Agenda item

Consideration was given to a report, presented by the Parking Services Manager, concerning the Department for Communities and Local Government consultation process about the intention to change the law and either prohibit or restrict the use of closed circuit television (CCTV) systems for parking enforcement and also to introduce other changes to parking enforcement law.

The Select Commission noted that the primary function of the CCTV enforcement vehicle owned by this Council is enforcement in areas where there are concerns about road safety and the prevention of traffic congestion. The effective management of vehicle parking in these locations also results in the generation of income. Members noted that the use of the enforcement vehicle had produced positive results, in terms of road safety, in respect of reducing the problem of incorrect/illegal parking at these locations:-

-          improving road safety on roads outside schools;

-          prevention of parking in bus lay-bys;

-          prevention of parking on the ‘zig-zag’ lines near to pelican crossings;

-          preventing private hire vehicles parking in the taxi ranks intended for hackney carriages.

The list of questions from the consultation document, together with this Council’s suggested responses, were appended to the submitted report.

The Select Commission’s discussion of this item included the following salient points:-

·           discounts for prompt payment of parking fines in cases where motorists lose their appeals at a parking tribunal;

·           a number of textual amendments were suggested to the responses;

·           the parking of heavy vehicles on the footway, which may cause damage to the highway surface structure – and whether the costs of subsequent repair and maintenance could be re-charged to the vehicle drivers;

·           the powers of the Police to issue penalty notices to motorists whenever there is parking which causes unsafe and/or dangerous obstruction of the highway;

·           the initial procurement of the enforcement vehicle, funded by the South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership and the continuing operating costs of the vehicle;

·           the recording of film footage of parked vehicles, utilising a system based on the ‘Google Earth’ maps – for eventual use in the issuing of penalty notices;

·           the reviewing of individual cases of illegally parked vehicles, prior to the issuing of penalty notices;

·           the Council’s methods of reviewing the need for parking restrictions (yellow lines, etc.) by the Traffic and Transportation Section;

·           the legislation concerning the prohibition of parking near to road junctions;

·           Members referred to specific areas and highways, throughout the Rotherham Borough, to highlight parking problems;

·           Parking Services and its customer focus;

·           emphasis that parking enforcement is not used for income generation by local authorities, but is correctly used to improve road safety;

·           the design of new residential areas, in which there is sometimes limited space only for vehicle parking;

·           reviewing the effectiveness of the use of the enforcement vehicle, especially in areas close to schools;

·           the possible impact of the coalition Government’s intended changes to parking enforcement law.

Resolved:- (1) That the report be received and its contents noted.

(2) That a further report be submitted to a meeting of the Improving Places Select Commission, in twelve months’ time, describing the effectiveness of the use of the CCTV parking enforcement vehicle.