By Sarah Newstead

Last updated 08:40, Friday, 23 May 2008

TRADERS in Stanwix are campaigning for an end to the parking problems they claim are endangering lives and costing them custom.

Kath and Paul Renucci, centre, of The Frying Pan, and Diane Weedall, of The Hourglass wine bar, pictured with Waiwah Ng, left, and Shuk Ting Fung, right

Confusion over the loading bay outside the parade of restaurants, takeaways and shops on Stanwix Bank has led to traffic chaos, according to the traders.

Restrictions on parking and loading in the two-car bay are routinely ignored by motorists who park on the pavement, on double yellow lines and even diagonally causing gridlock along the busy Scotland Road.

Paul Renucci, owner of The Frying Pan, said: “There’s very little enforcement here so people just park willy nilly. The shops here are really popular and the problem has developed because this tiny lay-by simply cannot cope with the volume of people. It is costing us business.”

He said some motorists park on double yellow lines across the road and risk running through four lanes of traffic to reach the parade. Co-owner Kath Renucci added: “We’ve seen people getting hit by cars and bouncing off the bonnets. And we’ve seen motorists driving down the pavements.”Someone will probably end up getting killed in the end.”

Traders say the car park across the road from the parade is often too full of residents with permits to be much use and drivers cannot turn right to get into it.

The owner of Caspian Pizza, Kiarash Navidi, said delivery lorries are struggling to drop off fresh goods and block the carriageway, frustrating other motorists. “And if customers can’t park they just won’t come,” he added.

Diane Weedall, manager of The Hourglass wine bar, said: “The main problem we have is taxis stopping – they have to pick up on double yellow lines. Quite a few have had lucky escapes with cars having to stop suddenly behind them.”

Residents in nearby streets are also taking action, erecting warning signs outside their homes because customers block their driveways.

The traders have a petition with 1,900 signatures calling for the bay to be extended. They will deliver the petition to Carlisle City Council at the end of June along with photographic evidence of the mayhem and an artist’s impressions of a parking solution.

A Cumbria County Council spokesman said, with the city council, they had been looking into the problem. “ There have been a number of Traffic Regulation Orders, which appear to conflict, which have resulted in the situation we have today: a parking bay limited to 20mins waiting which technically should not have double yellow lines, further complicated with loading restrictions. This is obviously unacceptable, so the matter will be looked at by the Highways Working Group, who will hopefully be able to come up with a new system.”