Motorists in Brighton had a nasty shock on the new year’s bank holiday when council traffic wardens turned up to tow their cars.
People living in Jersey Street, Hanover, were stunned when they awoke yesterday to find their cars being loaded on to the back on trucks.
The cars had been parked on single yellow lines which mark a parking ban on weekdays although parking is allowed in evenings and at weekends.
One Jersey Street resident blasted the “penny pinching tightwads at the council – what a crappy start to the new year for people”.
The council action came on the day when the government announced it was ending the “war on motorists”.
Among other measures, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles and Transport Secretary Philip Hammond scrapped rules forcing councils to impose higher parking charges.
It also followed some confusion over whether parking restrictions would be enforced over the Christmas period.
The Argus reported on Wednesday 22 December that Brighton and Hove City Council would be sending out wardens on Christmas Day.
However, council leader Mary Mears issued a statement the next afternoon “correcting” the story.
She said: “Parking regulations remain in place in order to maintain safety and keep traffic flowing.
“It remains the case that illegally parked vehicles can be removed if they represent a hazard.
“Most drivers obey the rules as good citizens and we predict they will largely go on doing so.”
In the comments on the online story council press officer Alan Stone said that he had told The Argus that parking controls would be maintained.
God, how petty can they get? There’s no parking round there so they should cut people some slack on a bank holiday.
It’s not about parking .
It’s about making easy money for the council.
People must realize that accepting a controlled zone means taking on
a second mortgage with no control on how much they will be paying year on year
for there permits.
The council wants the whole of the city to be totally controlled.Nice little earner.
Relying on people thinking that if they pay.It Guarantees them a parking place.
Then the people looking for free parking move to an adjoining area and the free versus
pay argument starts again if the payers win the council has taken over another area.
We payed for those roads though our taxes and the council highway men have
Stolen them and are holding us to ransom.