Plea for Stormont to tackle 'car shuffling' parking space problem - which was supposed to be extinct years ago

The practice sees drivers shift the position or angle of their car in a free-of-charge parking bay, making it look as if they’ve driven away and returned.

The point is to make it appear as if they’re not yet up to the space’s one-hour time limit as measured from their faked return, even though they never left and are actually overstaying.

Car shuffling used to be an issue many years ago under an old system of recording vehicles that traffic wardens used, but is meant to have been scrapped by current methods of noting down vehicle registrations.

It’s also held to have been dealt with by “no return within one hour” restrictions, as those force anyone who legitimately drives off to find a completely different bay if they come back relatively quickly.

But according to Ards and North Down Council, shuffling has become a problem across the district’s town and city centres.

Officials recently wrote to Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins about what they described as an “enforcement anomaly” that has become “a clear and consistent concern” across the borough.

The problem has been raised by area business owners and representatives of community groups in recent meetings, officials say.

They state: “It has been reported that vehicles appear to remain in high demand spaces for extended periods by making minor movements, rather than genuinely vacating the space.

“This undermines the effective turnover of prime city and town centre parking spaces and has a detrimental impact on the ability of local businesses to attract passing trade.”

As a result the council has asked the Department for Infrastructure to step in and “take the necessary steps to address this anomaly”.

In response, Ms Kimmins has asked the council to send a list of the specific streets in which car shuffling has become an issue, adding: “We will arrange enforcement when resources permit.”

The minister has given a red light to a different parking plea raised by officials, however.

According to the council, many people in Ards and North Down feel that one-hour time limits on free roadside parking bays in the district’s single city as well as several larger towns are “too restrictive for many users” and “may discourage visits to local businesses”.

As such, officials called for permanent two-hour limits in the commercial hearts of Bangor, Newtownards and Donaghadee, as well as trials of two-hour restrictions in Holywood and Comber.

They state: “A two-hour stay may be more beneficial and such an on-street waiting restriction would better support shoppers, visitors and businesses, while continuing to promote turnover of spaces.”

The minister put the brakes on their ideas, however.

Spaces with a restriction of two hours are classed as medium-term parking, the minister stated, which is held to be best utilised in areas away from major shopping and business districts.

“With a high demand for parking in the centres of Bangor, Newtownards and Donaghadee, the current one-hour waiting restrictions are appropriate at this time,” she said, adding the council operates pay-and-display car parks that can be used for longer stays. She also dismissed the two-hour suggestions for Holywood and Comber.