War on motorists
Belfast Telegraph
By Jonathan McCambridge
Nearly £1m worth of parking fines have been handed out in Northern Ireland in less than one month - sparking accusations that war has been declared on motorists.
Currently more than 570 tickets are being issued every day by new private parking attendants who are blitzing illegally parked cars across the province.
The DRD took over responsibility for parking enforcement from police at the end of October. A private company, NCP, have been handing out £60 fines on their behalf since November 13.
By last Saturday the private attendants had issued 13,710 fines - an average of 571 tickets each day. That is more than 100% higher than the average daily number of tickets which had previously been issued by police.
The total number of tickets results in £822,600 worth of fines, although the £60 fee is reduced by half if the amount is paid within a fortnight.
Belfast has the highest number of parking fines, with more than 3,330 tickets issued in the city. There have been more than 1,070 tickets issued in Londonderry and 936 in Enniskillen.
Belfast Lord Mayor Pat McCarthy said he was worried that the high total of parking fines was harming business in the city in the run-up to Christmas. He has called a summit for the City Hall in January to discuss parking problems with the DRD and PSNI.
He said: "The explosion in the number of tickets issued does not add up. The figures speak for themselves and this will put people off coming into Belfast to shop before Christmas if they cannot park. Instead they will go to out-of-town shopping centres.
"There is a frustration among motorists about this because there has been such a sharp increase in the number of fines."
DUP MLA Ian Paisley Jnr said he was concerned that the number of tickets being issued was spiralling out of control.
He said: "This is clearly an attack on motorists, it is the Government waging war on our motorists. I am concerned because it seems that the word discretion has been removed from the vocabulary of the new parking attendants."
But the DRD has insisted that the upsurge in fines would lead to our roads being made safer.
Simon Richardson, DRD's road service parking enforcement manager, said: " Our aim is not to issue parking tickets, but to encourage people to park properly. This will improve road safety, improve traffic flows and accessibility for all roads users."
14,000
That's how many parking tickets have been issued to Ulster's motorists in ONE MONTH since privately employed traffic wardens replaced the PSNI
The Government was today accused of "waging war" on Northern Ireland's motorists after it emerged that a staggering 14,000 parking tickets have been handed out across the province in less than a month.
Since the DRD took over responsibility for parking enforcement from the PSNI, there has been a huge surge in the number of parking fines being slapped on motorists.
More than 570 £60 fines are being handed out for parking violations across the province every day.
More than 3,000 of the new £60 fines have been handed out in Belfast alone, with more than 1,000 in Londonderry.
A private company, NCP, is handling the enforcement of parking restrictions on behalf of the DRD.
The company work on October 30 and started handing out tickets on November 13.
In the period between then and December 9, 13,710 fines have been handed out across Northern Ireland.
The number of fines being issued has soared by more than 100% since the privately employed traffic wardens replaced the PSNI.
DUP MLA Ian Paisley Jnr said he was concerned that the number of tickets being issued was spiralling out of control.
He said: "This is clearly an attack on motorists, it is the Government waging war on our motorists.
"The number of tickets being handed out has soared, but it is not because there has been any deterioration in the way people park, just that they are being pursued much more vigorously.
"Many of these people are a soft target. They are law abiding people who are being targeted."
He added: "I am very concerned because it seems that the word discretion has been removed from the vocabulary of the new parking attendants."
However, the DRD has insisted that the upsurge in parking fines would improve road safety, improve traffic flows and improve accessibility for all roads users.
Simon Richardson, DRD's Road Service parking enforcement manager, said: " This total figure represents an average of 571 tickets per day across the whole of Northern Ireland.
"Our aim is not to issue parking tickets, our aim is to encourage drivers to park properly.
"If people park properly, we won't have to issue parking tickets. However, if people continue to park illegally, our attendants will issue penalty charge notices."
He added: "This new enforcement operation is good news for the law abiding motorist who adheres to the parking restrictions.
"However, for those people who refuse to comply with the regulations, our message is simple - park properly or pay the penalty."
Each parking ticket brings with it a fine of £60 although this is reduced to £30 if the fee is paid within a fortnight.
The new parking attendants have become a familiar sight in their red uniforms and hand-held computers in towns across Northern Ireland.
There has been criticism of NCP from some members of the emergency services who have claimed they have been issued with tickets while attending emergencies.
But Mr Richardson said: "DRD is working in partnership with NCP which is one of the leading parking companies in the UK.
"I am confident it is providing an efficient, high quality service across Northern Ireland.
"The performance targets within the contract are all based on the quality of the service provided and not on the number of tickets issued."
Mr Richardson continued: "Roads Service is continuing to work closely with NCP in all aspects of the contract to deliver our key objective for parking enforcement - namely to reduce the number of illegally parked vehicles on our streets.
"This will, in turn, improve road safety, improve traffic flows and improve accessibility for all roads users."
By Jonathan McCambridge
Nearly £1m worth of parking fines have been handed out in Northern Ireland in less than one month - sparking accusations that war has been declared on motorists.
Currently more than 570 tickets are being issued every day by new private parking attendants who are blitzing illegally parked cars across the province.
The DRD took over responsibility for parking enforcement from police at the end of October. A private company, NCP, have been handing out £60 fines on their behalf since November 13.
By last Saturday the private attendants had issued 13,710 fines - an average of 571 tickets each day. That is more than 100% higher than the average daily number of tickets which had previously been issued by police.
The total number of tickets results in £822,600 worth of fines, although the £60 fee is reduced by half if the amount is paid within a fortnight.
Belfast has the highest number of parking fines, with more than 3,330 tickets issued in the city. There have been more than 1,070 tickets issued in Londonderry and 936 in Enniskillen.
Belfast Lord Mayor Pat McCarthy said he was worried that the high total of parking fines was harming business in the city in the run-up to Christmas. He has called a summit for the City Hall in January to discuss parking problems with the DRD and PSNI.
He said: "The explosion in the number of tickets issued does not add up. The figures speak for themselves and this will put people off coming into Belfast to shop before Christmas if they cannot park. Instead they will go to out-of-town shopping centres.
"There is a frustration among motorists about this because there has been such a sharp increase in the number of fines."
DUP MLA Ian Paisley Jnr said he was concerned that the number of tickets being issued was spiralling out of control.
He said: "This is clearly an attack on motorists, it is the Government waging war on our motorists. I am concerned because it seems that the word discretion has been removed from the vocabulary of the new parking attendants."
But the DRD has insisted that the upsurge in fines would lead to our roads being made safer.
Simon Richardson, DRD's road service parking enforcement manager, said: " Our aim is not to issue parking tickets, but to encourage people to park properly. This will improve road safety, improve traffic flows and accessibility for all roads users."
14,000
That's how many parking tickets have been issued to Ulster's motorists in ONE MONTH since privately employed traffic wardens replaced the PSNI
The Government was today accused of "waging war" on Northern Ireland's motorists after it emerged that a staggering 14,000 parking tickets have been handed out across the province in less than a month.
Since the DRD took over responsibility for parking enforcement from the PSNI, there has been a huge surge in the number of parking fines being slapped on motorists.
More than 570 £60 fines are being handed out for parking violations across the province every day.
More than 3,000 of the new £60 fines have been handed out in Belfast alone, with more than 1,000 in Londonderry.
A private company, NCP, is handling the enforcement of parking restrictions on behalf of the DRD.
The company work on October 30 and started handing out tickets on November 13.
In the period between then and December 9, 13,710 fines have been handed out across Northern Ireland.
The number of fines being issued has soared by more than 100% since the privately employed traffic wardens replaced the PSNI.
DUP MLA Ian Paisley Jnr said he was concerned that the number of tickets being issued was spiralling out of control.
He said: "This is clearly an attack on motorists, it is the Government waging war on our motorists.
"The number of tickets being handed out has soared, but it is not because there has been any deterioration in the way people park, just that they are being pursued much more vigorously.
"Many of these people are a soft target. They are law abiding people who are being targeted."
He added: "I am very concerned because it seems that the word discretion has been removed from the vocabulary of the new parking attendants."
However, the DRD has insisted that the upsurge in parking fines would improve road safety, improve traffic flows and improve accessibility for all roads users.
Simon Richardson, DRD's Road Service parking enforcement manager, said: " This total figure represents an average of 571 tickets per day across the whole of Northern Ireland.
"Our aim is not to issue parking tickets, our aim is to encourage drivers to park properly.
"If people park properly, we won't have to issue parking tickets. However, if people continue to park illegally, our attendants will issue penalty charge notices."
He added: "This new enforcement operation is good news for the law abiding motorist who adheres to the parking restrictions.
"However, for those people who refuse to comply with the regulations, our message is simple - park properly or pay the penalty."
Each parking ticket brings with it a fine of £60 although this is reduced to £30 if the fee is paid within a fortnight.
The new parking attendants have become a familiar sight in their red uniforms and hand-held computers in towns across Northern Ireland.
There has been criticism of NCP from some members of the emergency services who have claimed they have been issued with tickets while attending emergencies.
But Mr Richardson said: "DRD is working in partnership with NCP which is one of the leading parking companies in the UK.
"I am confident it is providing an efficient, high quality service across Northern Ireland.
"The performance targets within the contract are all based on the quality of the service provided and not on the number of tickets issued."
Mr Richardson continued: "Roads Service is continuing to work closely with NCP in all aspects of the contract to deliver our key objective for parking enforcement - namely to reduce the number of illegally parked vehicles on our streets.
"This will, in turn, improve road safety, improve traffic flows and improve accessibility for all roads users."
posted by Neil Herron at 10:49 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home