Blantyre motorists had it pretty easy up until 1979 in terms of parking in and around the town. It was commonplace to see cars parked up on grassy verges, bumped up on to pavements and perhaps more so due to the lack of car parks.
However, all that changed in June 1979, when the local council decided to blitz Blantyre with yellow “no parking” lines! Whilst it wasn’t the first time no parking lines had been painted, it was the sheer extent of them that concerned people, especially all around the new ASDA development, still then being cleared and being built.
Blantyre Trader’s Association were quick to hit out that they thought Strathclyde Regional Council had gone “crazy with their yellow lines” and quickly launched a petition to get them removed. They claimed traders were being affected by the new rules with some businesses like Wypers Grocery on Auchinraith Road having no parking outside their shops.
Treasurer of the Association, Mr John Reid said, “We would agree there should be some restrictions but it seems the council have gone mad with yellow paint. These proposals were drawn up 3 years ago and with Blantyre about to have a massive facelift, they are outdated, the requirements quite different.”
John continued, “Forrest Street is a classic example. There is practically nothing on each side of the street and now they’ve banned parking there – it seems to be stupid. Auchinraith Road has now also been blocked off and despite nothing being at one end, people cannot park there.”
The Traders argued that with a new car park coming at ASDA soon, people who were not customers of the store would be forced to park there, given there are now few other places to park in Low Blantyre. The petition called for sense, lifting the yellow lanes and reassessing traffic, once the new Asda store opened, scheduled for the following year.
From the book, “Blantyre Explained” by Paul Veverka (c) 2018