Madam,

I totally agree with Iain Crawford’s comments in the Beacon issue of 13th January 2016.  Monnow Street and Priory Street would benefit from a one-way system. It would not only ease the passing of larger vehicles such as buses but also make life safer for pedestrians crossing the road as they would only have to navigate approaching traffic from one direction.

With regard to street parking, I have yet to understand why people park in the street.  In 34 years living in Monmouth I have only parked on Monnow Street about five times in that period.

I know there are people with disabilities who cannot carry things and that it is necessary to load and unload heavy items. However there seems to be a certain amount of laziness creeping into Monmouth where people are not prepared to walk.

A prime example is in supermarket car parks where (Lidl in particular but not exceptionally) able-bodied young people have to park right outside the exit of the store, ignoring vacant marked car parking spaces and blocking customers’ exits from the disabled spaces.

I recently had to ask a young man to move as two elderly people were struggling trying to leave the disabled spaces. He did so politely and without question totally oblivious to the world around him as he was engrossed in texting on his phone.

But the most irritating occasion was when a woman parked outside the entrance to Lidl ignoring the parent and child vacant spaces.  When I questioned her she aggressively told me she had every right to park outside the exit door to Lidl because she was waiting for her children.

This surely begs the question why were her children doing her shopping whilst she sat in her vehicle and what was wrong with her children’s legs that they could not walk to a nearby car parking space?  When they came out of the store they looked very healthy to me and so was she when she got out of her vehicle to load it.

Angela Hoyle

(Monmouth)