One-man war on parking fines

Lancashire Evening Telegraph
By Caroline Innes

A FINE-BUSTER who has won legal battles across the country today claimed thousands of motorists across Lancashire had been illegally issued with parking tickets.
Neil Herron, who has waged a one-man war against decriminalised parking enforcement, said the tickets were not lawfully worded documents and could be successfully challenged if they hadn't been paid.
Today the county council insisted its legal advisors said the tickets were valid.

But it said that independent parking adjudicators existed to allow people to challenge their tickets if they felt they had a case.
Mr Herron urged any motorist with a ParkWise Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) to contact him so he could consolidate all the appeals into one legal action.
The potential loophole only applies to people who have yet to pay fines, as to pay is to accept the wording of the ticket.
But with around 10,000 tickets a month issued across the county, giving motorists 28 days to pay, the challenge could cost the county council £600,000.
Local MPs and county councillors said they would be shocked if tickets did not comply with laws set out in the Road Traffic Act 1991.
They have called for ParkWise, part of Lancashire County Council, to seek legal advice as a "matter of urgency."
Mr Herron was instrumental in successful challenges to both Bury Metropolitan Council and Sunderland City Council last year.
Both authorities were forced to declare that they would not pursue any payment of outstanding unpaid PCNs which did not display a date of issue.
Last year he proved that dozens of motorists qualified for rebates after Blackburn with Darwen Council incorrectly introduced parking restrictions in taxi ranks.
The parking tickets issued by ParkWise contain the words: "You are therefore required to pay a penalty of £60 within 28 days."
However a ruling by the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service, the London equivalent of the National Parking Adjudication Service, in May said that a fine is payable by the owner of the vehicle.
It decided that to say "you" implies that the ticket must be paid by the driver where in fact the liability resides with the owner of the vehicle.
Mr Herron also said the ParkWise tickets confuse Date of Issue with Date of Contravention and don't comply.
He said: "Yet again we have caught out another authority playing fast and loose with the legal requirements.
"We are now starting to redress the balance in favour of the motorist.
"Many local authorities who have seen Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) as a cash-cow to supplement their budgets are going to pay the price."
Hyndburn MP Greg Pope said: "The county council will have expected and budgeted for the income that these tickets would have provided.
"And now they may not get it and the money will have to come out of the budgets for things like education or social services."
County Councillor David Whipp said: "The way that ParkWise has operated has never been in the best interest of the people who use the town centres and the businesses there.
"Services could suffer if that revenue is not achieved."

mail@thepeoplesnocampaign.co.uk

‘Arrogant’ council should ‘refund and apologise’

Bournemouth Echo
By Melanie Vass

OPPOSITION councillors have slammed Bournemouth council's "arrogant" refusal to accept a tribunal's finding that parking attendants dished out illegal fines over several years.
Cllr Stephen MacLoughlin, leader of the Conservative group, said instead of arguing about the employment tribunal's decision, the council should be apologising to residents and refunding motorists.
As revealed in the Daily Echo, an employment tribunal upheld claims by former parking attendant Arsenal Whittick that he was sacked after he refused to issue fines in roads not covered by valid Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs).
The tribunal was told that in one town centre street, motorists paid fines unnecessarily for four years with the council making no subsequent attempt to refund money.

But Bournemouth council has "strongly refuted" this and said that although it "strongly disagrees" with the tribunal's decision it has decided not to spend money on appealing.

Cllr MacLoughlin called this stance "outrageous" and added: "The council should accept the finding of the tribunal, should be contrite and should put things right.
"No council is above the law and as far as I'm concerned, the council has a duty and responsibility to do its business strictly in accordance with the law."
He said he was just as concerned with the tribunal's finding that enforcement and parking manager Gerry Bolland had bullied Mr Whittick and said an inquiry was urgently needed.
Supporting this call, Independent Cllr Ron Whittaker said the matter needed to be looked at by external traffic or engineering consultants.
"You can't just ignore the findings of this employment tribunal," he said.
"I do not think this matter should be looked at by a council scrutiny panel, it needs to be considered by independent experts."
But Cllr Richard Smith, leader of the council, said the matter had already been reviewed.
"The council could spend all day every day having inquiry after inquiry looking into this and into that," he said.
"We have the 15th fastest growing economy in the UK, that is what's important. The town is moving forward.
"But all that seems to happen is that everyone's interested in looking into the past.
"As it turns out, there's a technicality with one or two of the TROs but we issue hundreds of the things. It's human error.
"Yes an error has happened, the council has rectified the error, let's move on."

Parking Wardens paint yellow lines around car

Motoring:
(East London and West Essex Guardian)

A resident of north-east London returned from holiday in Australia to find that his local council had painted fresh yellow lines around his car and that wardens had subsequently issued an £80 fine.

Peter Holbrook says that when he called his local council to contest the ticket he was told he would have to appeal in the usual way, by writing a letter, taking photographs and building a case.

Holbrook said: "I thought it was obvious. They got paint on the underside of my car because they got so close to the front wheels, and they have not even connected the yellow lines yet.
"I don't know whether the traffic wardens are on profit-related pay or not, but they certainly will issue a ticket at any opportunity and are very unwilling to engage with you in the street. All my neighbours came out in support, they had all witnessed it."

There has been a happy end of sorts, though. A Waltham Forest Council spokesman said: "The ticket has been cancelled as the motorist obviously was not aware new lines were being laid in the area and parked there in good faith."

Parking fury of disabled mum of two

Lancashire Evening Telegraph
By David Bartlett


A DISABLED woman who parked in a visitors' bay when all her street's permit parking spaces were full has hit out at officials for giving her a ticket.

Today disability rights campaigners accused parking attendants of sticking too rigidly to their rules after Linda Blackburn, of Longshaw Street, Blackburn, was issued with a £60 ticket.
But despite calls to show some common sense Blackburn with Darwen Council bosses said that "the rules are the same for everybody" and refused to quash the fine.
Mrs Blackburn, 45, works at Jubilee House answering 999 calls and operator calls for BT, and her shifts run from 4pm to 12.30am.
Her car was ticketed when she left her car in the visitors' bay as there were no residents' parking spaces left on her street as she returned home in the early hours.
The visitors' bay has a one-hour waiting restriction between 8am and 6pm.
And the mother-of-two said when she complained to the council that she felt she was ticketed unfairly she was told that in future she would either have to get up before 9am to move her car or find a space in another street without parking restrictions and walk home in the dark.
She said: "I get home in the early hours of the morning, and some times I can't park in the residents' spaces because they are full so I park there (visitors' bay)."
"So when I come home I want to park my car outside my own house.
"I am certainly not paying the fine even if they take me to court, I have never heard anything so ridiculous.
"I have parked in that bay loads of times before because there was nowhere else.
"If they can see that a residents' only sticker in my car why have they given me a ticket?"
Mrs Blackburn has lived in the street, near Blackburn Rovers' Ewood Park ground, for 21 years.
She said the residents' only parking was introduced about three to four years ago to stop Rovers supporters parking there for matches.
In March 2005 she had an operation on her spine to deal with her osteoporosis, and she is registered disabled.
She has a disabled parking disc but did not display it because she was parking near her home.
A spokesperson for the Disability Rights Commission, accused the council of showing a lack of discretion and said they were sticking too rigidly to their own rules.
She said: "The council should be more flexible when dealing with people with disabilities or mobility problems. Surely when they saw this driver's permit they could have exercised some discretion.
"Being told that you should park in another street when there are empty visitors' bays outside your house is just not acceptable."
Graham Burgess, director of regeneration at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: "The ticket was issued because the driver had left her car in a short stay bay for longer than the amount of time allowed The rules are the same for everybody."

Here's the way to beat parking fines

This is Lancashire
By Anna Youssef

A PICK-UP truck driver has called on fellow motorists to challenge council parking fines after he won his battle to get a ticket cancelled.

Nick McCallum, aged 35, was given a £30 fine when he strayed on to a white line because his car would not fit into the bay.

But he challenged the order and won his appeal when parking chiefs admitted that picture footage of the alleged offence appeared inconclusive.

Mr McCallum, from Oldham, parked his Nissan Navara Adventure pick-up truck on the All Saints Street car park in Bolton town centre on May 11, while he went shopping in town.

He said he was "absolutely incensed" when he returned to find he had been given a fixed penalty fine notice for parking beyond the bay markings.

Mr McCallum said: "I was gobsmacked when I got back and saw the ticket. The car next to me had gone over its bay, so it had been a bit of a tight squeeze to get my car in the space.
"Two of my tyres were slightly touching the white lines, but I was still within the bay and someone else could have easily parked and got out of their car next to me.
"I just thought it was completely unfair. Two police officers happened to be walking past and when I asked them what they thought, they said it was a joke and I should appeal, which is what I did.
"It's not the money, it's the principle of the matter.
"Parking in Bolton is already a nightmare, and this sort of thing would put me off coming back in the future.
"I've now been told that I won't have to pay the fine because the photographic evidence isn't clear. So I feel I've been vindicated and I'm glad I made a stand. I think more people should do the same if they think they're not at fault."

Parking fines are issued by attendants who work for NCP, the company which administers tickets on behalf of Bolton Council.

A Bolton Council spokesman said: "Footage of the alleged offence was not clear, but the wheel did appear to be partially over the bay boundary.
"However, on this particular occasion the penalty will be waived and we will be writing to the gentleman in question to inform him of the decision."

Loophole On Fines Closed

Courant
Associated Press

GREENWICH -- Town officials have closed a 54-year-old loophole that allowed bargain payments for parking fines.Under a 1952 ordinance, parking violators who presented themselves at the police department within 24 hours of being ticketed could pay $1 instead of the established fines, which currently range from $15 to $50.The board of selectmen this week repealed the ordinance."I feel the idea of paying a dollar to take care of a fine is crazy," Republican Selectman Peter Crumbine said.

Thousands of parking tickets may be invalid

The Scotsman
ALAN RODEN TRANSPORT REPORTER
aroden@edinburghnews.com




PENALTY POINT: Parking tickets handed out in Edinburgh do not show the date of issue. Picture: Susan Nisbet








THOUSANDS of motorists are being urged to challenge their parking tickets in Edinburgh after it emerged the fines may have been imposed illegally.
A leading campaigner who has successfully overturned parking fines in four London boroughs believes tickets being issued in Edinburgh are invalid.

He plans to mount a test case in Edinburgh which could force the council to cancel tickets worth tens of thousands of pounds.
Barrie Segal has managed to overturn the fines in England by quoting an obscure technical point of law.
If a parking fine adjudicator in Scotland follows the example of their southern counterparts, anyone in the city with an unpaid parking fine could appeal on the same grounds, and would be likely to win their case.
With close to 5000 fines issued every week, the legal challenge could prove costly to the council.
City transport chiefs today expressed full confidence in the set-up in Edinburgh.
However, it is understood Scottish adjudicators are taking the threat seriously and are due to meet shortly to discuss the impact of the English rulings.
The challenges are based on the fact that the Road Traffic Act of 1991 says parking tickets must carry the date the offence was committed and the date the fine was issued.
The tickets in the four London boroughs - as well as Bury and Sunderland - have been overturned because they do not carry the "date of issue".
There is no specific reference to the date of issue on Edinburgh parking tickets.
Mr Segal said: "The Edinburgh tickets are illegal and contain a mistake which means they do not comply with the Road Traffic Act of 1991.
"The driver has to know when the ticket was issued, not just when the incident took place."
Mr Segal said anyone who challenges their fine on those grounds, with first the council, and then - once the council has rejected the initial appeal - the Scottish Parking Appeals Service, is almost certain to win.
The argument has not been tested in Scotland, but Mr Segal has offered to advise anyone who contacts him through his website www.appealnow.com.
The London boroughs are now changing the wording on their tickets. Barnet Council is seeking a judicial review of the decision forcing it to cancel tickets.
Edinburgh City Council believes its current practice is safe because all tickets are issued on the day the offence took place.
Some tickets in London are sent out at a later date after CCTV footage has been monitored.
However, the fines which have been successfully overturned in London were issued on the spot and not sent out at a later date.
Anyone who has paid a fine cannot get their money back though, because they have accepted breaking the regulations.
Councillor Allan Jackson, the Tory transport spokesman on the council, said:
"I will be looking into this as a matter of urgency, and I will ask for a legal update from our officials."
The Scottish Parking Appeals Service today said it could not comment until a case is brought before it.
A spokeswoman for the council said some motorists in the city have previously appealed to the local authority over the lack of an issue date, but this has never been challenged at adjudication.
Councillor Andrew Burns, the city's transport leader, said: "Unlike some London boroughs, our tickets are issued at the time of the contravention, rather than following a review of CCTV footage or being served through the post."

Technicality invalidates parking tickets

United Press International

EDINBURGH, Scotland, May 26 (UPI) -- Thousands of drivers in Scotland may be able to challenge their parking tickets by quoting an obscure law that states the ticket must show the date of issue.
Barrie Segal has successfully overturned fines in England through use of the technical aspect of law, the Scotsman reported. Tickets in four London suburbs have been overturned based on the technicality.
The Road Traffic Act of 1991 states that tickets have to show both the date of the offense and the date the ticket was issued.
Almost 5,000 tickets are issued weekly in Scotland, so the cost could be monumental if everyone who got a ticket decided to fight it.
The Edinburgh City Council says its current system is protected because tickets are issued on same day as the offense.

Parking plea at new college site

The Citizen
By Charlotte Bradshaw

STUDENTS have not been allocated any parking spaces for a new sixth form college in Burnley, it was revealed today.
The news has prompted Burnley Council chiefs to demand a re-think of plans for one of the town's new super schools.
Lancashire County Council is consulting Burnley Borough Council over plans for a new school to replace Barden High School as part of the £250million Building Schools for the Future scheme.
As a result, planners in the borough are to ask county hall chiefs to look at providing car parking spaces for students travelling in their own cars to the new 600-place sixth form college.
The school is due to be built on the Barden site.
The same site will house a 350-place primary school and 50-place special primary school.
The site will also accommodate a children's centre, public library and faith centre. There will also be a new playground, sports pitches and tennis courts with floodlighting and a new car park.
Susan Graham, Burnley Council's head of planning and environment, commented: "Further consideration needs to be given to traffic safety and to car parking.
"This council raises no objection to the proposal in principle, but has concerns about the potential for traffic congestion and disturbance to residents as a result of vehicular access from Philip Street.
"In addition, consideration should be given to the provision of some parking spaces for students."
The plans will be discussed by councillors at Thursday's development control committee at Burnley Town Hall from 6.30pm.

Parking mayhem in Warwick?

Warwick Today

Decriminalisation of parking cannot come soon enough for some visitors and residents in Warwick.

Illegally parked cars and drivers flouting the road restrictions in the town centre are making lives inconvenient for traders and shoppers.
But decriminalisation - which will see the responsibility of regulating parking shifted from the police to Warwickshire County Council by October next year - could go some way to reducing the number of scenes like this.
A lack of enforcement - in terms of the number of parking tickets and fines issued - is being blamed.
Resident Alan Batchelder said: "A few more parking tickets might remind certain drivers about their obligation to comply with the road signs and markings.
"The loading bays, taxi ranks and pedestrian zones are regularly used by drivers who disregard double yellow lines. "Are taxi ranks not used meant to be use for taxis these days?"
Legislation has been passed by government to make illegal parking a civil rather than criminal offence - as it currently stands.
And when it does, the number of wardens on duty in the district will rise from three to 22 and free parking will be removed from all town centre streets in Kenilworth, Warwick and Leamington.
The proposals have been supported by the Warwick chamber of trade.
Details of the finalised parking proposals were aired at a meeting in February and it was revealed that hundreds of drivers will be affected.
Traffic spokesman Roger Bennett, leading the scheme in the district, said: "People are going to have to change their parking habits.
"We have some indication of what will happen to the displaced cars but don't know exactly where they will go until decriminalisation comes into place."
Results from the survey showed that 732 car drivers per day in Leamington would be forced to find alternative parking arrangements on the outskirts of the town centre and in off-street car parks.
Research shows that Warwick will have 153 cars affected by the self-financing scheme in the town centre alone.All the funds raised from the £60 penalty tickets - reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days - will go to the county and district councils and pay for the parking attendants.

Thousands of parking tickets may be invalid

The Scotsman
AlanRoden
Transport Reporter

THOUSANDS of motorists are being urged to challenge their parking tickets in Edinburgh after it emerged the fines may have been imposed illegally.

A leading campaigner who has successfully overturned parking fines in four London boroughs believes tickets being issued in Edinburgh are invalid.
He plans to mount a test case in Edinburgh which could force the council to cancel tickets worth tens of thousands of pounds.

Barrie Segal has managed to overturn the fines in England by quoting an obscure technical point of law.

If a parking fine adjudicator in Scotland follows the example of their southern counterparts, anyone in the city with an unpaid parking fine could appeal on the same grounds, and would be likely to win their case.

With close to 5000 fines issued every week, the legal challenge could prove costly to the council.

City transport chiefs today expressed full confidence in the set-up in Edinburgh.
However, it is understood Scottish adjudicators are taking the threat seriously and are due to meet shortly to discuss the impact of the English rulings.
The challenges are based on the fact that the Road Traffic Act of 1991 says parking tickets must carry the date the offence was committed and the date the fine was issued.

The tickets in the four London boroughs - as well as Bury and Sunderland - have been overturned because they do not carry the "date of issue".

There is no specific reference to the date of issue on Edinburgh parking tickets.
Mr Segal said: "The Edinburgh tickets are illegal and contain a mistake which means they do not comply with the Road Traffic Act of 1991.
"The driver has to know when the ticket was issued, not just when the incident took place."

Mr Segal said anyone who challenges their fine on those grounds, with first the council, and then - once the council has rejected the initial appeal - the Scottish Parking Appeals Service, is almost certain to win.

The argument has not been tested in Scotland, but Mr Segal has offered to advise anyone who contacts him through his website www.appealnow.com.
The London boroughs are now changing the wording on their tickets. Barnet Council is seeking a judicial review of the decision forcing it to cancel tickets.
Edinburgh City Council believes its current practice is safe because all tickets are issued on the day the offence took place.

Some tickets in London are sent out at a later date after CCTV footage has been monitored.

However, the fines which have been successfully overturned in London were issued on the spot and not sent out at a later date.

Anyone who has paid a fine cannot get their money back though, because they have accepted breaking the regulations.

Councillor Allan Jackson, the Tory transport spokesman on the council, said:
"I will be looking into this as a matter of urgency, and I will ask for a legal update from our officials."
The Scottish Parking Appeals Service today said it could not comment until a case is brought before it.

A spokeswoman for the council said some motorists in the city have previously appealed to the local authority over the lack of an issue date, but this has never been challenged at adjudication.

Councillor Andrew Burns, the city's transport leader, said: "Unlike some London boroughs, our tickets are issued at the time of the contravention, rather than following a review of CCTV footage or being served through the post."

Parking charges campaign

Evening Telegraph and Post

Dundee councillor Neil Powrie, a long- standing opponent of parking charges at Ninewells Hospital, today called for a public campaign to force the Scottish Executive to take over control of parking in hospital grounds, writes Bruce Robbins.

Responding to a decision yesterday by Tayside health chiefs to raise parking charges at Ninewells, Mr Powrie said the health trust had been left with a problem of its own making and forcing the sick to pay for it.
He described as “reprehensible” the decision by a previous trust board to introduce parking charges and predicted that people would not stand for it.
NHS Tayside yesterday agreed by a majority that parking charges would be raised to up to £15 per visit for some drivers in a bid to free up spaces in the car parks closest to the hospital.
Chairman Peter Bates said the £15 charge would act as a “disincentive” by limiting the duration of parking at car parks five and six to four hours. Only people staying beyond that time would be hit with the increased rate.
The trust’s decision did not meet with universal acceptance with non-executive board members Iain Wightman and Dr Bob Rosbottom disassociating themselves from the recommendation.
Today, Mr Powrie said increased charges were not the answer to Ninewells’ parking problems and he was “disappointed” at the decision.
He said, “I would disagree with the view that creating more car parking on the site is not an option because the fact that we are in this situation is a direct result of the policies that have been pursued by successive trust boards.
“If we hadn’t sold off the family silver to Stewart Milne Homes so that they could build houses on NHS land we might not be in this position. That was something I never agreed with.
“The trust should never have sold off hospital ground for housing when they didn’t know what future developments might be around the corner.
“The principal of charging at all is something I can’t agree with. Congestion is caused in the main by people driving around looking for car parking spaces.
“Charging, whether it’s a penny or £15, doesn’t help. If patients and visitors need to visit the hospital, they need to visit the hospital and parking charges won’t stop them.
“I don’t see how people should be forced onto the bus because they can’t afford to pay for parking. It’s not the job of the NHS to help the Government get people onto buses.”
Mr Powrie claimed it was “immoral” to charge for parking at a hospital and said the Scottish Executive should now be looking at ways of regaining control of the situation.
He added, “We pay three times: for prescriptions, national insurance and car parking. Every one is a tax on the ill.
“This is the fault of the Government for letting trusts hive off car parking to foreign companies. Parking should not be in the hands of foreign companies for 30 years. It was a reprehensible decision by the previous trust to do that.
“People won’t put up with this. I have been contacted by people from other parts of Tayside, including community council chairpersons, asking what can be done.
“What we need is a public campaign to persuade Scottish Executive ministers to take back control of parking in hospital grounds.”
Dundee City Council finance convener Councillor Fraser Macpherson said he, too, had received “strong feedback” from constituents in the city’s West End against the new parking charges.
Cllr Macpherson said that constituents felt that the proposals represented a stealth tax on patients, patients’ visitors and staff at the hospital and there was great concern that large increases in parking charges would have the detrimental effect of adding to the existing parking problems in streets in the West End as motorists try to avoid paying the charges.
He said, “It’s clear that many people feel it is morally wrong to be imposing these levels of charges on hospital patients and visitors.
“There is increasing disquiet about the increasing charges for parking for patients and patients’ visitors, not just here in Dundee but right across the country.
“Health provision is supposed to be free at the point of delivery but it appears patients have to pay increasing sums simply to park near that point of delivery.
“There is something deeply wrong with what is essentially a tax on needing to attend hospital or visiting a loved one who is ill.”
Councillor Macpherson urged Scots Health Minister Andy Kerr to build a “coherent strategy” for hospital parking in Scotland.
Meanwhile, a disabled woman who regularly visits Ninewells has complained about the new parking rate for disabled parking, which is now £1.50 for four hours.
She said, “They are saying they are going to bring in a charge of £1.50 per four hours, which seems to be once again a tax on the seriously ill.
“It is not so bad for me as I am in a wheelchair but you can’t always tell who is disabled and who is not.
“This is going to mean that it will be like the situation in Perth where nobody can get a parking space anywhere and local residents are struggling to find places.
“There are not enough places as it is and this is going to make it much worse for disabled people.
“It really is targeting the most vulnerable.”

Hospital car parking probe

The Scotsman

THE Scottish Parliament's health committee is to carry out an inquiry into car parking charges at hospitals.
Roseanna Cunningham, the committee's convener, said:
"The situation where some hospitals have free parking while others levy a hefty charge is unsustainable.
"In Tayside, the health board has recently published a review of parking at Ninewells Hospital which proposed - amongst other changes - that disabled drivers should now pay a parking charge."

Gridlocked over town parking

This is Lancashire
By Caroline Innes

A residents' parking scheme to reduce traffic chaos in Clitheroe town centre could be in operation by the end of the year.
The scheme, which would see 54 permits issued, has been welcomed by families who struggle to park near their homes.
But businesses fear the loss of spaces could affect trade.
The permits, costing £80 per car for five years, could be available by the end of the year if the Ribble Valley Council-backed plan is accepted by the county council in September.

Borough council leader Coun John Hill warned a meeting of business owners and residents last night it was a case of "now or never."
Sharon Rawstron, who owns a hairdressers in York Street, said the plan, which would cut parking from two hours to one, would put people off visiting Clitheroe.
She said: "Most treatments at the salon take longer than an hour. People are simply going to go to other places where they can park longer.
"The economic heart of Clitheroe is as important as ensuring residents have somewhere to park."
The county council scheme will be administered by the borough and supervised by existing parking attendants.
It will mean the current on-street parking facility of 373 meters around York Street, Church Brow, Church Street and Albion Street, will be increased to 457 meters although there would be a fall in the number of limited parking spaces available to shoppers and visitors.
However, resident Alistair Forbes of York Street, who said he has struggled to park anywhere near his own home and has been ticketed by parking attendants, said the scheme should be applauded.
He said: "I have found myself driving round and round looking for somewhere to park often with children in the back of the car.
"It is hardly convenient to have to move cars every two hours when you have children sleeping and so this scheme will truly benefit many families.
"It is a serious problem for residents who would otherwise see house prices fall due to lack of parking and people will be forced to move out of the town centre.
"If Clitheroe is to keep its character it is vital parts of the centre remain residential."
Coun Hill said the scheme was always going to be problematic as the area was a mix of homes and businesses but the plan was broadly welcomed.

Disabled driver ''sick of parking fines''

This is Lancashire
By Bolton Evening News Reporter

A DRIVER claims he has been given his third parking fine in Bolton despite displaying his disabled badge each time.
Last Friday, Shaun Greenhalgh parked in the Cheadle Square car park in the town centre and says he was given a ticket because he did not have a pay and display ticket on show.
But Mr Greenhalgh, aged 50, claims his disabled driver's badge was clearly on display and that it was the third time this had happened to him.

He says both his previous fines were revoked after he complained.
"It's getting beyond a joke and has put me off coming to Bolton." said Mr Greenahlgh, of Leigh Road, Leigh, who had been shopping with his wife.
"You don't get these kinds of problems in other towns. It must be bad for business."
As well as his car, Mr Greenhalgh has to use a scooter to get about because of his chronic arthritis. He also suffers from asthma, high blood pressure and diabetes.
"I have got a disabled parking badge but they don't seem to look at it," he said.
Ian Taylor, head of parking services at Bolton Council, said he could only find two cases where Mr Greenhalgh had been fined, including the latest one.
In 2001, he was given a ticket for not displaying his parking badge correctly. That fine was revoked.
Mr Taylor said Friday's ticket was issued because wardens could not read the expiry date on his disabled badge.
"We have to check the badge. It's standard procedure," said Mr Taylor.
Mr Greenhalgh's appeal would be investigated, he added.

Parking permit - the row goes on

Romford Recorder

A PARKING ticket has been quashed by Havering Council after the Recorder intervened following angry complaints from a Romford pensioner.

Last week we told how Joan Smith of St Andrew's Road had been celebrating her 70th birthday with family, only for her son Keith to be issued with a parking ticket despite a visitor's permit being placed in his car windscreen.

To make matters worse Joan, who turned 70 on May 7, claims she was accused of being a liar as council wardens believed the permit had been forged.

But the council, who said the permit number had been "defaced" as it was coloured black and not red, has now seen sense and cancelled the £80 penalty charge notice.

Read more in this week's Recorder.

Attackers throw paint on cars in parking war

IC Wales
Anna Hammond, South Wales Echo

Cars have been splattered with paint and had their tyres slashed in apparent revenge attacks on motorists parking in residential streets.
White paint was thrown over at least three cars parked in Butetown, Cardiff, yesterday in what is suspected to have been the action of people fed up with commuters parking outside homes.
Parking has clearly become a major issue in the area, with more than 1,000 tickets being handed out by police and wardens in the last five months.
A number of parked cars recently had their tyres slashed - including an un-marked police car.
One resident of Louisa Place, which is a stone's throw from Mount Stuart Square, the Wales Millennium Centre and the new Assembly building, said: 'They come and park here at 7am and don't leave until 7pm. They park here instead of using the car parks. It's been like it for years.'

Another resident, who did not want to be named, said: 'We get fed up of people parking here all day long.
'Some days we can't even park outside our own homes.'
The issue was raised at Butetown's first Partnerships and Communities Together - or Pact - meeting earlier his month in Crickhowell House.
Former Butetown councillor Betty Campbell said: 'Butetown has become a big, free car park for the rest of Cardiff.'
Inspector Steve Murray, at Cardiff Bay police station, said: 'There have been a number of incidents and it was raised at the recent Pact meeting as a priority for residents.
'Police officers and traffic wardens have issued in excess of 1,000 tickets in the Butetown area but we can't condone attacks on cars of this nature and if we identify those responsible, then they will be prosecuted.'
Tickets have been slapped on cars parked on yellow lines, in resident-only bays and on pavements.
Inspector Murray added: 'This is a priority for us and we are increasing patrols.'
The next Pact meeting will take place at the same venue on Thursday, June 8, at 7pm.

'The feeling is very hostile'
Chef Annette Jones has lived in Louisa Place for 25 years.
She said: 'It is going to kick off down here if people keep parking outside our houses.
'The feeling is very hostile because people are getting trapped in their houses.
'Some days I am scared to take my car out because I know when I get back I will not be able to park anywhere.
'What makes it worse is that there is a car park behind Louisa Place but people are too tight to pay.'

'The feeling is very hostile'
Chef Annette Jones has lived in Louisa Place for 25 years.
She said: 'It is going to kick off down here if people keep parking outside our houses.
'The feeling is very hostile because people are getting trapped in their houses.
'Some days I am scared to take my car out because I know when I get back I will not be able to park anywhere.
'What makes it worse is that there is a car park behind Louisa Place but people are too tight to pay.'

Mother Nicola Shaddad, 37, said: 'This is the worst part of Cardiff for parking. When people park up kerbs and in the road I can't see if there are children about to cross and it is dangerous.'
One resident, who did not want to be named, said: 'If I had my way I would put a stop to this problem right now.'

Free-for-all threat in parking dispute

The Cumberland News

Carlisle could be set for a parking free-for-all after campaigners today claimed that parking tickets issued by the city council are illegal and unenforceable.

The council disputes the claim but, if it is correct, motorists will be able to ignore fixed penalty notices until the wording is changed to conform to the 1991 Road Traffic Act.

This means drivers could ignore yellow lines, park indefinately in council car parks and ignore restrictions in residents' parking areas.

Neil Herron, the North-East campaigner against enforced metrication and elected regional assemblies, has studied the decriminalised parking enforcement schemes operated by many local authorities.

He says the tickets issued by Carlisle City Council fail to comply with the 1991 Road Traffic Act because they don't have a date of issue on, only the date of the offence.

Mr Herron said: "People need not pay the penalty charge notice if the ticket doesn't have a date of issue.
"It's a technicality but we're dealing with the law. Carlisle City Council have sent us a letter saying that they will alter their tickets to conform with the 1991 Act.
"But, and the council are fully aware of this, if they continue to issue tickets [without a date of issue] they are breaking the law.
"They should suspend all enforcement operations until the new tickets are done or they will commit a criminal offence. The trouble with local authorities is that they think they are above the law."

A council spokeswoman said it was revising the wording on its ticketsto avoid any potential legal challenge. But she disputed Mr Herron's claim that, in the meantime, the old tickets were illegal and could not be enforced.

She said: "The penalty charge notices follow government guidance and are designed to comply with the relevant legislation. Their validity has never been challenged [before].
"We are reviewing the contents of their documentation but at this stage have no reason to doubt the validity of the notices being issued."

The council has been responsible for parking enforcement since 2001 on behalf of Cumbria County Council. It issues around 20,000 tickets a year, raising around £400,000 revenue in fines.

Allerdale, Eden and Copeland councils operate similar schemes and Mr Herron says he is checking if their tickets comply with the law.

He is critical of the whole decriminalised parking enforcement system, which he says is a licence for councils to "fill their boots".

He says it is wrong that motorists who want to contest fines have no recourse to a court of law.

The only appeal is to an independent adjudicator, who is funded by revenue from parking fines and therefore, Mr Herron argues, cannot be truly impartial.

Once the adjudicator has found against the motorist, the council can send in bailiffs to collect the fine without applying to a court.

Couple 'disgusted' by council's 'tough luck' attitude to disabled parking error

ic Croydon
19th May 06

AN elderly couple fined for failing to display their disabled badge correctly say they are "disgusted" at the way they have been treated by Croydon Council.

Roger Limpenny, 61, and his wife Susan were charged £50 after parking their car on a single yellow line while they went to the dentist.
Susan, 62, who has Multiple Sclerosis, cannot walk without assistance and has a blue disabled badge and a clock allowing them three hours' free parking.
But because the couple forgot to put the clock on their dashboard and only displayed the blue badge when they returned after 30 minutes they found a ticket on their windscreen.
Roger said: "I hold my hands up to the fact we were wrong and I'm not asking for my £50 back but I am so angry about the way we've been treated.
"We are not fraudulently using the badge, we were not obstructing the road and we were not there for more than three hours, but even after explaining this to the council we have not received a bit of understanding. Their attitude is 'tough luck'."
The couple believe the parking attendant, who gave them the ticket in Lower Addiscombe Road, Addiscombe, and the council should have used some common sense.
A Croydon Council spokesman said: "Unfortunately, on this occasion Mr Limpenny failed to display his disabled parking permit clock, indicating the length of his stay.
"The rules of the scheme stipulate that if the car is parked in a restricted parking area, the clock should be displayed. If it is not, our parking attendants are quite correct in issuing a penalty charge notice to an offending vehicle."

Concern over parking curbs

Horsham Today

PROPOSALS to introduce widespread parking controls in many of the town's most densely populated areas have sparked concern among some local residents.

The parking controls apply to Horsham town centre, Roffey, Broadbridge Heath, Southwater, Warnham and villages throughout the south of the district, and have been put forward by West Sussex County Council (WSCC) which proposes to make a permanent order under the provisions of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.
But this week WSCC assured residents that the permanent order sought to tidy up existing traffic orders dating back to the 1950s and 1960s and was essentially a paper-exercise, with the new map based schedules making the regulations easier to understand and enforce traffic controls.
The parking order comes four months after new on-street parking regulations were introduced in the Horsham district. The introduction of Local Authority Parking Enforcement (LAPE) – a venture between WSCC and Horsham District Council – brought both on and off-street parking under the day-to-day management and control of the district council.
A county council spokesman said of the latest parking controls: "The orders follow the successful introduction of Local Authority Parking Enforcement in Horsham district from January 23 which is having great success in reducing obstructive and inconsiderate parking.
"The aim is to make a series of tidying up orders in areas where there are already parking restrictions, rather than making new ones.
"There are a large number of parking regulations orders in the district, and the tidying up will all form part of a new map based system that is being introduced, which will make control over parking problems even more effective."
The parking places and traffic regulation order was published in the public notice section of last Friday's County Times.
The comprehensive list seeks to prohibit waiting at all times on lengths of Spencers Road, Trafalgar Road and Greenway among others in Horsham, as well as the busy Billingshurst Road and Warnham Road in Broadbridge Heath, and Byfleets Lane in Warnham.
But many fear the order is excessive and will create additional problems for neighbouring roads, as people are forced to find alternative parking arrangements.
Liz Paffett of Bracken Grove, Roffey, expressed concern over plans to prohibit waiting at all times in lengths of Crawley Road. She questioned where residents would be able to park their cars and said: "Will they be expected to dig up their front gardens for car parking?
"More cars, I have no doubt, will park in other neighbouring roads, thereby creating even more problems."
She continued: "With the new wardens, this will be a lucrative money spinner for the county council, slapping on fines to these residents, who dare to park outside their homes.
"Did those councillors who agreed to these ridiculous orders, really think of the consequences of their actions?
"Of course not, it probably will not affect them, but it will those people who live in houses which do not have a garage or car parking spaces within their house boundaries."
The order was greeted with unease by Christine Costin (L Dem), district councillor for the Trafalgar area of Horsham – a ward frequently mentioned in the proposals.
She said: "I do find the proposals to be very extensive.
"Before imposing further restrictions, there is an opportunity in Horsham to look carefully at existing parking controls, including double and single yellow lines to see if they are doing the job that they are supposed to do."
19 May 2006

City Hospitals to charge for parking

Evening Times
By Chris Musson
Crime Reporter

Parking charges are to be introduced at every hospital in the Glasgow area from this summer.

Patients, staff and visitors will all have to pay under the scheme, which the Evening Times first revealed in February.

Further details of the scheme were confirmed by health bosses today, and it emerged the roll-out will begin by the summer and be finished by the end of the year.

Bosses at Greater Glasgow & Clyde faced a backlash from workers when charges were brought in last year at the city's Royal infirmary.

Now the health board says all of its sites wil be covered by the new charging scheme, including its city centre headquarters.

Bosses say they had "no real choice" but to impose the fees.

A spokeswoman for Greater Glasgow & Clyde said it was expected the charges would be standard across the city. At the Royal Infirmary, the fees are 90p an hour. The health board blames people, including shoppers and residents for stealing the spaces, and says there simply isn't enough space to go round.

Health Union Unison hit out last August when the parking charges were introduced at the Royal.

One nurse said she would have to spend 12% of her annual salary - around £2028 - on parking at the site's new multistorey.

A spokeswoman for NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde said: "The policy is being rolled out in a staged basis. The first stage will see charges imposed over the summer at NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde's HQ at Dalian House, as well as the Western Infirmary and Yorkhill hospitals.
"In following months, charges will be imposed at other sites in Glasgow, starting with Gartnavel General and Royal Hospitals."

£15 parking for hospital visitors

Renfrewshire .co.uk

Visitors to a hospital will have to pay up to £15 for parking under new plans approved by a health board.

NHS Tayside backed the charge to try and reduce the number of people who park in Dundee's ninewells Hospital but are not visiting the site.
Following a review by the hospital board, the two car-parks closest to the hospital will now have a £1.50 four-hour limit.

Car parking fraud claim at Town Hall Car parking fraud claim at Town Hall

South London.co.uk
By Robertdex

POLICE swooped on Lambeth Town Hall last week over claims that crooked council staff are pocketing the cash from the illegal sale of parking permits.
Officers interviewed housing department staff about the allegations - including one that a motorist was tricked into handing over a pedigree dog worth £500 in exchange for two permits.
Lambeth has launched its own internal investigation into the suspected scam.
A council spokeswoman confirmed enquiries into the alleged corruption were ongoing.
She said: "Police are investigating allegations relating to the improper issue of a parking permit.
"The council is co-operating fully with the police investigation.
"The council is also conducting an internal audit into these allegations. Lambeth cannot comment further while investigations continue."
The latest twist in the borough's parking saga will probably not come as a surprise to drivers in Lambeth.
Such is the strength of feeling that parking became a big issue at the last election, with the Lib Dem and Tory coalition claiming they would end overzealous ticketing by bringing the service back in house.
Labour's landslide victory put paid to that pledge.
But the new administration has promised to scrap the profit incentives in the borough's controversial parking enforcement contract with private company Control Plus because it believes it encourages wardens to dole out unfair tickets.
Residents living within the congestion charge zone pay £50 for a 12-month permit to park out-side their homes, while those living outside pay £60.

Press Release

The People's No Campaign

18th May 2006


Carlisle City Council issuing Parking Tickets it knows to be unlawful.

Campaign Group demands parking enforcement to be suspended immediately.

A recent Freedom of Information request Carlisle City Council has revealed that they are aware that they are issuing parking tickets (Penalty Charge Notices) that they know to be unlawful.

The letter to Neil Herron states, " NPAS ( National Parking Adjudication Service) have recommended changes to the terminology. We have accommodated those recommendations."

However, the new Penalty Charge Notices have not yet been prepared and so Carlisle City Council are issuing tickets they know to be unlawful.
This is a very serious matter and as Carlisle City Council are attempting to obtain monies from motorists with such documents that are not correctly worded then the council officers could face allegations of Misfeasance in Public Office.

Campaign Director, Neil Herron has issued the following order to the Council (copy of the communication is attached):

"I wish to put Carlisle City Council on notice that the Decriminalised Parking Enforcement regime being operated must be suspended forthwith as you are aware that the Penalty Charges issued by Carlisle City Council are unlawful and do not comply with the requirements of Section 66(3) of the 1991 Road Traffic Act."

Neil Herron states, " many local authorities are jumping on the Decriminalised Parking bandwagon as it has effectively given them a licence to print money. As they can now keep the money from fines and the motorist has no right of appeal to a court we are coming across many cases of abuse by local authorities. Their contempt for fairness, justice and the law is quite staggering. If Carlisle City Council do not comply with the above request then we will assist anyone who has a PCN and will consider legal action against the Council as well as raising the matter with the Police."


Read Carlisle Penalty Charge Notices here

ENDS
Contact:
Neil Herron
Campaign Director
The People's No Campaign
12 Frederick Street
Sunderland
SR1 1NA

Tel. 0191 565 7143
Mob. 07776 202045
e-mail: mail@thepeoplesnocampaign.co.uk

Notes for Editors:

Reliance is placed on the decisions in MacArthur v Bury (National Parking Adjudication Service Case Number BC 188) and Al's Bar and Restaurant Ltd. v London Borough of Wandsworth (Parking and Traffic Appeals Service Case Number 2020106430) and Aldridge v City of Westminster ( Parking and Traffic Appeals Service Case Number 2050479095 ).

Questions to raise:

(i) What is the number and value of PCNs issued by Carlisle City Council since the inception of Decriminalised Parking Enforcement.
(ii) the number of PCNs which have been appealed to the National Parking Adjudication Service which did not bear a date of issue.
(iii)The date Carlisle City Council received a copy of the NPAS Circular MacArthur v Bury
(iv) What happens to the 4791 cases referred to Northampton County Court and the 2439 Bailiffs Warrants considering the primary piece of evidence resulting in such actions, the PCN, is unlawful?

1. MacArthur v Bury
http://www.parking-appeals.gov.uk/about/circulars/Wording%20of%20PCN.pdf

2. Al's Bar and Restaurant Ltd. v London Borough of Wandsworth
http://www.parkingandtrafficappeals.gov.uk/user_documents/Als.pdf

3. Aldridge v City of Westminster
http://www.thepeoplesnocampaign.co.uk/a/no/assets/Aldridge%20v%20patas0001.pdf

Parking on the pavement brings £600k in fines

This is Hertfordshire

By Lawrence Marzouk

Barnet Council issued almost £600,000-worth of parking tickets to drivers parked with wheels on the pavement last year.
The news emerged as wardens handed out fines to cars parked on pavements in East Barnet last week, despite some of the roads being so narrow that the council's dustcarts cannot access them if cars are parked on the road.
Almost 7,500 tickets were given out for parking on pavements last year, despite a culture in the borough of leaving two wheels up in narrow roads to allow the free flow of traffic.

One in 20 of parking tickets issued in the borough between April 2005-March 2006 was for parking on pavements.
Motorist Graham Hussey, of Mansfield Avenue, East Barnet, said he has parked with two wheels on the pavement for years, but has stopped since the wardens came round last Friday. And on Wednesday, he was forced to move his car to let a council lorry through. "I think it is just revenue raising," he said. "There is no way that anybody would have complained about parking in Mansfield Avenue that is absolute rubbish."
A council spokeswoman said: " enforcement to take place. Once we have visited a street, random repeat visits may takeParking on footways, verges, island sites, central reservations and any part of the highway that is not a carriageway is prohibited throughout London, except where signs and markings show it is permitted.
"Just because a road is narrow does not mean a vehicle can be parked on a footway. We are a large borough and there are many competing demands on our parking attendants, so our policy is to direct parking attendants to streets where we have had complaints or requests for place in the future."
Councillor Brian Salinger, leader of the council, has promised to look into the issue but has yet to release any details of a possible change in policy.
10:36am Monday 15th May 2006

Press Release

The People's No Campaign
16th May 2006

"The case that could throw the London Congestion Charge and Decriminalised Parking Enforcement into turmoil"

Notice of Event: Alan Parker v Transport for London (Congestion Charging)

This case will have massive implications for not only the Congestion Charge, but for Decriminalised Parking Enforcement nationally.

Evidence is to be presented by Neil Herron, which will drive a coach and horses through the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service (PATAS) proving that it is far from independent or impartial, and also professionally incompetent.

PATAS fails on the Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights point regarding the independence and impartiality of tribunals, and the Bill of Rights point will also be argued, that 'no-one may be fined except by a court of law.'

The DVLA is to be introduced into the proceedings as it has failed to advise, on the V5 Registration Document and accompanying material, that anyone intending to become the registered keeper of a vehicle will be liable for offences by anyone using that vehicle.
Colin Moran of The People's No Campaign will be giving expert testimony on this point.

Simon Aldridge of the London Motorists Action Group will be presenting evidence that PATAS failed to adjudicate on the Penalty Charge Notices issued by the City of Westminster in thousands of cases and,
Barrie Segal of AppealNow.com will be submitting substantial evidence highlighting further incompetence by the supposed 'independent' PATAS.

The public are welcome to attend what is expected to be a landmark hearing.

Neil Herron states, "In a simple case Alan Parker is contesting a congestion charge incurred by a former friend to whom he loaned his vehicle. As a resident in West Midlands Mr. Parker had no knowledge of the congestion charge, nor did he feel it necessary to ask for specific details of the itinery and a route map from the person to whom he was loaning the vehicle.
In what appears to be a major administrative gaffe, it transpires that the DVLA do not inform anyone who wishes to become a registered keeper that they will be liable for contraventions committed by third parties. As decriminalised parking enforcement (where the registered keeper, not the driver is liable for the 'fine') now exists in over 170 local authority areas it would need to be a very specific route plan questionnaire that a keeper would need to ask of anyone driving the vehicle.
Mr. Parker is also somewhat concerned that PATAS is funded by the Association of London Government who in turn are funded by Transport for London. As Mr. Parker is entitled to a fair hearing before an independent and impartial tribunal established by law (under Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights) he is somewhat disturbed by not only the funding relationship and the sharing of administration between ALG Transport and Environment Committee, and absolutely staggered that the PATAS Chief Adjudicator, Martin Wood, was appointed by Nick Lester, Director of the ALG TEC and the committee comprising local authority members.
As well as all this, the Bill of Rights 1689 confirms that no-one can be fined except by a court of law. This was reaffirmed by Lord Justice Laws in the 'Metric Martyrs' case where he declared the Bill of Rights a constitutional statute incapable of implied repeal.
I expect that PATAS will have some serious matters to consider tomorrow."

ENDS

Location:
Main Hearing Centre
1st Floor
New Zealand House
80 Haymarket
London
SW1 4TE

Time:
2.00pm.Wednesday 17th May 2006

Contact:
Neil Herron
07776 202045
e-mail mail@thepeoplesnocampaign.co.uk

Colin Moran
07802 448 635

Barrie Segal
020 8123 0041

Simon Aldridge
07973 781 655

www.thepeoplesnocampaign.co.uk www.appealnow.com www.lmag.org.uk

Notes for Editors:

The campaigners Neil Herron and Barrie Segal have a regular spot on TalkSPORT with Mike Dickin and have featured many times in the national press and media.

The above campaigns recently featured on a two Trevor McDonald 'Tonight' special on the lawless parking systems operated by local authorities across the country.

The Metric Martyrs Campaign (European Campaigners of the Year 2001) have successfully preveted prosecutions under the Metrication Regulations.

Simon Aldridge of the London Motorists Action Group successfully proved that the City of Westminster's Penalty Charge Notices were invalid.

Barrie Segal of AppealNow.com has had hundreds of successes most recently the landmark cases proving Barnet, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest's tickets were unlawful

Colin Moran and Neil Herron were behind the North East No Campaign that defeated John Prescott's Elected Regional Assembly folly and delivered the biggest referendum defeat for the Government in British history.

Signs point to chaos in the parking bays

The Scotsman

15th May 06

CONFLICTING signs on city centre parking bays have left motorists scratching their heads in confusion - and being hit with parking fines.
The spaces in George Street have two signs - one saying the bays are for permit holders only and another telling drivers to purchase a pay-and-display ticket from a nearby machine.
But scuffed and faded lettering on the road near Hanover Street conifirm that the bays are for permit holders only and any driver without a permit is liable for a parking fine.
A total of 210 tickets have been handed out to drivers deemed to be illegally parked in the wrongly-marked bays since the incorrect sign was put up eight months ago. However, 13 motorists have contested the fines, six successfully.
The sign points to the five bays with the words "Resident permit holders only 1A". But directly above the sign, another points in the same direction, with the words "Mon-Sat 8.30am-6.30pm - Tickets and Regulations".
A city council spokeswoman said: "One of the signs is incorrect, but the legend on the road is very clear and we believe few motorists would be confused. However, we will grey out the sign and have ordered a replacement."

Parking fine ruling appeal

Hendon & Finchley Times
Barnet Council has applied to the High Court for a judicial review to overturn a decision by a Government body which said all its parking tickets were invalid.
An independent adjudicator from the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service (Patas) ruled in March that two tickets given to Hugh Moses, in Golders Green, last year were not issued in line with the Road Traffic Act 1991. The act states that the date of issue should be on the ticket, but the council's penalty charge notices (PCNs) only state the date of contravention.
Parking campaigner Barrie Segal claims the Patas ruling was a legal precedent which means that all council PCNs are unlawful. If the council loses the judicial review, everyone who receives a ticket could successfully appeal, potentially costing the council hundreds of thousands of pounds. The council claims its tickets state the correct information, but did admit it was looking at the wording of the PCNs.


10:30am Sunday 14th May 2006

Parking stickers to combat commuter use of town lot

Daily News Transcript

By Amanda J. Mantone/ Daily News staff

May 12, 2006 - Updated: 01:26 AM EST


WALPOLE -- Downtown business owners and their employees could soon be required to get stickers to park their vehicles in one lot behind Main Street, as town officials crack down on commuter rail riders taking up parking spaces.
"We’re trying to work with Town Hall and with business owners to allow those people who park there as employees or as business owners to be accommodated, either by stickers or some other method," said Deputy Police Chief Scott Bushway. "We’re trying to resolve a problem, not target businesses. They want their customers to park there, and you can’t blame them."
He said police three weeks ago installed signs limiting parking to three hours from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the lot - which is behind Subway and Walpole Center Books - to deter commuters from leaving cars there all day.
"Unfortunately, in our enforcement, also in that group were a number of employees and business owners," the deputy chief said. "And that obviously was not the intent of the parking restriction."
The problem first came up at a March Board of Selectmen meeting, after business owners complained that commuters were filling parking spaces meant for customers and employees.
At the end of March, police imposed a three-hour parking limit. Anger from ticketed car owners was so great that by mid-April town officials and police decided to try another tack.
"We’ve relaxed our enforcement of (business owners), hoping only to identify those people who are using the commuter rail," said Bushway. "It wasn’t intended to encompass business owners."
Business owners, however, say the real problem now is on the street front, where a two-hour parking limit is scarcely enforced - allowing people who work downtown to park there all day, and forcing drive-by customers who might have stopped in to keep on going.
Selectman Catherine Winston told her board in April that the street-front parking time limits need to be more strictly enforced. Police Chief Richard Stillman said he would work to fix that problem in upcoming meetings with the town about the CBD lot.

But those meetings haven’t come soon enough for some Main Street businesses whose owners say they are taking their stores out of town because of parking problems.
Jim James, who owns Walpole Center Books, said he’s looking to move that shop to Medfield or Westwood, where most of his customers travel from to purchase his books.
"I have customers who come in and say they couldn’t find parking. It’s a real problem out front. I’m looking for a place with parking," said James. He said the parking shortage isn’t the only reason he’s leaving, but it has prompted other shop owners on the block - including Subway - to plan to sell.
"I’ve e-mailed police and walked into the station, but they just say they’ll look into it. They refuse to write tickets," he said. "It’s one of the top things that’s driving us out. It’s really what has killed retail down here."
Tom Morani, owner of Second Time Around Antiques and Collectibles, said he gets to work extra early each day to make sure he can find a spot in the rear lot and keep front spaces open for customers.
"You sometimes can’t get a space out here," said Morani, whose neighbor - Dickens Shoppe - recently closed down when owner Cora McGovern found she couldn’t put up with the lack of parking any longer. "She was always complaining that her customers could never find a space. I’d like it if there could be some kind of a restriction. (A sticker) would be OK with me."
Amanda J. Mantone can be reached at 781-433-8354 or amantone@cnc.com.

Residents' road rage at street parking scheme

Hexham Courant

Published on 12/05/2006
By HELEN COMPSON

A BARRAGE of complaints greeted the launch of a new traffic management scheme in Corbridge this week.
Residents were furious when the rules governing new parking permits dropped through their letterboxes.
Each household in the centre of the village would be allocated two parking bays, said a letter from Northumberland County Council’s highways department.
But the number plates of the two cars that would use them would have to be registered with the council.
Both parish and county councils were inundated with complaints that the policy didn’t cater for family and friends visiting residents.
Nor did it allow delivery drivers or workman to park outside residents’ properties.
Coun. David Walton said: “There are quite a number of irate residents.“People visiting residents are going to have to park elsewhere in the village and then keep moving their cars every two hours because of new time restrictions.
“The arrangement will also penalise residents who don’t have a car, because they just won’t have a space at all.
“Local businesses are going to be affected as well, because they won’t have a visitors’ parking bay either.”
The new £50,000 traffic management scheme was passed by the county council last August.
The much anticipated scheme, which includes an extension to the one-way system, is aimed at diffusing traffic chaos in the overcrowded village centre.
New ticket machines will herald the introduction of short-term stays on streets surrounding Corbridge Market Place. Meanwhile double and single yellow lines will help clamp down on problem parking areas.
Last year, parish councillors expressed fears that lack of enforcement would undermine the scheme from the very beginning.
And that it could end up introducing little more than an covert tax on locals.
General manager of the county’s highways division David Laux admitted at the time that the resources still had to be found to pay for a traffic warden.
He added that the department was relying on drivers’ honesty to some extent.
Corbridge Parish Council members were worried that the village would end up with a scheme that wasn’t enforced against those who ignored it, but would see honest local residents paying the parking charges.
The county council officer dealing with the issue wasn’t available for comment. However, Corbridge Parish Council chairman Coun. Bill Grigg said he had been assured that the highways department had listened to residents and was keen to resolve the problems.

Minister to favour road charging

BBC News

New Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander has announced a £10m fund for the development of nationwide road charging schemes.
He hopes new technology will allow drivers to be charged by the mile.
Mr Alexander, promoted in last week's reshuffle, used a speech to outline how he intends to improve UK infrastructure with minimum environmental impact.
His predecessor at the department, Alistair Darling, announced several pilot road charging schemes.

'Time to face facts'
Cambridge, Durham, Bristol, Bath, Greater Manchester, Shrewsbury, Tyne and Wear and the West Midlands were among the authorities developing road charging proposals.
Conservative transport spokesman Chris Grayling said: "Yet again we have a secretary of state whose only solution to our transport problems seems to be a road pricing system which couldn't be introduced for a decade.
"It's time ministers realised that we need action now to improve transport and not vague ideas for the distant future. They could start by keeping some of the transport promises they've made in the last few years and then quietly dropped."
Lib Dem spokesman Alistair Carmichael meanwhile said the £10m was "simply the first slice of the £18m" promised by Mr Alexander's predecessor in July last year.
Mr Carmichael backed road-user pricing as key to cutting down on congestion and therefore pollution but went on to ask what had happened to a "further £200m a year promised from the Transport Innovation Fund".
"The government has always talked a good game on road-user pricing, but the time has come for them to put their money where their mouth is," he said.
A spokesman from the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport welcomed Mr Alexander's commitment to road pricing adding there was "no other long term solution to congestion".
Mr Alexander said road pricing was one of several measures that had been looked at to tackle congestion.
He said that it was time to face "certain basic facts" that as the nation's prosperity improved, people would want to travel more and to travel further.
"And as we travel more, because we live on a crowded island, congestion is set to grow, so if we do nothing we simply face eternal gridlock," he told BBC News.
The debate now was not so much about "why road pricing?", but "how it would be implemented", and the prize for motorists would be "better value out of the road network".
Investment in road capacity would continue where it was justified, Mr Alexander insisted.

Air travel
And he said speed cameras had a role to play, adding: "I've seen it as a driver myself, there is absolutely no doubt where you have cameras, for example where there are tight bends in the road, it makes sense to slow drivers down."
Mr Alexander was in York on Wednesday, where he was opening a new bus service operated by transport giant First.
He also announced the extension of the Oyster smartcard scheme in London, which will see the cards being accepted in the capital's mainline stations.
Earlier, during a BBC Radio 4 Today programme interview, he said that while he did not want to prevent people enjoying the benefits of cheap air travel, he was concerned about the environmental impact.
"This is not simply a domestic problem, this is a challenge we need to meet internationally," he said.
"We believe the right way to address those environmental concerns is to bring aircraft within the emissions trading scheme we are trying to get established at the European Union."

Parking attendants ‘preying’ on parents

News Shopper
By Sara Nelson

A PARENT is pleading for co-operation after receiving two parking tickets within a fortnight while she collected her children from school.
Hannah Moodey, of Adam Close, Catford, drives her two children and a friend's child to Bromley Park Infant School each day.
The school, in George's Road, Beckenham, has no parking spaces but is close to a 300-space car park.
But Miss Moodey says the car park is constantly full and traffic wardens have begun to "prey" on parents as they collect their children.

She received her first ticket in March, when she parked on the zigzag lines outside the school after spending 10 minutes searching for a space.
The second was issued 12 days later, after she found a space in the car park and left her car to try and obtain change for a ticket.
The part-time sales worker is appealing both fines.
The 30-year-old said: "It is turning into an absolute nightmare.
"These wardens are preying on parents when all we are trying to do is pick up our children and get them home safely.
"When I spoke to the headteacher she said she had asked them to come to the school at picking-up time.
"She said it was a safety issue but added she had been speaking to a nearby supermarket about the possibility of using their car park.
"I can understand there are safety concerns, after all, no-one wants to see a child get run over, but when you've been driving around for 10 minutes searching for a place to stop you do get panicky, which creates an additional hazard in my eyes."
Headteacher Pat Manning said: "It is a safety issue and we are working towards a solution to alleviate the problem.
"The school is in the process of implementing and developing a travel plan to ease congestion and we encourage parents and children to walk to school where they can.
"Alternatively, we do not mind if parents are five minutes late picking up their children as long as they can park safely."

Council's parking crackdown nets £500,000

Coventry Observer

10 May 2006-->

THE decriminalisation of parking in Coventry has netted the city council's coffers nearly £500,000 since its introduction a year ago.
Figures released this week revealed the council's new team of parking attendants issued over 23,000 tickets to motorists parked illegally in the city from April 1, 2005, when the council took over the enforcement of parking restrictions from the police.
By the end of April of this year 23,709 tickets had been issued, of which 12,389 were paid within a fortnight at the £30 rate and 1,674 were paid at the £60 rate.
Payments for 9,646 tickets remain outstanding, though some were issued recently and others were being challenged by the driver or had been cancelled by the council.
Jackie Dooley, the council's traffic and network manager, said the council's first year in charge of enforcing parking restrictions in the city had been a success.
"It's still relatively early and the parking attendants are getting more familiar with the areas outside the city centre," she added."We have responded to enforcement requests from the public and ward members, and now have a vehicle to enable a more rapid response to complaints"
Mrs Dooley said the enforcement action had made a clear impact on easing the flow of traffic within the city, making it safer for both drivers and pedestrians.
She added all the cash raised from parking fines was ploughed back into the department.

Parking attendant wage is cut from £800 to 52p

Rochdale Observer
08th May 06

MOTHER-of-two Dawn Ashworth was left feeling physically sick after receiving a payslip saying she had only been paid 52p in her monthly wage.
The parking attendant from Rochdale, had been expecting to receive a wage of about £800. But she received a letter from her employers NCP two days before saying £582.28 was being taken from her wages – but she actually got less than a £1.
One of her colleagues Debbie Howard, also from Rochdale, had £480 docked from her wages, leaving her with just £400.
The Transport and General Workers’ Union claimed when they approached NCP on Ms Ashworth’s behalf NCP told their representative: "I’m not a registered charity. I’m not paying her."
Ms Ashworth said: "I thought I was going to be sick when I saw I had only been paid 52 pence. The union has had to lend me money so I can look after my two children.
"We had been suspended after being accused of bullying our assistant contract manager and I was accused of sending a vicious email. But the employees’ handbook said we should have been suspended on full pay.
"Debbie and I were due to go back to work at the beginning of April after the disciplinary hearing, when we were given a verbal warning which we are contesting. But we were so upset about what had happened that we were off sick. Even so, we still should have had three weeks’ full pay, according to the handbook.
"I’ve been so stressed out I don’t know what day of the week it is. I’ve been shouting at the children and they are really worried about me.
"NCP said it would give me the money on Thursday of last week, then a few days later they said if I was given money it would be a loan. I can’t believe they are saying they are going to lend me money I am entitled to."
Ms Howard said: "I’m at the end of my tether with NCP. Dawn and I haven’t been sleeping or eating properly because we’re so worried about what has happened."
The women were due to take their case again to NCP at a grievance procedure yesterday (Fri).
Tim Cowen of NCP said: "NCP always respects its staff's rights and will therefore never comment publicly on individual employees.
"However, we can confirm that two members of staff from our Rochdale operation are currently going through a disciplinary process and we are in discussions with them and their union representative on a separate matter regarding claims of deductions from pay.
"NCP are confident we have acted properly throughout."

Michael Byrne

Parking zone angers park residents

Hounslow Guardian
06th May 06

Residents objecting to the new parking scheme






A dispute over parking in one of the borough's most expensive roads continues as local residents object to being included in Hounslow Council's scheme.
Householders in Jersey Road, Osterley, which runs parallel to Osterley Park, will now have a yellow line on the park-side of the street and resident-only bays on the residents' side from 9.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday thanks to a decision by the Isleworth and Brentford Area Planning Committee.
There will also be triple-use bays near the park gates, which can be paid for or used by those with resident or business parking permits.
The two-week consultation with residents resulted in 16 votes to be included in the council's Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) for the area and 11 against.
But a petition across the 44 homes showed only nine to be in favour of the scheme and 27 opposed. Residents now say the council has disregarded their views.
James Carr, who lives on Jersey Road, said: "There will be nowhere to actually park for free.
"Any member of the general public who comes to Osterley Park will have to be a National Trust member or pay £3.50 at the onsite car park.
"This is a loss of a local amenity, especially during the spring and summer months when the park is used a lot."
Chairman of the committee Coun Barbara Reid said the petition was organised after residents became concerned the council was planning to introduce meters outside houses.
The committee has confirmed there will be no meters apart from the triple-use bays, which Coun Reid described as a "sensible addition" on the Osterley side of the road.
But residents say the scheme's approval was a foregone conclusion as the road was being marked out before the official decision was made.

''It''s gone way out of control '' - Wayne takes on parking giants

Bucks Free Press
By Paul Leat

A MOTORIST has taken on the might of parking bosses by claiming that every ticket issued in the last nine years is invalid.
Wayne Pendle, 33, from Acorn Close, High Wycombe, put his case before an independent parking adjudicator this week in a bid to expose a major error in parking enforcement. If he is proved right, every motorist with an outstanding ticket could have a case for a refund. The hearing could even spark a legal challenge to force Bucks County Council to pay back every ticket handed out since they took control of parking in the town with the introduction of a Special Parking Area (SPA) in May 1997.
Mr Pendle believes the tickets are illegal because they only state the date the ticket was issued and not the date of the parking offence. A similar point has been used to successfully challenge tickets in other parts of the country. He said: "Although in most cases the date you get the ticket is the day of the offence, the two are not the same. There are examples where a registered owner of a vehicle has not seen the PCN for a number of weeks, and will not know when the offence occurred."
In October Mr Pendle set out to get a parking ticket, known as a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN), just so he could contest it and reveal the error.
He said: "Parking enforcement has gone way out of control."
Mr Pendle revealed to the National Parking Adjudication Service hearing on Tuesday, that since April 20 this year the PCNs in High Wycombe have started to carry the previously missing date of offence, known as the date of contravention. He said: "It would appear Bucks County Council have chan-ged their policy to cover this point."
Anne-Marie Goodbody, from the county council, said the change had been made after a conversation with a motorist. She said: "We took legal advice that said the date of notice complies with regulations. Nevertheless we always take into account comments we receive from drivers. We decided this would further clarify the position."
A decision on the case is expected within a month.
After the hearing Mrs Goodbody said: "It is a legal matter being dealt with by legal people. I do not know what the adjudicator's decision will be but the advice we have been given is that there is nothing to worry about here."
10:13am Friday 5th May 2006

Parking reprieve

Denbighshire Free Press
05th May 2006

CONTROVERSIAL plans to introduce parking fees at free car parks across two towns have been delayed... for now.

Denbighshire County Council has sensationally held back plans to introduce charges at Denbigh’s Barker’s Well multi-storey, and Corwen’s Green Lane, Station Yard and Pavilion car parks for two months.
The move comes after Plaid Cymru county council members submitted a notice of motion to be discussed at a full meeting this week.
The motion read: “We ask that the implementation of the new parking charges and increased parking charges especially in our market towns be postponed until there has been full and meaningful consultation with relevant stakeholders and partners such as town and community councils, business groups, Denbigh College and appropriate residents’ associations.
Proposals for the parking fees at the our car parks will now be looked at again by Cabinet Members.
Denbigh and Corwen business owners launched a protest against the plans to introduce charges at the car parks, ranging from 40p an hour to £2 for all-day parking.
Corwen residents staged a parking protest on the A5 to demonstrate their anger against the introduction of the fees, due to come in on Saturday.
Corwen County Councillor Nigel Roberts, told the council on Tuesday that he had been inundated with complaints over the parking issue.“We need to listen to our communities, we are not going to do it by introducing car parking charges into Corwen,” he said.
The Corwen County Councillor told members that two petitions containing over 1,500 names were due to be handed in.“Corwen is a small market town... it’s got one road and hardly any other lanes to park in. We pay the same council tax in Corwen as anyone else. The health centre is in the car park, do we expect older people to pay for parking?”
Cllr Roberts added that it was unfair for people dropping into the town to buy just a loaf of bread to pay 40p for the privilege.
Cllr Eryl Williams, Lead member for Environment, told councillors he was ‘upset’ at receiving criticism over the issue.“I feel very aggrieved. Outside the chamber various commitee members have criticised me as the member who has implemented these in my own way. It’s not my way it’s the council’s way.”
He added: “There is no problem in admitting we got something wrong.”
But Cllr Paul Marfleet, said he felt the charges should be implemented as normal.“This I believe is a very emotive issue. In the last year we have seen the cost of fuel go up by more than 10p a litre, people have accepted it. Whether you like it or not the cost of motoring is going up and parking is one element of motoring.”
“Denbighshire is a very, very low cost place to park in terms of what is going on in the real world I think we should encourage everbody using our car parks to buy season tickets.”
Llandrillo County Councillor Cefyn Williams said: “Corwen is sadly dying. If it was a flourishing town people wouldn’t move for parking spaces. Perhaps in three to four years time the steam train will come to Corwen. Perhaps we could reintroduce it at that time.”
Denbighshire County Council accepted the motion which carried an amendment, mentioning the Denbigh and Corwen car parks.