ALL THE FUN OF THE CAR PARK
Well, not quite! How impressed was I on coming from a parish where there was no car-parking area to find oceans of car-parking space around our church, What a blessing, I thought. Others said, What a nightmare. And I soon found out why! What is it that turns normally reasonable, mild-mannered individuals into just the opposite? Car parking spaces vying for them! Ive been told that Fr Callan, the first Parish Priest, would not allow anyone to use the car park except for weekend Masses. They must have been halcyon days!
Just this year the parish has spent £16,000 on resurfacing the car park and white-lining it (though why they put spaces right up to the priests garage is a mystery to me!). For a number of years there has been an agreement with the hospital that 30 staff/volunteers (badge holders) may use the car park Monday to Saturday 9.30am to 2.45pm thus avoiding the chaos known as the school run. But it is quite obvious that the car park is being abused. Everyone and his friend seem to think that they have carte blanch to park there whenever they are going to the hospital. In one sense this is understandable, trying to park at the hospital can be an utter nightmare. But there are even people parking early in the morning and going off for the day, presumably in a car share activity, and collecting their vehicle late in the evening. So what is the solution? There isnt an easy one. Already we have had signs put up to say that it is a private car park for use only of parishioners and designated badge holders. More signage is afoot for we are going to open the second gate on the property to make a one way system. That is in at the gate opposite the church and out at the one opposite the presbytery with a voluntary left turn out of the car park for road safety purposes. Hopefully, this will ease the congestion and lower the blood pressure, but it will have little effect on the illegal users. One sign is going to tell folk that we intend to lock the gates on an ad hoc basis outside of normal usage times just to reinforce that it is a private area. However, watch this space and happy motoring!