Fishbourne ferry queues 'detrimental' to residents
Traffic problems at a ferry port have had a "detrimental" effect on residents and "breached" a management plan, an Isle of Wight council has said.
Fishbourne Parish Council said queues at Wightlink's terminal in the village had led to "frayed tempers" and residents putting up fencing. It also said the firm had not implemented measures outlined in the traffic plan. Wightlink said residents had been alerted when there were problems. The parish council said at its October meeting: "The backlog along Fishbourne Lane, particularly at weekends, has been detrimental to residents and none of the measures outlined in the traffic management plan have been implemented." It said some residents had been forced to put up fences to prevent people in waiting vehicles from looking into their homes. Parish clerk Maxine Warr said: "Tempers can get quite frayed when residents appear to be 'jumping the queue' to gain access to their homes." 'Not enough staff' She added the authority had made a complaint to Isle of Wight Council "as we feel additional booths should be open for check-in when there is heavy traffic backlog as detailed in the plan". Isle of Wight Council said it had written to Wightlink over the alleged breach. It added the firm had "tried to overcome" traffic issues by "changing the marshalling yard, to give greater capacity, but also to try and get vehicles off the highway and to speed up the check-in". Wightlink apologised to residents but said it had held several meetings with them over the summer and sent out traffic alerts via text message. A spokesman said two check-in lanes were opened at peak times. However, during the pandemic he admitted there had been a number of "isolated incidents" when Wightlink had not had enough staff available.