is the lines up yet ?? as you said it would be put up on monday
I'm afraid I think you are being a bit premature and wish you would hang on for a while just to see how it goes. At least one councillor has told me double yellow lines won't stop vehicles loading; it's the ones that park unnecessarily or for a long time that are just being selfish. The corner with the High St. is the worst area and further along there especially when cars park both sides. Of course it doesn't help that the car park is such a mess and I see Cllr. Bremner is complaining again about that - quite rightly. Please don't give up yet Kevin. You're the best ironmongers in Caithness.
The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
Thank you for your concern and kind comments Badger, but unfortunately we are being dictated to by well meaning councillors that know little or nothing about the trials and tribulations of a retailer and didn't even think to ask before bulldozing a set of double lines down the street without any consultation with us what so ever.
A man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears.
These must be the same well meaning councillors that allow the only main street to be closed for many hours for the movement of large loads, bits of wind turbines and lengths of pipe. If they were really interested in preserving the integrity of the high street they would insist these things be moved during the night when there is nobody about and cause the least inconvenience to the majority of the people who use the street.
'We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.'
Maya Angelou
Kevin, I hope you’re not closing down in an attempt to prove a point to the councillors, because that’s how it reads to some people.
Last edited by aqua; 18-May-19 at 12:06.
I am aware of how it may sound and look aqua particularly as the press reports have been cherry picked to suit, but my decision is purely a business one and never in the history of retailing has shops and double yellow lines gone well together. We have a fairly sophisticated epos system that shows us trends and events that can alter our profit margin and we are sure that the implementation of double yellow lines will effect our bottom line by as much as third. We have taken too many hits already that are outwith our control and this is just a step too far for us. I am still to get a straight answer from anyone as to why it cant stay as a single line now that they have the use of wardens to police it.
A man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears.
Your data taken during road closures and obstructions shows ‘trends’ and transients. It doesn’t tell you what would happen when those transients die out and you return to a steady state situation. Shoppers overreact during periods of disruption. They are likely to return to previous behaviour when those disruptions go away. As someone else said, and I paraphrase, the need to buy a bucket doesn’t go away because the road is blocked. My bottom line is that I don’t believe you would lose a third of your custom with ever-present double yellows. That’s really all I wanted to say.
The decision to shut up shop is of course yours alone, and the rest of us may be sticking our noses where they’re not needed or appreciated, which is why I hadn’t originally planned on contributing to this thread again.
If I had the desire to be an ironmonger, I would seriously consider making you an offer for your shop as a going concern. But only after having had the opportunity to peruse your books and your EPOS records - on the off chance that you might be right.
As things stand, we’ll never know for sure.
Last edited by aqua; 18-May-19 at 16:22.
Your right about one thing, we may never know, but this introduction is brought about by people that will get their wages at the end of the month regardless of the final outcome. If I was to suggest that the council pay for swing signs stating the ten minutes parking, but also after six months pay me compensation and take the lines away, what do you think the answer will be. I have a lot of stock to reduce while we are looking for other suitable premises and will still be here a while after the lines go down.
A man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears.
None of this would be necessary if drivers were not so lazy and selfish. There are car parks either side of Bridge St. but it seems some people can't be bothered to walk that short distance. There is absolutely no need to park in the street unless you are disabled and I understand double yellow lines don't apply to them. There can't be many items in Birons that could not be got to a car park somehow. Vans unloading could be (would be?) exempt. There are double yellow lines in the centre of Castletown but people still park on them, even though it's far more dangerous than in Bridge St., and the car park is only yards away.
The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
I thought there had been public consultations and also meetings with town centre retailers.
If you call fixing an illegible piece of paper to a post in the street a consultation then yes, but when I googled it came up with something totally different.
synonyms: discussion, dialogue, discourse, debate, negotiation, conference, deliberation. meeting, talk, discussion, interview, conference, audience, hearing, reception.
I can assure you none of the above took place with any of the shop keepers on Bridge Street, or "stake holders" as we are known in political speak. The only firm whiff of it we got as regards a meeting is when we were dictated to at the town hall at the end of April with councillor Mackey answering a question regarding regarding the congestion on Bridge street and he said "the double yellow lines have all but been singed off and we have 4 parking attendants coming up to Wick on a regular basis and they are under instruction to be ruthless"
A man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears.
Ok, but one thing still puzzles me about your actions. As I understand it, the rules for loading and unloading on double yellow lines during shopping hours are the same as those for single yellows. Why then do you yearn for patrolled singles but shout out against patrolled doubles? Do you think shoppers are less likely to stop on doubles for psychological reasons?
A man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears.
The rules for loading and short stops are the same for single and double yellow lines during opening hours. So why the fuss?
It is quite clear that the loading isn't the concern for Kevin. The concern is how many customers is he going to loose because they can't be bothered to walk from the car park.
I know. My point is that the legal situation on short term parking as overseen by wardens is the same for customers on single yellows (what he wants) and on double yellows (what he doesn’t want). His own position and his criticism of the council are inconsistent. Sadly.
I’ve said enough on this thread, at least for the time being. I don’t want to argue with Kevin over technicalities, I’d prefer to see him stay open and enjoy success together with double yellow lines. I hope they can be friends forever. Ironmonger man and double yellow lines, please live happily ever after!
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