Two streets top £1.6m in parking fines
The Herald
by Rob Robertson
More parking tickets are issued to motorists in Edinburgh's George Street and Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow than anywhere else outside London.
A survey for the last financial year claimed £1.25m worth of fines were handed out in George Street, higher than anywhere else in Britain for that period. More than £1m worth of tickets were issued in Newington Green Road, Islington, with Sauchiehall Street coming third with £378,180. The worst figure in recent years was for Lordship Lane in Tottenham, north London, where motorists had to pay more than £3.18m in 2004/05.
The survey figures for Channel 4 are based on the higher fine of £60 rather than the £30 figure which is on offer when drivers pay within a fortnight, and does not take into account how many pay the lower figure.
Scottish motorists are suffering as much as their English counterparts when it comes to being hit in the pocket by over-zealous traffic wardens.
The most ticketed UK streets in 2005/06 were George Street, Newington Green Road in London and Sauchiehall Street followed by Alum Rock Road, in Birmingham.
Other Scottish hotspots although not included in the survey, include Golden Square, Aberdeen; Church Street, Inverness; George Street, Perth; Beckford Street, Hamilton and Baxter Wynd, Falkirk.
The five most ticketed streets in Glasgow for the financial year were Sauchiehall Street where 6303 tickets were issued; Bath Street (5042); Kilmarnock Road (4518); Byres Road (4064), and West Campbell Street (3885). The total brought in by wardens in these streets was £581,000 down on the 2004/05 figure of £716,000.
A council spokesman said: "It is of little surprise that our busiest thoroughfares sees the largest number of parking violations. If motorists do not park illegally, then no penalty will be sought."
A spokeswoman for Edinburgh City Council defended the high volume of tickets in George Street.
She said: "We have to make sure there is a high turnover for traders in the area. We have 10,000 on-street and 10,000 off-street parking spaces in the city, but people want to park in George Street because it's right in the centre of town."
Both Glasgow and Edinburgh council officials said that although the original parking fine was 60, most people took advantage of the lower £30 option.
But the figures show clearly that major roads in both Edinburgh and Glasgow are being hit hard by traffic wardens.
Scottish actor Tom Conti, a long-time campaigner against parking charges and co-founder of the London Motorists' Action Group, said: "If some councils are saying they don't make money from this, you wonder why these people get jobs."
Neil Greig, head of policy with the AA Motoring Trust in Scotland, said: "Millions is being raised from parking fines but I haven't seen any independent evidence showing that traffic management or traffic flow has got better."
by Rob Robertson
More parking tickets are issued to motorists in Edinburgh's George Street and Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow than anywhere else outside London.
A survey for the last financial year claimed £1.25m worth of fines were handed out in George Street, higher than anywhere else in Britain for that period. More than £1m worth of tickets were issued in Newington Green Road, Islington, with Sauchiehall Street coming third with £378,180. The worst figure in recent years was for Lordship Lane in Tottenham, north London, where motorists had to pay more than £3.18m in 2004/05.
The survey figures for Channel 4 are based on the higher fine of £60 rather than the £30 figure which is on offer when drivers pay within a fortnight, and does not take into account how many pay the lower figure.
Scottish motorists are suffering as much as their English counterparts when it comes to being hit in the pocket by over-zealous traffic wardens.
The most ticketed UK streets in 2005/06 were George Street, Newington Green Road in London and Sauchiehall Street followed by Alum Rock Road, in Birmingham.
Other Scottish hotspots although not included in the survey, include Golden Square, Aberdeen; Church Street, Inverness; George Street, Perth; Beckford Street, Hamilton and Baxter Wynd, Falkirk.
The five most ticketed streets in Glasgow for the financial year were Sauchiehall Street where 6303 tickets were issued; Bath Street (5042); Kilmarnock Road (4518); Byres Road (4064), and West Campbell Street (3885). The total brought in by wardens in these streets was £581,000 down on the 2004/05 figure of £716,000.
A council spokesman said: "It is of little surprise that our busiest thoroughfares sees the largest number of parking violations. If motorists do not park illegally, then no penalty will be sought."
A spokeswoman for Edinburgh City Council defended the high volume of tickets in George Street.
She said: "We have to make sure there is a high turnover for traders in the area. We have 10,000 on-street and 10,000 off-street parking spaces in the city, but people want to park in George Street because it's right in the centre of town."
Both Glasgow and Edinburgh council officials said that although the original parking fine was 60, most people took advantage of the lower £30 option.
But the figures show clearly that major roads in both Edinburgh and Glasgow are being hit hard by traffic wardens.
Scottish actor Tom Conti, a long-time campaigner against parking charges and co-founder of the London Motorists' Action Group, said: "If some councils are saying they don't make money from this, you wonder why these people get jobs."
Neil Greig, head of policy with the AA Motoring Trust in Scotland, said: "Millions is being raised from parking fines but I haven't seen any independent evidence showing that traffic management or traffic flow has got better."
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