A PUBLIC consultation could be held to cast fresh eyes over the perennial problem of parking in a South Lakes town.

Cumbria county councillor Mark Wilson said he would like to involve Ulverston residents to join an informal consultation on how to tackle the lack of roadside parking in town.

He said the problem "hasn't gone away" and solutions have to be explored for the benefit of long-suffering residents.

A survey carried out last year in the King Street and Victoria Road area recommended more signs to encourage courteous parking. But it advised against a more strict permit or badge scheme, stating it would "exacerbate the issues raised."

Cllr Wilson said: "People mentioned it (parking) to me before the county council elections and in my last term. The problems haven't gone away, they are still here. We are looking to put together answers based on residents' comments."

In the town centre there is a disc system in place for residents which allows them to park, in theory, in their street.

However, county council figures from May this year still indicate motorists are not paying heed to the disc system.

During that month there were 55 fixed penalty notices issued in the town. This can include wrongly parking in a disk zone or parking on double yellow lines.

In spite of last year's report advising against an expansion of the disk system, Cllr Wilson is open to hearing from residents about what solutions they want to see.

He said: "Let's get some ideas from residents and we can put in place an adequate plan. I'd like to push that."

This month a county-wide survey has been put out to more than 3,000 random households.

This county council initiative will ask questions of ordinary people about what they think on our transport infrastructure, from the quality of our roads to footpaths.

Their answers will be compared with the views of other members of the public across England and Scotland, thanks to the National Highways and Transport Public Satisfaction survey.

Stephen Hall, Cumbria County Council’s assistant director for highways, transport and fleet, said: “Providing a well-managed highway and transport network is one of the council’s top priorities and we welcome feedback and comments from residents and road users."

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