A parking ticket machine in Helensburgh's Sinclair Street car park

Sinclair Street car park set to become Escape Room

Infrastructure Local News Roads Town centre

Although a final decision on the fate of the site’s challenging parking meters has yet to be made, the ‘Adviser has learned that the machines could feature in a popular entrapment game.

Since the introduction of the arcane apparatus at the town centre site, countless drivers using the facility have experienced the frustration that comes from using them. Finding a machine that’s working is only the start – once that’s done, drivers have to endure the pressure of deciphering the instructions whilst helpful suggestions come from the queue forming behind them. 

Add in the half-second of lag that follows each press of the convention-defying, alphabetically arranged keypad, and the mental gymnastics required to print a ticket aren’t too far removed from the challenges presented in various television game shows.

With a potential reboot of the compelling 80s mental challenge show The Krypton Factor being favoured over the Richard O’Brien hosted team adventure game, The Crystal Maze, it comes as a surprise that the lead candidate isn’t one that’s featured on TV.

However, our team of investigative journalists at the ‘Adviser have discovered that the entire site is being mooted as a potential location for a large scale version of an Escape Room game. The attractions, which became a cheap and lucrative filler for commerce space left vacant after the recession, now appear in cities all over the world.

A spokesman for the venture told us that they were ready to launch as soon as the appropriate permits had been obtained. “We think Helensburgh is a fantastic venue for our latest Escape Room. It’s almost like the car park has been purpose built to have people wandering around in a confused state in the first place, so once we add in all the usual Escape Room challenges it’s going to be a real attraction for the area.”

We quizzed the spokesman about the extent of their investment and the potential jobs it could create for the town and he went on to explain that the business probably wouldn’t create much in the way of employment opportunity. 

“To be honest, it doesn’t take many people to run these things. All you need is a reception desk and somebody to reset the game afterwards. As far as investment goes, it’s essentially money for old rope – we can charge upwards of £30 a head per hour for a squad of punters to try and find a way out of a room that was put together with padlocks and whatnot bought for a couple of hundred quid.”

Unlike Argyll & Bute Council’s plan to install parking puggies at the pier car park, this venture doesn’t look likely to be a money spinner for the town coffers. Still, when the Sinclair Street car park Escape Room launches, the staff of the adviser are looking forward to having a go.