which will be identified by signs nearby. There will be no yellow lines in the zone. Unless you are parking in a bay then do not stop.

From Monday 11th May any vehicle caught parking outside marked bays will be issued with a penalty charge notice (PCN).

For two weeks prior to enforcement commencing the council’s amenity wardens will be issuing first time offenders with warning notices, explaining the changes.

Head of Roads and Amenity Services, Jim Smith, explained the reasons for this change: ‘’We’ve made a significant investment on transformational public realm works in Helensburgh, creating a fabulous new town centre for both residents and visitors to enjoy and we don’t want to spoil that with unsightly yellow lines.

‘’No one wants to see yellow lines blotting the town centre when there is a much cleaner alternative. Restricted parking zones need only a small number of signs to tell motorists where they can and cannot park and between what times and are far less intrusive than yellow lines.

‘’The zone is very straightforward and it should be easy to get used to – only park in a marked bay; do not park anywhere else. It may take some time for people to get used to which is why we’ll have a light touch approach up to 11th May but after that we’ll be enforcing fully.

‘’This is all part of our drive to create parking turnover in our town centres, ensuring that on-street spaces are kept for people going about their daily business in the town centre and not abused by irresponsible drivers.’’

*****ENDS*****