MOVES to dramatically extend parking restrictions in Edinburgh have been ditched after a study found there was little evidence of commuters using residential streets as a "park-and-ride".
Residents in outlying areas have long complained that motorists are leaving their cars in quiet city streets before heading to work.
But the council study found while there was evidence of problems with commuter parking, overall the number of veh
icles was limited.
The study also found public resistance to extending parking restrictions and identified a funding shortfall that would see money diverted from road safety or public transport schemes.
The council's transport committee yesterday agreed to scrap plans for controlled parking zones in Prestonfield and the area around Colinton Road and Meggetland.
But it agreed to press ahead with the creation of a CPZ in the Ashley area of Shandon, as well as bringing in restrictions in parts of Inverleith's Arboretum Road and Kinnear Road and the western section of Craigleith Road.
Gavin Corbett, an Ashley resident and chairman of Craiglockhart Primary's parent council, said the creation of a CPZ in his area, which will omit the five streets that make up the Shaftesbury Park Colonies, was a "pig's ear" of a solution.
He said: "The issues are the same throughout the area, yet they have chosen to exclude one little pocket. There's going to be someone who dies in a fire one day because the fire engine can't get through the streets here. I hope it doesn't take something like that for them to take action."
The council study was compiled by officials who recorded the number plates of all cars parked within the five areas under consideration, before tracing individual vehicle movements. The report found while there was strong evidence commuter parking could be a problem in some areas, it was limited in its extent.
The council report also found without sufficient levels of pay-and-display parking, the cost of residents' parking permits would have to be raised to pay for the CPZ extensions.
Councillor Phil Wheeler, the council's transport convener, said: "Having listened to a number of local councillors, it became clear that, when considering extensions to the CPZ, one size does not necessarily fit all.
"The committee has, therefore, requested a further report exploring fresh proposals for managing parking pressures around the fringes of the CPZ. These proposals should include the establishment of local panels – comprising local ward councillors, representatives of the relevant community council and, where appropriate, council officials."
The last extension to the controlled zone, in June last year, included around 15 streets from Grange Loan to the South Suburban Railway line.
