MEASURES are being proposed by Inverclyde Council to improve parking and tackle inconsiderate drivers on West Blackhall Street, Greenock.
They include changes to loading bay and on-street parking restrictions to create additional parking spaces and increase turnover of spaces throughout the day.
Other options are to increase the free stay times in town centre car parks, create four additional spaces, and install bollards on the cycle lane to prevent illegal and inconsiderate parking.
If approved, the proposed changes would increase daily parking availability by 45 per cent, helping more customers visit shops, services, and amenities.
The plans have been developed following feedback from businesses, pedestrians and cyclists about the conditions on West Blackhall Street since a £6million redevelopment was completed in March 2025.
The council consulted directly with businesses in the area in June 2026 seeking feedback on some of the proposals and offering traders the chance to provide their own ideas.
Letters were sent to more than 60 businesses and the survey was promoted on the council website, social media channels and in the local press but only six responses were received.
The proposals will go before members of the council’s environment and regeneration committee for consideration on Thursday 20 August.
The report to committee also explores the potential for removing the cycle lane, changing the direction of the one-way system on West Blackhall Street, removing residents’ parking permits, and using the former Babylon Nightclub site for car parking but none of these ideas are recommended for approval by council officers largely because of the significant additional costs that would be involved.
Councillor Michael McCormick, Inverclyde Council’s convener of environment and regeneration, said: “We have been listening to concerns raised by people, including businesses, and officers have come up with a series of ideas and proposals that could help make improvements relatively quickly and within existing budgets.
“It will now be up to members of the environment and regeneration committee to consider the proposals contained in the report and decide which proposals, if any, should be taken forward.”
The proposals are included in a wide-ranging report examining the West Blackhall Street redevelopment.
Despite parking being removed on one side of the street to accommodate a widened pavement and cycle lane, parking in the town centre has increased by four spaces and two disabled spaces.
This is thanks to the creation of new car parks on Jamaica Street, Dalrymple Street and on-street parking on Dalrymple Street in recent years.
Proposals in detail:
Change loading bays to parking after 10am
By allowing loading bays to operate as parking spaces after 10am, it is possible to create 15 additional parking spaces across the town centre (an increase of about 15 per cent) while still protecting essential delivery access for businesses between 8am and 10am.
On-Street Parking Restriction Changes
Introducing a one-hour maximum stay within the town centre on West Blackhall Street, Westburn Street, Nicolson Street, Laird Street, Argyll Street, Jamaica Street, Kilblain Street, Nelson Street, Dalrymple Street, Grey Place and Haig Street would significantly increase the number of visitors who can access the town centre each day which would increase vehicle turnover and support access to local businesses.
A comparison of parking availability on West Blackhall Street, Westburn Street, Nicolson Street, Laird Street, Argyll Street and Jamaica Street shows that pre-development there was capacity for 540 vehicles per day; currently the figure is 392 vehicles; and under the proposed changes it would be 784 vehicles.
This represents a 45 per cent increase in daily parking availability, helping more customers visit shops, services, and amenities.
Additional Space Creation
It is possible to create a limited number of additional spaces on Dalrymple Street (three new spaces opposite Word Up) and Jamaica Street (one new space near the junction with West Blackhall Street).
Car Park Operation Changes
The creation of additional short stay car parking in the following car parks which are currently £2/day operation by altering to three hours free and £2/day will complement the proposed one-hour parking changes in the town centre: Dalrymple Street, Roslin Street, West Stewart Street, Hastie Street, Cathcart Street, Cathcart Street East and Station Avenue East and West.
Install Bollards on Cycle Lane
Since the completion of the works, vehicles have routinely parked on the cycle lane even though there are no waiting/no loading restrictions. This has meant that the cycle lane could not be used as was intended. It has also been reported that pedestrians using the benches within the street feel vulnerable as cars drive towards them in a pedestrian area with a number of near misses reported in respect of vehicles narrowly missing street furniture.
There have been more than 100 tickets issued along the cycle lane since it came into operation. It is proposed that bollards be installed along the cycle route to address the current health and safety concerns and remove the hazard of pedestrian/cyclist conflict with vehicles that illegally drive and park along it. This would also reduce the requirement for enforcement activity beyond the normal levels. It should be noted that this would narrow the cycle lane from the current 2m (current technical guidelines for a cycle lane with less than 300 cycles an hour) to 1.5m. However, given there is adequate room along the footway and a clearly designated buffer zone it is considered that 1.5m is acceptable.
