Islington Council today (Monday 11 December) announced a raft of 'common sense' changes to its parking enforcement service that will make it fairer, more proportionate and in line with what residents want.
Announcing the changes, Cllr Lucy Watt, Islington Council's Executive Member for the Environment, said: "Residents have told us that they want to see a more common sense approach to parking enforcement -- and I agree. That's what these changes are all about."
"Islington Council got the ball rolling on the changes by lobbying London Councils to agree a differential system of parking fines. As a result, fines across London will now reflect the seriousness of the offence. Clearly, there's a common sense difference between going over time on a 'pay and display' bay and dangerous parking on a zig-zag line outside a school."
"I want to review the structure of the contract we have with NCP, and I will bring in a panel of residents to advise the council on how to change it. The council will also appoint a Residents' Parking Advocate to champion what residents are telling the council about parking, and they will have the power to act on residents' opinions."
"I know that the vast majority of residents want to park legally, and the council wants to make it easier for them to do so."
The new common-sense approach to parking will include a range of other changes:
- if a driver returns to their vehicle to remove it before a parking attendant has fully issued a ticket, it will not be issued
- over Christmas this year, residents can collect complimentary one-day visitors' vouchers for parking in residents' parking zones between Christmas and the New Year, available in the council's residents' magazine
- training for Parking Attendants will incorporate a common sense approach to issuing tickets
- measures will be taken to make loading and unloading outside shops easier
- a new 'Essential Guide to Parking' will be published, to make parking policy open and clear
- a new Residents' Parking Charter will set out motorists' rights clearly and accessibly
- from February 2007 the council will double the number of all-day visitors' parking vouchers residents can buy per year
The changes build on improvements that the council has already made since taking on its contract with NCP in 2002. For instance, Islington was the first council to stop clamping vehicles for 'routine' parking offences - clamping will only be a last resort used on persistent repeat offenders.
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Page Last Updated: 29 July 2008