£3m of tickets for one street!
Discussion
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/londonnews/articles/19038358?source=Evening%20Standard
£3m of parking fines in one street
By Ross Lydall Local Government Correspondent , Evening Standard
2 June 2005
Motorists have been hit with more than £3 million of parking tickets in one London street in the space of just 12 months. Lambeth council used spy cameras and up to eight wardens a day to catch drivers parked illegally in Atlantic Road, Brixton.
They issued 31,124 tickets in the year to April - making it the most targeted street in London.
The findings emerge in an Evening Standard survey of all 33 London boroughs using the Freedom of Information Act. We asked councils to name the street in which they issued the greatest number of tickets in the last financial year.
Atlantic Road, where tickets worth £3,112,400 were issued, topped the poll. But six other streets clocked up more than £1 million in annual fines.
The two cameras in the Brixton street were only introduced in September - meaning they each issue about £43,000 worth of tickets a week. Drivers tell of running battles over parking fines and of traffic wardens who bragged of ticketing 10 cars a day in the street.
The findings of the Standard's survey are sure to anger motorists and will fuel the belief that local authorities are using harsh parking regimes to generate cash.
They come after a London Assembly investigation this week found the number of tickets issued in the capital had trebled in a decade to six million a year, making the boroughs a £113 million annual profit.
Paul Watters, head of roads and transport at the AA, said: "I have always been worried that CCTV parking enforcement will generate this kind of 'honey pot' for councils.
"I think it's very clear that this what they're doing. It's a staggering amount."
Lynne Featherstone, the assembly member who led the investigation, said: "If streets are earning £1million on a regular basis, then something isn't right as far as the public is concerned.
"I would like councils to find out why so many people are getting ticketed."
Today, Lambeth defended its use of CCTV cameras in Atlantic Road, saying it had transformed a crime-plagued street that was formerly a "no-go area" for wardens.
A council spokesman said a bus company had threatened to withdraw services because the road was permanently blocked by parked cars.
The majority of the fines - 25,693 - were issued after number plates of illegally p a rked ve h ic les we re recorded by the cameras.
Wardens issued the remainder - 5,431; more than 100 a week.
The spokesman said: "Anyone familiar with Atlantic Road will know it was previously a no-go area for wardens, with a long history of intimidation and abuse.
"Attacks on wardens became such a serious issue along this road they had to patrol in pairs or be accompanied by police.
"Drugs were also regularly being dealt from cars. This is no longer the case."
The Standard's survey also reveals the battle many councils have to recoup the penalty fines which are £100 in central London and £80 in the suburbs.
Drivers are offered a 50 per cent discount if they pay within 14 days but the fine increases to £150 if it is left unpaid after 28 days.
To date, Lambeth has received £649,190 of the fines issued in Atlantic Road, though this is expected to increase. All boroughs are required by law to reinvest the profits in local transport schemes.
Islington emerges as the borough best at collecting fines.
It recouped an estimated £902,658 from Junction Road in Archway, primarily as a result of a bus lane camera.
A spokeswoman for Islington said a higher proportion of motorists paid up because they were issued with a photograph of the offence and could view the CCTV evidence.
The survey excludes the "red route" main carriageways controlled by Transport for London, which borough councils do not enforce.
Bus lane cameras were also primarily responsible for the large number of tickets issued in Lea Bridge Road, Waltham Forest, and Vine Street, Uxbridge.
£3m of parking fines in one street
By Ross Lydall Local Government Correspondent , Evening Standard
2 June 2005
Motorists have been hit with more than £3 million of parking tickets in one London street in the space of just 12 months. Lambeth council used spy cameras and up to eight wardens a day to catch drivers parked illegally in Atlantic Road, Brixton.
They issued 31,124 tickets in the year to April - making it the most targeted street in London.
The findings emerge in an Evening Standard survey of all 33 London boroughs using the Freedom of Information Act. We asked councils to name the street in which they issued the greatest number of tickets in the last financial year.
Atlantic Road, where tickets worth £3,112,400 were issued, topped the poll. But six other streets clocked up more than £1 million in annual fines.
The two cameras in the Brixton street were only introduced in September - meaning they each issue about £43,000 worth of tickets a week. Drivers tell of running battles over parking fines and of traffic wardens who bragged of ticketing 10 cars a day in the street.
The findings of the Standard's survey are sure to anger motorists and will fuel the belief that local authorities are using harsh parking regimes to generate cash.
They come after a London Assembly investigation this week found the number of tickets issued in the capital had trebled in a decade to six million a year, making the boroughs a £113 million annual profit.
Paul Watters, head of roads and transport at the AA, said: "I have always been worried that CCTV parking enforcement will generate this kind of 'honey pot' for councils.
"I think it's very clear that this what they're doing. It's a staggering amount."
Lynne Featherstone, the assembly member who led the investigation, said: "If streets are earning £1million on a regular basis, then something isn't right as far as the public is concerned.
"I would like councils to find out why so many people are getting ticketed."
Today, Lambeth defended its use of CCTV cameras in Atlantic Road, saying it had transformed a crime-plagued street that was formerly a "no-go area" for wardens.
A council spokesman said a bus company had threatened to withdraw services because the road was permanently blocked by parked cars.
The majority of the fines - 25,693 - were issued after number plates of illegally p a rked ve h ic les we re recorded by the cameras.
Wardens issued the remainder - 5,431; more than 100 a week.
The spokesman said: "Anyone familiar with Atlantic Road will know it was previously a no-go area for wardens, with a long history of intimidation and abuse.
"Attacks on wardens became such a serious issue along this road they had to patrol in pairs or be accompanied by police.
"Drugs were also regularly being dealt from cars. This is no longer the case."
The Standard's survey also reveals the battle many councils have to recoup the penalty fines which are £100 in central London and £80 in the suburbs.
Drivers are offered a 50 per cent discount if they pay within 14 days but the fine increases to £150 if it is left unpaid after 28 days.
To date, Lambeth has received £649,190 of the fines issued in Atlantic Road, though this is expected to increase. All boroughs are required by law to reinvest the profits in local transport schemes.
Islington emerges as the borough best at collecting fines.
It recouped an estimated £902,658 from Junction Road in Archway, primarily as a result of a bus lane camera.
A spokeswoman for Islington said a higher proportion of motorists paid up because they were issued with a photograph of the offence and could view the CCTV evidence.
The survey excludes the "red route" main carriageways controlled by Transport for London, which borough councils do not enforce.
Bus lane cameras were also primarily responsible for the large number of tickets issued in Lea Bridge Road, Waltham Forest, and Vine Street, Uxbridge.
Drivers group calls for national parking regulator
The Association of British Drivers today called for the formation of a national parking regulator amidst revelations that privatised parking companies are running out of control.
The ABD's calls came after a BBC documentary showing parking attendants allegedly taking cash payments to cancel tickets and the London Evening Standard's revelation that one parking company took more than £3.1m in fines on just one street.
"Local authorities have realised that there's easy money to be made from parking", said Mark McArthur-Christie, an ABD Spokesman. "Last year, more than £1Bn was taken in parking fines from British drivers, and it's set to rise year on year. It's simply about revenue generation. "
The ABD believes privatised parking companies, many of which are foreign-owned, are practically unregulated and now running out of control. The group wants to see the creation of a national parking regulator, with the powers to control and police private parking companies, set minimum standards and cap the amount they can take in fines.
It has always been a principle that enforcers should not benefit financially from enforcement, but the ABD believes that this is just what is happening on the UK's streets every day, as parking attendants are set targets and allegedly given bonuses for handing out tickets.
McArthur-Christie commented: "It's a myth that parking attendants are there to keep traffic moving, the only thing that's moving is cash from drivers pockets to the coffers of private companies. We need a regulator and we need one soon."
The Association of British Drivers today called for the formation of a national parking regulator amidst revelations that privatised parking companies are running out of control.
The ABD's calls came after a BBC documentary showing parking attendants allegedly taking cash payments to cancel tickets and the London Evening Standard's revelation that one parking company took more than £3.1m in fines on just one street.
"Local authorities have realised that there's easy money to be made from parking", said Mark McArthur-Christie, an ABD Spokesman. "Last year, more than £1Bn was taken in parking fines from British drivers, and it's set to rise year on year. It's simply about revenue generation. "
The ABD believes privatised parking companies, many of which are foreign-owned, are practically unregulated and now running out of control. The group wants to see the creation of a national parking regulator, with the powers to control and police private parking companies, set minimum standards and cap the amount they can take in fines.
It has always been a principle that enforcers should not benefit financially from enforcement, but the ABD believes that this is just what is happening on the UK's streets every day, as parking attendants are set targets and allegedly given bonuses for handing out tickets.
McArthur-Christie commented: "It's a myth that parking attendants are there to keep traffic moving, the only thing that's moving is cash from drivers pockets to the coffers of private companies. We need a regulator and we need one soon."
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