I see our traffic wardens now work Sundays.They were booking people all over the town. I always used to think there were no traffic laws on Sundays :D But now as a disabled driver with a blue badge I will be able to park in disabled bays !!!!! :lol:

In town today law enforcement was in full swing as traffic wardens, police officers and the one town warden were out and about!

The new wardens are a welcome sight. Dangerous and inconsiderate parking has been a feature of the town for far too long. I only hope that they start enforcing the rules in the evenings too. I have been out and about this evening and must have passed about 50 cars parked illegally.

Enforcing the parking laws means that everyone gets fair treatment, the town's narrow roads are more accessible for emergency vehicles, and people have room to walk on the pavement, which can't be bad.

I definitely think that with all of the new residences in the town centre there needs to be some concession on the car parks for people who live in these dwellings, but the absence of such provision is no excuse for putting a car in a place where pedestrians have to walk in the road to get round it, or where it makes a road too narrow for a large vehicle, like a fire engine for example.

A lot of parking restrictions finish on saturday and are not applicable on sundays, but parking on double yellows, loading bays, disabled bays without badge etc are inforce constantly.
It was just that it used to be up to polifce to deal with who obviously didn't have time.
But now ParkRight are in town there will be countless tickets.
And restrictions only seemed relaxed on bank holidays because the wardens used to have the day off!

I can always tell when the traffic wardens are out as parking in my area (Belle Vue) becomes even more of a nightmare than usual - I've even seen cars parked in hedges.

What I find annoying about the new parking rules is that once upon a time if you parked sensibly and did not cause any obstruction you were left alone.
Now everywhere is lined you cannot park anywhere,even if you are in a perfectly sensible place.
I tried to drop off some freebies to a shrewsbury charity shop recently and could not do so.
I now cannot stop at a local shop to buy a paper or small items so I go to a garage.
Why,because its all about making money not about sensible parking.
No discression,line everywhere fine everyone.
Progress,I think not.
ps
I also thought that when displaying a disabled badge the disabled person had to be with the car.
How many cars have you seen park in disabled bays with one occupant who jumps out of the drivers seat and runs in to the supermarket.
Wardens with discression I say not profit.


www.decorayt.co.uk

Why would they park, if they're not allowed to get out? :-)

:P

Sashafishing, whether you think you parked "sensibly" or not, the parking restrictions are there for sound safety reasons. Do you think you are more of an expert in traffic management so that you can say "I think it looks safe enough for me to park here even if the traffic experts have decided it is not safe for cars to park here".

The point is that now we are moving towards making the town safer for all, and making parking fairer for all. If that causes inconvenience to the many people who have been "getting away with it" for years, tough.

I also think that it is a money-making scheme, and what an excellent one too. People who break the rules pay more - sounds pretty good to me.

Safety is probably a valid consideration inside the river loop, I think. Narrow streets not designed for cars, very little legitimate parking, few public services for getting in/out... you only have to be in Shoplatch when someone's blocked up the road to see what chaos it can cause, spiralling all the way back to the Cop and beyond.

Several times I've had to stand right up against the wall because some muppet had decided to either (1) park or (2) speed down Fish Street. Not to mention St. John's Hill regularly gets blocked up. Ditto Castle Gates & Castle Street.

The rest of the town is better off, being newer, but if there was no traffic management / control / restriction inside the loop there'd be chaos all day.

Traffic management control is very necessary in all areas,I just think we have gone too far now.
If a car is causing a genuine obstruction fair enough,book it tow it away etc.
But we are getting to the point where you cannot stop anywhere,for any reason.
Very emotive subject though.
In my previous life I had a great deal to do with traffic.

Interesting point:

As a pedestrian life has become restricted to:

Narrow pavements (if any at all, look at retail parks,country roads etcetera)

Regulated crossings often entailing extra time to walk to or waiting at.

Traffic dodging (where no safe crossing has been provided) bearing in mind who would be the worse off if you get it wrong.

Poor air quality especially for the younger members of the population in buggies.

Constant noise pollution, drowning out any chance of conversation at times.

Filthy windows, clothes, buildings.

Limited lives, children can have little freedom until they can master the art of getting from a to b without getting killed or maimed.

Spoilt townscapes, it does not matter how attractive your home is if it is hidden behind a sea of metal.

I'm a car driver too but we seem to forget how negatively these machines of convenience affect ours and other peoples lives. <_<

I guess they've got to do something with the extra money they are charging for people to park in the centre of town!

If people park irresponsibly and knowingly then to be fined is correct.My problem is that I see Business people going about their business eg Gasmen Electricians,Builders etc and being punidshed for parking near their allotted plce of work quite indiscrimately.A electrician for example cannot realistically park long distances away when thhey often need to get materials from their vans which need to be nearby.True the Park Right webpages tell you you can park under certain circumstances or buy a waiver but in practice parking by a persons house is quite difficult.For myself i recently had a gasman ring me up to ask if i thought hed be able to park near my house to do a repair job because if he couldnt park h and other gasmen hav edecided they wont visit as they are sick of getting £60 fines which their employer refuses to pay for them
How can it be helpful to just be so punitive?? especially to businesses whose employees are not criminals but are made to feel so.The gasman ddi come but didnt do a "good job" his words as he said he was anxious the warden would get him.Hed already paid £90 out in 1 month.
At the end of the day no matter what Park Right says there is a perception right or wrong that the wardens are smug and indiscriminate and people begin to get the impression that they are not welcome in the town
Perhaps we can learn something from France.I was there recently in towns of similar size to Shrewsbury and there was parking meters in some towns but signs and maps above directing you to free parking spaces.Overall a welcoming feelto the town.
And one cant see how treating the public as criminals really helps the quite significant traffic problem we have because punishing people with £60 fines dosent teach them a lesson at least not the ones i refer to here as they are just trying to go about serving their community with this unreasonable obstacle course namely wardens who really often have no realistic alternative suggestion as to where to park

Sad news of the day is that Mike Read, he of Radio 1 fame, has decided not to run as Tory candidate for Mayor of London. Helpfully, he has written a long article to explain what he would have done to tackle London's problems had he been elected.

The relevance of all this to this thread is that he discusses his plans to abolish the congestion charge, and to train traffic wardens only to give parking tickets to the workshy. Well, I enjoyed it.

Mike Read's thoughts