POUNDING THE CITY STREETS
Glasgow parking wardens dish out 33,693 tickets in three months
MORE than 30,000 tickets were issued by traffic wardens in Glasgow in just three months.
According to new research, the hot spot for tickets in the city was St Vincent Street where a pay-and-display costs £1.80 for two hours.
In total, 33,693 tickets were handed out between July and September this year.
The research showed that the city had the third most tickets handed out in the UK, coming behind London (around 500,000) and Edinburgh (58,994).
Roger Lawson, campaign director of the Alliance of British Drivers, said the research triggers further concerns that parking enforcement is too “aggressive” and that councils are seeing parking fines as a source of income.
“On-street parking revenue from fees and Parking Charge Notices should not be used for ‘revenue raising’, but only to cover the costs of administration and enforcement. But councils ignore it,” he said.
“If there is that much infringement it suggests either the council is using companies to undertake enforcement are too aggressive and/or there is insufficient provision for parking to meet the demand, and probably inadequate public transport, both of which should be the responsibility of the council.”
A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: “This is not a money-making exercise.
“Glasgow is Scotland’s largest city and a destination for hundreds of thousands of motorists from outside its bound- aries, therefore it is not surprising that it is third on the list.
“We try to deter motorists from using their cars where possible and encourage people to switch to more sustainable modes of transport such as cycling or using public transport in a bid to protect the environment and reduce air pollution.”
Neil Greig policy and research director of the motoring organisation IAM Road-Smart felt the problem in Scotland’s two biggest cities came down to a combination of “chronic” under supply of prime parking places in key economically important streets and and “confusing or poorly marked spaces”.
“The issue for IAM Road-Smart is that there is no incentive for the councils to really investigate or fix these problems.
“They should be trying to enhance the economy of their cities by providing consumer focussed parking services, more spaces and high quality signposting and bay markings. This would reduce the numbers being caught out and make the place look more attractive at the same time,” he said. “Although councils have to reinvest fine income in transport services they should not be relying on it to supplement their budgets,” he said.
“Any suggestion that this is happening will inevitably lead to accusations of revenue raising being ahead of providing a service that gives any visitor to our main city centres a positive experience.”
An Edinburgh City Council spokesman said all parking surplus income is reinvested in Edinburgh’s transport infrastructure, in line with the Road Traffic Act.