Traders

Of the points we raised in the meeting with Jim Grieve, the only one that we made no headway on was the problems faced by our local traders.

Jim rightly pointed out that, before the CPZ was introduced, there weren't free short term bays outside any of the shops. Indeed, it seems that one of the purposes of the CPZ was to make it easier for customers to find parking near by. After all, with commuters squatting in all the parking for most of the day, where would shoppers have parked? I hadn't really thought about this at the time.

Does it seem as if the traders are trying to win something they never had by blaming the new changes and so manipulate the situation to their advantage?

No, it only occured to me too late that the problem is quite simple. There used to be hundreds of commuters every day parking just around the corner and walking into town right by the shops in our community. Many would have stopped off on their ways to and from their cars to spend money in the local stores. This passing trade was what has helped to make Marchmont's shops vibrant and diverse.

Now they aren’t coming through. Any who do probably begrudge every extra step they have to take through the community that has just thrown them out. The merchants have grown up serving an environment that has just been removed.

What does everyone think? Is this something worth fighting for?