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Drivers in tight spot over parking
Tuesday 3rd June 2008, 12:30PM BST.
Squeezing into the tiny spaces of a multi-storey car park is an effort at the best of times. However, motorists in Shrewsbury find it a harder task than anywhere else in the country.
A nationwide survey has revealed that spaces in Shrewsbury’s Raven Meadows car park are so tight that only the skinniest shoppers will be able to get out of their vehicles with ease.
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The multi-storey car park, in the town centre, was voted the car park with the tightest spaces in the UK in the survey by Continental Tyres.
According to the Department for Transport guidelines, a standard car parking space should be at least 2.4 metres wide.
However, the crammed-in spaces in Raven Meadows are just two metres wide and, with the average car estimated to be about 1.8 metres, visitors are left squeezing through a tiny 20cm gap between cars.
Katrina Whittaker and her mother Julie, from Market Drayton, visited Shrewsbury yesterday but encountered problems before setting foot in the shopping centres.
Miss Whittaker had to let her mother out of the car before backing into the space – then had problems getting out herself.
She said: “It’s ridiculous. You can’t park properly because of the barriers. It’s really awkward.”
But Mark Walker, from Wem, said he had been to worse car parks. “I don’t think it’s that bad,” he said. “I don’t usually have problems but I don’t have the biggest car in the world.
“If I was parking a Land Rover I’d probably park somewhere else out of sheer desperation, but I don’t find it that bad.”
A spokeswoman for the car park said the spaces complied with regulation measurements and she had not noticed many people having problems.
But drivers disagreed. Corrine Mitchell had come to Shrewsbury for the day with her husband and two young children, aged six weeks and two.
She said: “I couldn’t get past the pillar and had to go around the car to get out.”
Sophie Gwilliam, from Pontesbury, agreed, adding: “It’s because of the pillars and people who park away from the bollards but closer to other cars.”
“I would agree with that,” said Georgina Carter, from Bayston Hill. “It’s especially bad when people park over the lines.”
Toby Shaw, from Pontesbury, said: “I’ve several times got stuck trying to get out.”
But pensioner Jody Keele, from Ludlow, said she didn’t have problems as her car is 20 years old. “It’s smaller than modern cars so I can get in and out quite well,” she said.
Other car parks likely to leave drivers in a tight spot include those at the GMex in Manchester, Chelmsford multi-storey in Essex and Heathrow Airport.
Fact file:
- Raven Meadows multi-storey car park has 850 parking spaces.
- It was built in 1968.
- There are 13 parking levels.
- Charges range from £1 for up to an hour to £7.50 for 24 hours.
- In 2007 it was awarded a Park Mark award for being a clean, light and safe place.
By Pam Griffin
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The spaces are ridiculously small.. sometimes you can park without a problem, even on a busy shopping day, which is great, but then you can’t get out of your car without climbing out the boot, or finding that when you get back to it, you’ve no wing mirrors left.
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There should be a standard for the size of public parking spaces. Cars have become larger over the years, therefor using up more parking spaces.
Come on move with the times
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I’ve never had a problem with the size of the spaces and I drive a large family car, infact I only ever use Raven Meadows when visiting Shrewsbury. I have parked in much tighter car parks.
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If you think that is bad, try parking at the new Charlies north of the town. I can almost guarantee that your car will be damaged when you return due to the lack of space between the lines.
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Use the Park and Ride – you know it makes sense!!
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Well for goodness sake you bunch of whingers…..use the park & ride. Better still shop and park out of the Town Centre.
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Of course the spaces are small, the more cars they get in, the more money they rake in. As others have suggested, there is always park and ride facilities to use.
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Forgive me if I’m wrong but does the photograph above not show the same side of the parked car?
It it does then how much space was on the other side?
Or is this as I suspect it is a pathetic attempt by the Star to create the illusion that the car was jammed into it’s space on both sides.
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The building is nearly 40 years old and recently was awarded a Park Mark award for providing a safer environment for car park users and their cars. No crime reports have been reported during the last year! The staff Customer care is of the highest level. The parking bays are wider than 2 meters! What more would you expext?
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good idea about park and ride but not to good if some one has tried to break in to yr car while its parked there, if you have kids like i do kids and shopping on a bus is not very easy
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The narrow spaces suite the narrow minds of the SABC who never listen and make up the rules as they go along. Why did they put the parking fee up to £2.00 allday sunday?? Pure greed. My advice.. for what it’s worth.. Don’t bother!
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I think people who are too fat to get in / out of their car should look at themselves not the size of the spaces =- also the size of their cars!! Get out of the big 4×4′s an buy a little green thing.
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its easy to park there – they must just have big cars if they are complaining, they could always park across 2 bays and pay for 2 tickets like the obese do on US airplane flights
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And what about the people who are not fit and agile ?
I suffer with spinal damage and find it impossible to use this car park.
A lot of slightly disabled people are not entitled to Disabled parking.
Think about others not just your selves !
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Em, for all the OAP’s on here, what you need to do is drive in incredibly slowly stopping for every pedestrian who actually thinks the raised section at the entrance is a proper zebra crossing. Go up to the barrier, that’s right press the little green button, try to get close enough so you don’t have to get out of your car dear. OK, take the ticket, the barrier with all the home made stop signs stuck on it will go up and what you need to do then is drive up the ramps in a CLOCKWISE direction. That’s right, keep going, try and ignore the queue of frustrated lunch hour drivers behind you as you trundle along at 5 mph – there’s no rush. Now, here’s a clue – when it starts getting brighter through your car windscreen (like waking up in the morning -you know) then it means you’re at the top. This is where you want to be it’s the special ‘old people’s parking area’. There’s loads of room here for all of you, you can practice finding reverse, parking in a straight line and driving around at speeds of up to – wait for it – 20 mph. Why, there’s so much room up here you might as well get the tartan rug off the parcel shelf and have a picnic, you know like you do in lay-bys and all that. What’s that dear? I said welcome to Shrewsbury, have a nice day and don’t forget to pay for your ticket before trying to shove it in the slot at the exit barrier! Bless…
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“Mr Livelife said: Jun 3rd, 2008 at 4:03 pm Well for goodness sake you bunch of whingers…..use the park & ride. Better still shop and park out of the Town Centre.”
Well there’s a quality hypocrytical comment for you. . . . so pressumably you expect all the shops and businesses that people go too in the town centre to be shut down and rebuilt out of town then?
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If you have to get two small children out of the back of your car, it is very difficult. There are not enough parent spaces. The park and ride or my local bus services is out of the question. With 3 children, a buggy and shopping bags, plus a grumpy driver it’s just impossible. If you don’t believe me just try it yourself.
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One of the primary problems with cars and car parking spaces in multi-storey car parks is that the spaces are sized in accordance with guidelines published 30-odd years ago.
What is happening is that cars are getting bigger, whilst the size of parking bays remain static. One of my weekend “toys” is a 1988 Jaguar XJ40 and – when parked up somewhere – nearly all modern cars dwarf it! Even a new Mini is taller and as wide as the Jag!
Corpulency in modern cars is rife, usually fuelled by more and more safety kit. All of which adds weight, affects fuel consumption, and affects the environment more than necessary.
My solution? Exercise birth control, be sensible when shopping and only buy what you need, and drive a Lotus Elise (small, light, nimble, and fast) :-)
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