‘SMDC misguided enforcement of parking regulations’

I READ with dismay in your June 2 edition of the parking dispute between the council and residents at Cromwell Terrace, opposite the bus station.

With property owners and tenants at this location having no choice but to access their abode via the bus station for the purpose of carrying out refurbishments or removal or deliveries of bulky items, I would have thought it most sensible and natural for the district council to make suitable parking arrangements, subject to no impediment to bus operations.

Not so, as it seems. The council in its wisdom appears to have instructed traffic wardens to issue fines even when the vehicle operator is present or nearby as required and when it is obvious why a private vehicle is parked at the bus station.

I find this petty and if I was a resident of Cromwell Terrace, I would reject payment of any fine and fight this in court, plus sue SMDC for vexatious behaviour.

Contrast this with the non-existent enforcement of clear and simple parking prohibitions along West Street and Westwood Road near schools and other similar locations in Leek.

At both Westwood schools, parking is unlawful between specified hours, exactly those from just prior to just after school opening and closing times.

Yet, daily, dozens of cars are stationed illegally, some with engines idling, some with drivers sitting in them for up to 30 minutes doing seemingly nothing of any importance.

SMDC enforcement of the parking rules is absolutely ridiculous. Traffic wardens in this area are rarely seen and if they arrive at all, they stroll along the line of brazenly positioned cars, without the slightest attempt to issue penalty notices.

Of course, as soon as drivers see a warden, they move off, only to return within minutes like rats to a known meal.

On two separate days, May 10 and May 20 this year, I counted 17 and 19 cars respectively parked illegally at the end of the school day, of which five and six had engines running, one a particularly filthy old diesel SUV.

On two occasions, I asked drivers to turn off their engine, one did, the other (a young female) gave me a twofinger salute.

Can it really be so difficult to understand that the parking of cars at or near pedestrian crossings and zig-zag lines is a hazard to the very children these selfish people are “caring for”, that their running engines also pollute their children’s air and promote respiratory complications, notably asthma?

Often enough, some cars are stationed with no concern for other road users, and if ever an emergency vehicle needs access to the area, its progress would be impeded, potentially leading to unnecessary fatalities.

If the council is at all genuinely interested in cleaning up rampant and blatant abuse of parking rules instead of just harassing residents with an obvious access issue at Cromwell Terrace, I suggest they should direct their wardens to the West End of Leek at school opening or closing times with cameras and penalty notices at the ready.

There are rich pickings for the better of all.

I expect any blitz on illegal parking in the Westwood area would only need to be enacted two or three times each year before the last egocentric idiot has got the message.

Come on Mr Joe Porter, councillor for climate issues, get in on the act and establish, then enforce, a by-law that makes running engines while stationary an offence. Franz Opitz, Leek