At a meeting of Sheffield City Council’s Waste and Street Scene Committee Green Councillors called for better enforcement of parking offences by inconsiderate drivers.
Councillor Alexi Dimond, Green Party Spokesperson on the Waste and Street Scene Committee said,
“Illegal parking is endemic in Sheffield & is one of the reasons many people don’t feel safe to cycle & why buses are so unreliable. Selfish parking forces people who cycle, walk or wheel into roads & into traffic. It partly explains why Sheffield’s roads are considerably more dangerous than other core cities – especially for children. Currently, enforcement officers just don’t have the power or resources to do their jobs effectively. The measures in the report – such as enforcement against people parked on dropped kerbs, double parking & reduced grace periods for new restrictions & reduced observation times for illegally parked vehicles are a welcome step in the right direction.”
The Liberal Democrat Chair of the Committee, and his Lib Dem colleagues wanted to retain longer observation times before Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) were issued by Council Highways staff. His proposal was for the observation time for vans and larger vehicles parked illegally to remain at 10 minutes rather than reduced to 3 minutes as officers recommended.
Councillor Alexi Dimond said,
“Long observation times are a real waste of council officers’ time and make for a far less efficient parking enforcement service. They send a message that we go easy on inconsiderate drivers who park illegally. If it is a legitimate delivery to a premises, then drivers will have paperwork to demonstrate that. The changes will substantially increase efficiency of enforcement and should allow more areas to be enforced. Lib Dem Councillors in the South LAC have called for more parking enforcement in Woodseats, so it was very strange to see them voting against these measures today”.
Councillor Otten’s proposed amendment was defeated.
References
Sheffield City Council Waste and Street Scene Committee Meeting Agenda Papers 27/9/23
