Parked car delays fire brigade on way to Barrow blaze
Last updated at 12:48, Monday, 03 September 2012
FIREFIGHTERS were left frustrated after parking problems in a back lane meant they were stalled on their way to an emergency call.
The emergency services were called out to an incident in Portland Crescent, Barrow, on Thursday.
However, officers were unable to access the house as a vehicle was blocking the back lane.
John Helm, incident manager, said residents had complained the car in question was parked there as it was near to the hospital.
He said: “We attempted to get down the lane but there was a vehicle blocking us.
“We then attempted to move it but were unable to.
“We then headed back round and got through the other side of the lane. It delayed us by a few minutes.”
The officers discovered a cooker fire that was out on their arrival and they ventilated the house.
People in the Hawcoat area say they have been plagued by staff using their residential roads as an all day car park for the nearby Furness General Hospital.
Residents of Whinlatter Drive and Dane Avenue have been particularly affected by the problem and said the situation was getting worse.
Harold Morrall, 78, of Dane Avenue, said: “We thought we were moving into a quiet area 15 years ago.
“It’s now a real struggle to get my car out when they park on all sides of our drive.”
Wing mirrors have been hit and drives are blocked and impeded on a regular basis as delivery vans and large vehicles try to squeeze through, residents say.
“They get here in the morning and stay all day. The way they park, most of them can’t have heard of the Highway Code,” said Brenda Daw, 76, of Whinlatter Drive.
Residents claimed the problems started when the hospital started charging their staff to park on its land.
One nurse at the hospital said others parked on the road to avoid paying.
Another said she biked to work because she had so many problems with parking.
She said the parking payment was £6 per month, but staff were not always guaranteed a space.
Hawcoat councillor Jack Richardson, who is also Barrow Borough Council’s conservative leader, said: “Parking is always, a problem around the hospital.
“They charge their own staff to use the car park, you can’t be charging your own staff.”
Cumbria County Council said it had not received any complaints relating to the Portland Crescent incident.
No-one was available for comment from the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust.
First published at 13:11, Sunday, 02 September 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk
I have to visit regularly for treatment at FGH and spend half the time driving round and round trying to find a parking spot, I dont agree parking in Dane Ave etc (even if i could walk!) I cant walk far as i have one leg..over half of the top carpark is for staff, why not use lower carparks for staff or build another carpark on the waste ground south of the helipad for staff..I have driven down whinlatter and no way will emergency vehicles get down there its ridiculous, i know we pay road tax but a bit of consideration wouldnt go a miss..how would you like cars outside hour homes all day, where do visitors to your house park..not all of them have driveways..someone says visitors use bus,,why dont the staff do this then? its not the staffs fault its a badly designed hospital at the end of the day..oh and mr richardson will you let all the cars park outside your house all day and see how you like it..bet you dont
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it was me who suggested visitors use public transport was going to say staff to but thought that wouldnt work so well as the buses dont run very well on unsociable hours also that was before i understood about the wait for the parking permit suprised the council havent double yellow linex the housing estates to create a cash cow
Posted by tracy on 5 September 2012 at 03:10