Parking in Shepton Mallet - arrrgh!

Why is it so hard to park in Shepton Mallet?  Is it a funny shape?  Were the roads planned out by a selection of people who had never driven anywhere?  Why do you have to pay when the chances are the shop you want has closed down, or just shut early because it’s Wednesday, and for some reason noone told them the war is over and 21st century has begun?

Driving along Peter Street on a Thursday evening, around about the time WeightWatchers begins is a nightmare.  Forget the question which is begging to be asked (shouldn’t people who are so keen to lose weight they spend money on it, walk from the car park? I can say this safely, before you complain - I am desperately wanting to see my feet again sometime soon)  No, forget that.  How come is it that if I wait in an almost deserted place, day or night, a PCSO, Traffic Warden or Police Officer apparently get’s paged, leaps into their vehicle and blue-light’s it to me, just in case I cause an obstruction, BUT, if you can’t be bothered to walk a few feet from a car park, don’t worry your pretty little head about it - just stick it by the road, and rush indoors - the havoc you have just caused might be stressful to watch, and we wouldn’t want you worrying about it.

HGV’s routinely ignore the weight limit which sits at the Charlton Cross Roads end of the part of Charlton Road that leads to the Town Centre, and then seem to stop where they please.  Unlike driving in a larger town or city, noone is likely to let you through either.

Last Thursday, I head towards town (it wont matter when you read this, this will still likely to have happened ‘last’ Thursday), oncoming cars mounted the pavement in Paul Street in an attempt to alleviate the gridlock at the traffic lights.  Cars parked on the Methodist Hall side of the road arched back round the corner towards the Bowling green, and when they reached the gate of the house on the corner, they switched sides, creating a chicane of abandoned scrap.  In my mind I start to play out the Batman Movie scene where sparks burst out and cars either side of me are thrown onto their sides.

In a moment of clarity, I start to wonder how or when this became acceptable.  It is of course just one example; I could just as easily pick on the leisure centre or the takeaways.  Where parking in Shepton Mallet is concerned, there seem to be some very mixed values and a range of rules which seem to apply differently, as and when the mood takes them.  One must give just a few seconds thoughts to the safety of children trying to deal with the ‘green cross code’ and everything else - especially considering how distracted the drivers inevitably become in these snarl ups.

I have a lot of sympathy for people who live in town but who do not have parking.  Some years ago I was staying with a friend in a flat in the Market Place.  We had been up late, but nevertheless, he got up to move his car from the car park at a ridiculous time in the morning, so to prevent a fine.  Expensive parking permits are limited in numbers and may be beyond the means of many.

Do you have a parking moan?  Are you guilty of parking in one of the offending places, but have a perfectly valid reason for it?  While I am making light of this it is a serious issue, but on the other hand, while this is a serious issue, we can but make light of it...