Motorists fined for parking outside other people's homes

HUNDREDS of motorists have been fined after residents tipped off enforcement officers about vehicles illegally parked outside their homes in York.

York Council has intensified the enforcement of the city’s residents’ parking schemes, and senior councillors say the tough stance is a successful deterrent.

Figures published by the council this week have shown that there has been an eight per cent increase in the number of calls to a free telephone hotline during 2008/09 compared to the previous 12 months.

Penalty charge notices were issued on vehicles in a third of all the call-outs – 808 fines.

The council now employs four enforcement officers who are equipped with scooters to reach illegally parked vehicles quickly following the tip-offs they receive through the telephone hotline.

There has been an overall fall in the number of penalty charges issued across the city, with almost 5,000 fewer tickets issued in 2008/09 compared with the previous year.

The council’s executive member for neighbourhood services, Coun Ann Reid, said: “The aim of parking enforcement has to be about deterrence, not simply about issuing more tickets. It seems that the increased patrols are putting people off parking illegally, which is good news.”

The annual parking services report published by York Council also revealed there were 13 cases of serious abuse towards enforcement officers during 2008/09.

In one instance, the offender was fined by York magistrates after using threatening behaviour against both an enforcement officer and several office staff.

Figures in the annual report have shown that less than one per cent of the penalty charge notices were incorrectly issued by enforcement officers.

The use of a park and pay phone service in York has continued to rise significantly with 273,611 users in 2008/09. The number of new users alone was 119,055, which represented a 27 per cent increase on the 2007/08 figure of 94,087.

The scheme allows motorists to make payments via their mobile phones and text reminders are sent before parking sessions expire.

Drivers do not need to display a ticket in the vehicles as enforcement officers monitor registration plates with handheld devices.