No Parking signs installed at Thanet promenades due to complaints and ‘safety concerns’

No Parking signs have been installed

Thanet council says it has installed No Parking signs at promenades across the isle to tackle concerns about the safety of pedestrians and cyclists and in response to complaints from residents.

Warning signs, which highlight the possibility of motorists being slapped with a £500 fine, have been put in place at sites including Fort Promenade near the Cliftonville Lido.

The Fort Promenade sign prompted some public anger and confusion from those who have parked at the site for a number of years.

A Thanet council spokesperson said: “Vehicles parking on our coastal promenades cause safety issues for pedestrians and cyclists. We are currently addressing this worsening issue around the Thanet coastline.

“All of our designated promenades are subject to “Regulating The Seashore and Promenades 1992” byelaws that prohibit parking. This byelaw is enforceable by the police and designated officers of the council.

“The council has the power to prosecute the registered keeper or driver of any vehicle driven onto the promenade without lawful agreement, right or privilege. The maximum fine the court can impose on an offender is £500.

‘Concerns for safety’

“To raise awareness and remind motorists of these byelaws we have installed new signage at a number of promenade locations around the district – including at Fort Promenade to the west of the Lido. This is not a new restriction – Fort Promenade is included in Thanet District Council’s schedule of promenades and incorporates the Viking Trail, part of the National Cycle Network.

“We are taking action as a result of concerns about the safety of pedestrians and cyclists using this section of the Viking Trail. We have also received complaints from residents who have raised similar concerns and we have a duty of care to ensure that the public are able to use the promenade safely.

“We also have concerns about the promenade surface being unsuitable for the current volumes of cars manoeuvring and parking there. Moreover, there are highway safety issues; the entrance to this area is very close to a pedestrian crossing on one side, and a bus stop on the other.

“We appreciate that residents and businesses have been parking in this area unchallenged for some time, however, public safety is our main concern. We will be monitoring the area closely over the next few weeks and we will keep residents and businesses informed.”

26 Comments

  1. Locking the barrier would be a good start. I think anyone parking along the edge of the cliff by the Lido is quite brave. I walk along this this area quite regularly, and it is full of cars. With at least 15 cars right along the fence. Sooner or latter the cliff edge will give way
    More than once I have had the people in cars hooting their horns at me while I am walking along as they leave or arrive. So I think it is about time.

  2. The car park in dalby square was closed and the parking in front of cliff terrace stopped, Riverside housing closed their carpark behind Hatherley court and planning permission for an additionalc15 flats was granted fro the bottom of Edgar road, not suprisingly people found elsewhere, putting the sign up is one thing , actually issuing tickets is another. Hopefully they’ll also stop the people in the old caprice from parking on the grass as well.

  3. Promenades are for walking not car parking! I don’t often agree with the council but on this occasion they have my full backing

  4. I agree these promenades are not for parking but where are residents of these areas to park now? The only reason residents started parking was the lack of parking in all surrounding streets. TDC should never give planning permission for homes or flats which do not have sufficient off road parking spaces – and not just one car per household as this is often insufficient these days.

    I can’t remember when, but over 12 months ago I believe, planning permission was granted for a hotel opposite Queens Court – WITHOUT ANY PARKING SPACES! How ludicrous and short sighted of TDC.

  5. Looks like several of those vehicles are abandoned with flat tyres and foreign number plates. The gate is always wide open so it needs locking closed. That might be a start but yes they should not be parking there. It has taken TDC 3 years to get going on this. They are very slow actioning parking issues in Thanet. Looks like the travellers are back in the Lido car park again too.

    • Indeed – it is all very well having these regulations but they are pointless if not enforced. TDC has regulations about parties and rubbish on the beaches but nobody has ever done anything to prevent it happening or fining or prosecuting the offenders.

      The Police are obviously too busy so a few Council officers need to come out of the offices and onto the streets and being a little more proactive with all theses rules and regulations or they will continue to be ignored.

  6. Wouldnt it be a good idea that when planning permission is being asked for that parking spaces should be part of that?. The old police station at ramsgate 80 odd flats being built with only 20 odd parking spaces !! Plus chaos in effingham street when their deliveries turn up forcing pedestrians into the road as their lorries block the road and pavement !!

    • Highways has an input for planning applications and parking is certainly an area they look at , in addition neighbours can comment during the application period. HOWEVER, planning guidance is set to try and dissuade car use, in town centres its considered that not all people will have or need a car, provision of cycle stores gets round the provision of parking places..
      Of course its all tosh and the number of cars per household keeps increasing. The council shut the carpark in Dalby Square, now the yellow lines that are on one side of the square are always parked end to end, council won’t remove the lines nor will they enforce the restriction, so no problem? One day there will be a nasty incident , but then you look at the junction design and parking where dalby square joins ethelbert crescent and you have to wonder if it was designed by a blind man, the parking in front of the cafe/bowling alley means the visibility splays in no way meet the design standard. One day a serious injury will occur here too. Whole thing not helped by the mixture of responsibilities between TDC and KCC

      • “It’s all tosh”- no, it isn’t. People are finally beginning to realize what damage private car use is causing and has already caused.. Would Thanet’s High Streets have lost their rich variety of shops if it were not for the relentless advertising of cars, the running down of public transport and the free parking unfairly offered by Westwood Cross to shoppers? And why don’t bus users have free transport? (Pensioners do, of course.)A full bus is a damn sight less polluting than 40 people driving alone in a car.

        • Tosh is the idea that people are going to willingly give up their cars and as such allowing residential units with very little parking is madness, living without a car works in big cities like london, in thanet it doesn’t.
          The loss of our town centres has more to do with economies of scale ,rising standards of living, globalisation and people not wanting to use them.
          Provide thanet with a tube network and a bus service similar to london and there is maybe a chance of change but we don’t have the numbers or density of people to justify it , plus lots of people have to commute out of thanet for work.
          The push to get rid of personal transport is likely to be very difficult and cause great resentment amongst the electorate, the dream of no combustion engines and an all electric future by 2040 is very unlikely, unless we’re prepared to go back to the 50’s in terms of standards of living and freedom to travel

          • Thanet doesn’t need a tube network but a good interconnected and frequent bus service. Cars are a sort of addiction. At some point they will have to be given up.

          • I’ve lived in Thanet for many,many years,don’t drive,and never have done;living without a car in Thanet works fine for me,so ideas that it doesn’t/cannot for anyone are simply not so.

    • With respect cars are what has allowed people to enjoy their lives to a much greater extent than before, keeping in contact with friends and families is much easier and convenient, taking part in sporting activities ( especially those requiring bulky equipment), other recreational activities and ability to visit new places.
      To replace all that with public transport is simply just unrealistic, by all means get people out of their cars for the school run and a trip to the shops, tasks for which public transport would be far more suited.
      But giving up cars wholesale is not going to happen or be practical. The uk can pauper itself in the great green quest but it’ll make no difference to the planet as a whole, so moderation and calculated transition would be far better for all and lead to fewer mistakes and wasted resources.

      • From the business pages of today’s I: “Ikea is increasingly aware of dwindling car ownership among younger consumers.”

      • Europe and America ‘s per capita use of resources is so high that if these countries seriously reduced their consumption of raw materials and fossil fuels, it certainly would make a difference.

  7. The regulations are already in place with yellow lines, zig-zag lines, pavements, promenades, on a blind bend, 10 meters parking from a junction, grass verges, dropped kerbs, it’s endless. But what is the point of having regulations if nobody is checking and enforcing them? It’s all tosh alright. Are there any workers in the council offices that can come out and collect some revenue from all the bad parking in Thanet, like they sure do in other areas like Canterbury or London? Some beach inspectors collecting revenue on the beaches throught the summer season would be useful for Thanet coffers too. Come on TDC you are asking for ideas on how to save on expenditure. Get officers out enforcing regulations, that will help out!
    But the Lido car park has plenty of spare space for the promenade parkers to park up, there has never been a need to park where they do.

    • But you have to pay to use the lido carpark, unless of course you are of the mobile bent. In which case like many of those currently occupying it you’ll be left alone. Though yesterday the police were removing a lorry from amongst the caravans.

      • That’s a good point, if TDC ignore illegal parking by gypsies how can TDC than pick on rate payers ?. Isnt that a case of victimisation on the rate payers and against the law to pick on one section of society. I would happily pay a parking fine if I knew the gypsies were paying their fines. Seems very unfair to pick on the rate payers and let the gypsies do as they want and never have to pay a fine. Would be interesting if someone could afford to take TDC to court over this. Yes my lord i was 20 minutes late back to my car and was given a ticket yet a brand new pickup truck and caravan had been parked their for 2 weeks and wasnt given a parking ticket !!

        • Honest mistakes are as a rule punished and enforced, have a look at the tdc foi requests , there’s one relating to foreign registered cars and parking tickets , there is one vehicle with 130 tickets outstanding, but no effort by tdc/police to deal with it.
          As ever be sufficiently difficult to deal with and you’ll get away with it.
          Another prime example is the awful parking around the Westbrook tesco, you’ll never see a parking warden, but constant obstructions, parking on the yellow lines, blocking the tactile pavement at the crossing.
          Excuse is that its covered by the loading exemption which is rubbish as going shopping is not loading, but that could be dealt with by adding no loading “pips” to the lines.
          So punish motorists that generally cause no danger but not those that do.

  8. I will have to give up my job in Margate now. I cannot afford £13.60 a day to park , I am on zero hours basic wage.

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