Dozens of walkers who parked their cars at a popular beauty spot in Snowdonia returned to find them gone. Despite clear signs at the Eyri (Snowdonia) National Park in Wales, cars were seen parked illegally on the side of the A5 road in the Ogwen Valley and Pen-y-Pass over the bank holiday weekend.
Police and tow trucks arrived to remove some of the parked cars, leaving owners to return from their walks to find their cars gone. Pictures of the scene at Ogwen Valley were shared on Facebook by Cymuned Mynydd Eryri/Snowdonia Mountain Community on Sunday, sparking mixed reactions.
Some people blamed the drivers for not following the rules, while others said there wasn’t enough parking space provided, the Mirror reported. A spokesperson for North Wales Police explained why they took action.
They said: “Irresponsible parking not only endangers pedestrians, cyclists and other road users but also prevents emergency vehicle access. We have previously witnessed pedestrians with young children, having to walk in the road in areas such as Llyn Ogwen and Pen-y-Pass because of the selfish actions of a minority this is clearly unacceptable.”
It comes as locals are voicing their dissatisfaction with the council over parking related issues. One man said: “Well, what can you expect? The car parking is inadequate and too expensive. Plus it’s more popular than ever. The local council need to do something. It’s no good just issuing fines and towing cars.”
Another resident weighed in on the matter, adding: “I live in Snowdonia and have walked and climbed here all my life, and there has been no progress made in providing enough parking for a growing number of those wanting to come here, car parks could be made to blend in, and if the infrastructure was tourist friendly, not let’s tax and tax the tourist with none of that money going back into the local economy, just saying as I live here in the real world as well.”
Another chimed in: “Is there a different solution? Personally I think it’s great that so many people want to walk now compared to pre-Covid. Surely we should be more accommodating instead of putting fines on cars or towing away vehicles Should we not build car parks to accommodate rather than prosecute. Just my opinion.”
A local woman has given some tips for drivers, adding: “There’s park and ride and a camp site that takes cars for £5 a day opposite the park and ride and Sherpa bus £3 return or something like that from Nant Peris. Unless doing a night walk when services unavailable there’s no excuse for this and at that time there’s spaces in the nearby layby parking. When the buses go through it’s tight enough on the road there.”
Another resident thinks we should teach people not to park badly instead of just punishing them. They said: “Ideally, every action should be made to direct people to the car parks. There could be large signs on the approach to the area. If the tow trucks were visible and there early, that would put people off. Also, they could put signs up where the illegal parking occurs displaying the cost and process of retrieving their car vs the cost and location of the park and ride service. Education vs punishment.”
