Crackdown on illegal parking

Sep 5 2008 by David Holmes, Chester Chronicle

AN ARMY of traffic wardens will be primed to clobber Chester motorists who have “got away with” parking illegally for years.

Extra patrol attendants are being recruited ahead of the decriminalisation of parking next month, which sees responsibility switch from police to the city council.

Parking services manager David Bennett says the council does not wish to get a reputation for overzealous ticketing.

Officials say the introduction of decriminalised parking enforcement will have a big impact on people who have parked illegally on Chester’s streets for years.

“They will be forced to find new places to park, migrate to off-street car parks or face significant fines,” the city’s executive was told in a report.

The estimated number of parking tickets necessary to cover the costs of implementing the scheme is “significantly over” the 12,000 penalty notices issued each year at present. But the number of tickets will rise when the team of council patrol officers, armed with £35 fixed penalty notices and wearing peaked caps and black uniforms, doubles in size from six to 12 and gains responsibility for policing on street parking, alongside its present territory of residents’ areas and city council car parks.

The city council believes there will be significant short-term benefits to residents through improved traffic management and road safety. Revenue raised through fines will fund the enforcement regime, with any surplus ring-fenced for transport projects.