The revelation that Cardiff council in Wales has received more than £600,000 in parking fines, since they took over illegal parking enforcement from the police in July 2010, shows why people question the motives of councils when it comes to parking enforcement. Even if the original intentions were pure - as Cardiff said their goal was to crackdown on illegal parking so as to reduce congestion and open up more short-stay parking - how does a city council continue to focus on the public good and not let this massive revenue stream dictate the terms?
Cardiff council announced that they are adding 10 more civil parking enforcement officers. They can afford to add more CEOs which in turn will bring in even more cash.
However, none of the reports I have seen so far show how much congestion has actually been reduced since July.
Pete Goldin
Comments