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We are committed to a fair deal on parking
• IN your article and letters page (Drivers cough up record fines in parking tickets and Rise in parking revenue is staggering, February 7) you quoted Councillor Theo Blackwell saying that the number of parking tickets issued by Camden Council has gone up massively, when this is in fact absolutely incorrect.
The number of tickets issued by Camden has actually gone down by a massive 20,000 in 2006/7 to the lowest annual figure for three years. We are therefore not making more money by handing out more parking tickets.
The £4 million “increase” in revenue for 2006/07 was almost entirely due to an accounting mistake under the previous Labour administration, which led to a massive under-reporting of revenue for financial year 2005/06, a year in which more parking tickets were handed out than any year before or since. That is why 2006/07 revenue looked higher than the previous year, even though less tickets were issued.
Additionally, the percentage of people actually paying the fines received has also improved for a number of reasons – for example all parking attendants now have digital cameras which provide better proof of a contravention and reduce the likelihood of disputes. We also introduced a new parking management system which means cases are progressed more swiftly.
The council does not enforce parking regulations to make money.
Parking rules are there to make the borough’s roads safer for everyone who uses them, to protect scarce parking spaces for those who have a right to park there, to reduce congestion and keep traffic flowing in what is one of the busiest and biggest boroughs in London.
Any money raised by parking goes straight back into improving services in the borough.
Specific examples include a contribution to the major Kentish Town and Chalk Farm town centre improvements and new security devices at motorcycle bays to reduce thefts. Money is also spent on providing the Freedom Pass to pensioners, on home to school transport, on maintaining parking facilities and on highway improvement schemes.
As a council we are committed to offering a fair deal on parking. I recognise there is still work to be done, but over the past year and a half we have achieved a great deal that rarely receives acknowledgment, including:
– measures such as a new mobile patrol unit to monitor suspended bays and release them back into use more quickly;
– agreeing innovative solutions to suspended parking bay problems such as email alerts to notify drivers about suspensions in particular areas;
– giving permit holders seven days’ grace before towing away their car if their permit has expired;
– effectively; ending all car clamping (disabled badge fraud and persistent offenders excepted);
– reducing towing by 60 per cent;
– trialling cash-free chip and PIN parking meters to help make life easier for drivers using pay and display bays;
– piloting the introduction of parking permits for visitors south of the Euston Road and extending permits for those visiting elderly or housebound residents across the borough;
– publishing guides for drivers on how to avoid getting a ticket and how to understand the appeals system.
Anyone like to compare that with the way Labour behaved previously?
Cllr Mike Greene
Executive Member Environment
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