Council launches consultation on county's parking arrangements

And what the public tells the local authority via a new survey will help to make sure access to available spaces is fair and equal.

Launching the consultation this week, Councillor Colin Cassidy, Cabinet Member with responsibility for transport, said: “We know parking is an issue most of us have strong opinions on so please share them with us.

“A lot has happened since our current parking strategy was first published back in 2017, from the council introducing traffic wardens and issuing fines to banning pavement parking.

The council could introduce more pay and display parking to help pay for repairs and improvements.

“We want to know if parking has improved since then, how easy it is to park in your area, what your parking priorities are – do you choose a space based on proximity to your destination or are you more concerned about the state of the car park, for example? What you tell us will help inform an updated parking strategy to make sure access to available parking is fair and equal.”

The council currently loses around £90,000 annually providing parking services. It also estimates a further £265,000 of work is needed to resurface car parks, refresh road markings and add lighting over the next few years.

Mr Cassidy added: “To continue to deliver parking we need to find a way to pay for all this. One of the ways this could be achieved is by introducing Pay and Display at more council car parks and some on-street parking.

"Generating income would allow the council to make repairs to existing car parks and continue to maintain the car parks in our care. How would local people feel about this? We need them to tell us by filling in the survey.”

The survey will be available online until March 23 at www.midlothian.gov.uk/parkingsurvey.

Public drop-in events will also be held on February 25 between 3pm and 7pm at Lasswade Library, 19 Eskdale Drive, Bonnyrigg and on March 6, 2.30pm to 6.30pm at Dalkeith Library, 2 White Hart Street, Dalkeith. Printed copies will also be available from both libraries or call 0131 2977019 to fill in the survey over the telephone.