City parking fine hotspots revealed
Almost 800 tickets issued in Murray Place
Streets in Stirling where the most parking tickets are issued have been revealed.
Stirling Council’s parking attendants have been on patrol in the city since decriminalised parking enforcement came into force back in May.
Information obtained through a Freedom of Information request by the Observer has revealed the city streets to have received close attention from the traffic wardens.
More than twice as many tickets have been issued to drivers parked in Murray Place than any other street. A total of 766 tickets were handed out there between May 3 and November this year.
The street with the second worst track record for careless parking is Barnton Street, with 374 tickets issued.
Upper Craigs is third, with 303, followed by King Street, with 267, and Baker Street with 226 tickets.
Stirling Council insists wardens are fully committed to the citywide initiative, to ensure that Stirling remains a safe and attractive place to live, work and visit. As a result, the authority has issued 6,989 tickets between May and November.
A spokesperson said: “Our parking enforcement officers carry out regular patrols daily taking in a large number of different streets across the city to ensure safe parking and road conditions for all users. We would encourage drivers to park responsibly and use one of the designated parking facilities available across the city.”
However, some businesses on the streets in which the most tickets have been issued say that there has been some downsides to the parking crackdown.
One charity shop blames the enforcement of parking fines on a decrease in the number of donations it receives.
Angela Mason, manager of Cancer Research UK, Murray Place, said: “We haven’t been quiet with the number of customers, but I have noticed we have been quiet with donations because people can’t get parked because they are worried about getting a ticket .
“Last week we took in 30 bags of donations through the door. Before we would get around 50 or 60 bags. a week People are phoning us up and saying ‘but I can’t stop outside your shop’, so I’m having to go out and do pick-ups.
“People always parked there thinking that they can get away with it, and for a long time they did get away with it. But now, you see some folk going mad when they get a ticket.”
Another business-owner says that some customers are staying away during the week and only making a trip to his shop on a Sunday – when there are no parking attendants on the streets.
Mirek Lewandowski, from the Vitamin Shop in Barnton Street, said: “You don’t have to pay to park on Sundays, so Sundays are the busiest day of our business.
“I know guys who come to our shop just on Sundays. If somebody wants to come in to my shop for just 10 minutes, they don’t want to spend an extra £2 to buy a ticket for their car, but they have to.”
The community council for the city centre has urged traffic wardens to show common sense when issuing tickets.
Mercat Cross and City Centre Community Council chairman Andrew Szwebs said: “Stirling is a fantastic place to visit and whilst we would always encourage people to park responsibly, we would also urge enforcement officers to exercise a bit of discretion from time to time when issuing tickets. We want Stirling to be a warm, welcoming city and this is especially important in light of the forthcoming Kerse Road bridge closure.”
Any vehicle found to be in contravention of any parking restriction will be issued a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for £60. This will be reduced by 50 per cent if paid within 14 days or increased to £90 if ignored.