Parking ‘flexible and easier’ despite 60,000 driver fines
COUNCIL HITS BACK AS STREETS WITH MOST PENALTY CHARGES ARE NAMED
COUNCIL bosses insist parking in Derby is “more flexible and easier to manage” – despite new figures showing it has issued thousands of parking fines on city centre streets.
Derby City Council has issued a statement explaining why it issued over 60,000 Penalty Charge Notices to motorists in 2021.
New Freedom of Information data released by the council shows that Babington Lane and Osmaston Road were the top streets in Derby which saw drivers receive a parking fine in the last two years.
Figures released showed that within a two-year period understood to be between April 2020 and April 2022, a total of 1,770 PCNs were issued for offences at Babington Lane, with 1,430 on Osmaston Road.
Information as to specific parking bay locations on each street was not available.
Other streets in the top five for most parking fines were in Normanton and included Normanton Road, Harriet Street and Lyndhurst Street.
It has also been revealed that the city council issued fines to the value of almost £2 million in 2021 – this included all motorist-related fines in Derby, such as bus lane contraventions.
But the council says parking enforcement and bus lanes restrictions “are in place to encourage active and sustainable travel in the city centre”.
A spokesperson for Derby City Council said: “Like many cities, we have a number of parking and travel
restrictions in place in the city centre.
“While the vast majority of visitors adhere to these restrictions, we do have to enforce them with Penalty Charge Notices in an effort to reduce breaches.
“Many restrictions are in place to encourage active and sustainable travel in the city centre, and we’ve taken extra steps to make this easier than ever.
“The Transforming Cities and Active Travel funding has allowed us to develop new cycle paths, pedestrian areas and attractive spaces, while new bus lanes have made it easier for public transport users to reach the city centre.
“For those that choose to drive into the city centre, we’ve made parking more flexible and easier to manage, with contactless and payby-phone parking reducing the risk of overstaying.
“We’ve also made it more secure with our Bold Lane car park in the heart of the Cathedral Quarter being labelled as the ‘world’s safest car park.’”
The city council has also revealed the top streets for which motorists make the most appeals from receiving parking fines. This is within the same two-year period.