Council reviewing its options after parking enforcement car pensioned off
Barnsley has lost its parking enforcement car – used to catch motorists abusing traffic regulations around schools – with the council now evaluating alternatives.
The car was mounted with a camera allowing the vehicle to film offenders as it was driven past, with penalty notices then posted out to offenders.
It was introduced in an era when it could also be used to enforce parking restrictions around bus stops, though that was halted in an edict from Eric Pickles when he was Local Government Secretary several years ago.
Councillors have been told the car had to be decommissioned because it was at the end of its serviceable life, leaving enforcement outside schools to traditional foot patrols.
The issue with those is that wardens take several minutes to issue a paper penalty notice and the offence of stopping on yellow lines or zig-zags is often completed very quickly, allowing some motorists to commit an offence and drive away while a warden is present but dealing with another offence.
Coun Chris Lamb, Barnsley Council’s spokesman for transportation on the ruling Cabinet said: "We're currently collecting feedback from schools to review the effectiveness of the camera car.
"With limited resources, we need to ensure that the most effective solution to improve road safety outside of schools is being used. Foot patrols and other alternative solutions are being identified and evaluated to compare with the camera car.
"Working in partnership with schools and parents is a vital ingredient in the success of any of our initiatives to ensure our children's safety. We hope that our residents would be considerate of children's safety rather than parking irresponsibly for their own convenience."