Edinburgh council accused of 'entrapment' at George Street parking bay with double yellow lines

Council set to remove double yellow lines causing Edinburgh city centre parking confusion
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Edinburgh council has been accused of “entrapment” after placing double yellow lines through a row of parking bays on George Street.

The pay meter and parking bays remain in place, with the newly painted double yellow lines confusing motorists parking at the Edinburgh city centre street. Traffic wardens have been seen issuing parking tickets despite motorists paying to park in the bays. The council has now said the double yellow lines will be removed “as a matter of urgency”.

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Paul Haggan, 34, originally from Edinburgh but now living in Bathgate, parked his van there on Wednesday while in the area for work and paid for three hours of parking, only to catch a warden preparing to issue him a ticket for parking on the double yellow lines.

The double yellow lines cut right through the George Street parking bays.The double yellow lines cut right through the George Street parking bays.
The double yellow lines cut right through the George Street parking bays.

He said: "The parking bays are still clearly marked and the ticket machine is there. I was on a job and came back to the van to find a warden who said I can only park there for 10 minutes. The warden said the parking bays should have been taken away, but they haven’t been. Why weren’t they burnt off? I had an argument with the traffic warden, he explained that the double yellows take priority but I pointed out that there are still bays there. There were two vehicles parked behind me who got tickets. Luckily I never, as I spotted the warden and moved my van.”

Paul accused the council of tricking people to make more money. He said: "How much money is the council making from this? People are getting confused. There are around half a dozen bays there with the double yellow lines now through them, then it’s loading bays only.

"There are still parking bays in the middle of George Street but why have they done this to the other bays? This is total entrapment. How many people have been caught out with this? The council must be making a fortune. The parking on George Street is atrocious and this just makes it worse.”

A City of Edinburgh Council spokesperson said: “These double yellow lines will be removed as a matter of urgency so that the restrictions are clear for road users.”