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People sea swimming at Bordeaux have been caught parking on the newly painted pavement along the side of the bay, with some implying they will continue to do so because they don't want to risk damaging their cars by using the nearby car park.
By parking over the painted line they risk a fixed penalty notice for obstructing a pavement, which just last week was increased from £40 to £65.
Guernsey Police have warned that "tickets can and will be issued for parking here or on any other walkway or footpath" and the force encouraged anyone using Bordeaux beach to park in one of the nearby car parks.
But the original post on social media - which was shared in the Guernsey People Have Your Say forum on Facebook - was met with defensive replies from some of the swimmers who identified themselves.
When the post was shared to the Guernsey Swim All Seasons group on Facebook, some of the swimmers also implied they would continue to park in the road because there is "heaps of room for everyone" while one post suggested swimmers "consider" that police may be ticketing cars parked on the road, and "be careful" in future.
Pictured: The original post shared on Facebook.
A spokesperson for Guernsey Police said it is likely that officers will be patrolling the area now the problem has been raised publicly.
"Guernsey Police would like to remind islanders that it is an offence to park on a painted pedestrian walkway, in the same way it would be to park on a raised footpath.
"Officers are aware that people have been parking on the new walkway painted at Bordeaux. This walkway was put in to improve road safety in the area, and by parking on the walkway, pedestrians are forced out into the road.
"Tickets can and will be issued for parking here or on any other walkway or footpath, and we would encourage people enjoying Bordeaux to use the carparks in the area."
One popular excuse some of the swimmers used for parking on the painted pavement on the main road was that there are large pot holes in the nearest car park which might damage their vehicles.
One said: "...as with so many of the coast car parks they are so badly maintained with large and in some cases an absolute disgraceful holes in them (sic)."
Another said the car park "is fine if you have a car that can deal with the badly maintained parking areas" while another said: "Unfortunately we don’t all have 4x4’s that can glide over the craters!"
Pictured: A large pothole at the entrance to the car park nearest to the Bordeaux Pier.
Photographs taken by Express yesterday show the worst of the potholes in the car park nearest the popular swimming location at Bordeaux pier.
Traffic and Highways Services said some of the car parks are in a rolling maintenance programme but others aren't owned by the States which complicates matters.
THS Lead Officer, Colin Le Page also said the wet weather earlier this year added to the erosion in some areas.
“Traffic and Highway Services is responsible for maintaining the coastal car parks which were formerly managed by Agriculture, Countryside and Land Management Services. However, not all coastal car parks are owned by the States of Guernsey, and even within some of those that are, there are sections which are owned by other parties.
“Due to the wet winter weather, the car parks have deteriorated and we have received some reports of uneven surfaces. We’ve recently undertaken a condition survey and are in the process of forming a programme of works, which we anticipate being carried out within the next two to three months. We’ll carry out these works in priority order so that we can make improvements to the areas which are most in need of attention.”
Pictured: Photographs taken by Express yesterday show the potholes in the car park nearest the popular swimming location at Bordeaux pier.
The painted pavement at Bordeaux was only added to the road this month.
It came after the Vale Douzaine “persistently” reached out to Traffic and Highway Services for mitigation measures after pedestrians had expressed concerns over road safety.
Preliminary line markings appeared at the start of January with a permanent system put in two weeks later.
The official line markings also include a bollard to identify where cars need to give pedestrians space.
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New pathway painted on Rue des Bordeaux
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