Lack of Cobo parking ‘a nightmare’ for beachgoers

Car parks at the southern end of the bay were full yesterday, with some car drivers parking on the pavement along Cobo Coast Road, even though it is now designated as a no-waiting zone.

The area’s parking status was changed earlier this year following consultation between Traffic & Highways, the police, Castel Douzaine and members of the public.

However, at least six vehicles were parked in the zone at one point yesterday, with both car parks either side of nearby Mim’s Kiosk completely full.

Beachgoer Sarah Postlethwaite said she had spent almost half an hour trying to find a parking spot, and called the situation a ‘nightmare’.

It’s so hard to find somewhere,’ she said.

‘It should be expected on days like this that lots of people are going to come to the beach, if you can’t park on the pavement when everywhere else is full, then where else can you go?’

She suggested painting parking lines in the car parks to ensure that space was maximised.

Another beachgoer, who wished to remain anonymous, said the decision to make the pavement a no-waiting zone, coupled with the recent States-backed increase in parking tickets from £40 to £65 made the parking situation ‘harder for everybody.’

‘I’ve got young kids and they get agitated being sat in the car for ages waiting to get out and go on the beach,’ she said.

‘With the rise in parking fines as well, why are they making our lives harder?’

Tony Mahy, who along with wife Sue were two of the lucky ones to have found a parking space, said that it was purely down to luck whether motorists might manage to find somewhere to park.

‘We live in St Andrew’s so we have to drive if we want to come, fortunately for us two cars left as we arrived so we didn’t have a problem,’ he said.

‘If you can’t cycle or walk then you just have to take a chance.’

One cyclist, who did not wish to be named, said she often cycled to Cobo from her home in St Peter Port, and so was not affected by the problem as much as other people.

However, she said that she would be frustrated if she was driving to the beach, as she sometimes did with her 90-year-old mother.

‘If you can’t walk long distances then it’s a big problem. I feel for older people or people with young children,’ she said.

‘Personally I don’t see the problem with parking along the pavement, there’s a walking path slightly inland that people can use if they want to be away from the road.’

A Police spokesman said the no-waiting signs were there to ensure that the roads were safe, that drivers were not forced into the middle of the road, and so that pedestrians could use paths safely.

‘We would also ask beachgoers to park sensibly in other parts of the island, and not do so in a way which partially blocks the public highway or damages green spaces,’ he said.

‘People who do so risk being fined.’