Disabled parking stress on cruise ship visit days
ON FRIDAY 26 August there were two large cruise ships which arrived with over 7,000 passengers. The High Street was packed with tourists and the local tour guides were doing their bit informing them of our wonderful history of the buildings.
Then I spoke to an elderly lady I knew who was also disabled and was struggling to walk. I asked her how her 89-year-old husband was and, quite upset, she told me that he was desperately trying to find a disabled parking spot. She informed me that those few on the Albert Pier were closed off.
Why oh why has this been allowed to happen as there is plenty of space to allow disabled drivers to use these few spaces and enough cruise guide attendants in yellow jackets to help them on and off? This is really a disgrace on our part of the tourist trade to allow this to happen.
Please can someone reply to this ridiculous situation and also this can be rectified for the next season or immediately put right now for the rest of this season.
An absolute disgrace.
R. S. MAUGER
Response provided by the States of Guernsey Cruise Welcome Team:
We’d like to apologise to any member of the community with a disability who was not made aware that they could park on Albert Pier on the 26 August. Disabled parking bays are not closed off on cruise ship visits and we have publicised this through the media. Because your reader has highlighted this to us, we are also now looking to introduce better signage at the pier so it is as clear as possible that the disabled bays remain available at all times regardless of the number of visiting cruise ships or the number of passengers coming ashore.