Traders in a north-east town fear a new one-way road layout with widened pavements will drive away shoppers.
Business owners in Turriff say the measures put in place on Monday, aimed at helping people remain distanced through extended walkways onto Main Street, will hamper their efforts to recoup lost takings over the last few months.
Turriff Business Association chairwoman, Marj Chalmers, said the new layout made it appear that there was nowhere to park – and that Aberdeenshire Council had refused to put signs up clarifying the situation.
She said: “Because the cones are out from the pavement and into the road, people don’t think they can park there.
“It looks awful and the comments from shopkeepers are that people just aren’t stopping because they think they can’t park there.
“We’ve asked the council to put up parking signs to encourage people to stop but they’ve refused.”
Mrs Chalmers, who attracted more than 1,000 comments and in excess of 500 signatures on a petition against the changes, says the restrictions have been flung upon traders will little warning.
“Aberdeenshire Council set up a Skype meeting with us last Tuesday and that was the first we heard of this happening,” she added.
“There was no consultation. They did agree to come and work with the association and we put forward alternative ideas, but they didn’t listen to us.
“They did agree to save parking in the town centre, but that’s not very clear.
“Traders were up in arms because people weren’t stopping to shop.
“We are not Union Street or Oxford Street. The majority of people do know to keep apart. I know we have got to stay safe, and we are all for that, but it could be done without all this.”
Turriff Business Association, and its 59 members, have displayed signs reminding people to stay apart in the streets and shops, and is busy applying for grants to fund a post-lockdown regeneration of the town centre.
“If this stays in place and people remain put off parking in Turriff then it is going to be detrimental to businesses,” Mrs Chalmers added.
“People have openly said they’ll just shop elsewhere. Ideally we want to see the 20mph limit kept in place as that has been welcomed, but we’d rather they make the pavements one way and reopen Main Street fully for traffic so people know they can still park there.”
An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman said it was expected that shoppers’ habits would change once it became clear parking was permitted.
He said: “We can confirm that under these temporary safety measures, parking is still permitted on Main Street, High Street and Schoolhill in Turriff.
“The one-way traffic system and formation of cones 1m from the kerb on Main Street has allowed us to create a wider footpath to provide appropriate safe physical distancing.
“This is only the second day of measures being in place and it is expected that more shoppers will use these short duration parking spaces when they see other vehicles already parked there.”