Almost 33,000 motorists were handed tickets for parking illegally in Lincolnshire in the last 11 months – almost 2,000 of them in South Holland.
A report to the county council reveals half the tickets were issued in Lincoln, but Spalding councillor Roger Gambba-Jones says the enforcement is having the desired impact in South Holland.
Coun Gambba-Jones told the Spalding Guardian: “If we could rely on people to behave themselves when they are in their cars – and not act selfishly – then there would be no need for it.”
He said when people realised there were no longer traffic wardens, they were abandoning their vehicles wherever they fancied and for as long as they liked in places like Spalding’s Sheep Market.
Coun Gambba-Jones said the aims of parking enforcement are to keep traffic flowing freely and to allow more people to use on-street parking, which cannot happen when selfish drivers overstay their allotted time.
“Absolutely well done to the county council,” he said. “I hope they can keep up that level of enforcement. I am always pleasantly surprised to see how often the wardens are in town.”
Lincolnshire County Council appointed APCOA to take charge of civil parking enforcement and there are currently 26 officers and four supervisors working across the county.
Parking on double and single yellow lines is the most common reason for issuing penalty charge notices.
The top five contraventions for parking are:
l Restricted street (11,720)
l Longer than permitted (9,238)
l Resident’s space (2,885)
l Disabled bay (1,986)
l Loading space (1,793)