‘Heavy penalties would mean fewer tickets’

AN inquiry into parking in Camden has been told penalties are not strong enough to deter rule-breakers.
Out of more than 80 letters received by the Town Hall’s parking scrutiny panel, only one writer said measures were not stiff enough.
Environmentalist Dr Mayer Hillman, who lives in Netherhall Gardens, West Hampstead, told councillors researching ways to improve Camden’s much-maligned parking service that penalties should be tougher.
He said: “As far as enforcement is concerned, it is important to bear in mind that laxity and indeed inadequately deterrent penalties simply encourage potential law breakers to ‘risk’ when parking illegally.
“It is for this reason that a strong case could be made for stiffer penalties and stricter enforcement.
“These otherwise illiberal steps do not necessarily result in more drivers being penalised or paying larger fines but instead are likely to lead to more conformity with the law and less frustration as drivers will be encouraged to avoid the risk and costs of apprehension.”
Dr Hillman, a senior fellow at the Policy Studies Institute, has spoken out on a number of ecological issues, including proposals to ration fuel with swipecards.
His two-page letter added that too much kerbside parking ruined the physical appearance of some areas of Camden.
But his message was overwhelmingly outnumbered by letters from angry motorists who said parking enforcement in Camden was unfair.
One driver complained she had been handed a £100 fine for parking two minutes beyond the allotted time.
Unlike other scrutiny panels – the Town Hall’s in-house system of investigating its own services – the parking panel has attracted great interest from residents and businesses.
Many letter writers have provided in-depth descriptions of their run-ins with parking wardens and the appeal system.
Kate Ashley, of St Leonards Square, Kentish Town, said: “There is a huge problem with wardens issuing tickets inaccurately and a massive volume of tickets that are contested.”
Jack Hanison, who lives in Hampstead, added: “The problem of overzealous wardens is a serious one.
“The fines are extortionate, and, while I believe in this as a deterrent for those who blatantly flaunt the law, many residents are being unfairly and very harshly punished in the process.”
Roundhouse design consultant Nicola Linger, who parks in Clarence Way, Camden Town, said: “I have just been given a penalty for being two minutes over the allotted time on the ticket I had to buy simply because I could not park in the place given to us in the first place.
“I simply cannot afford this parking ticket. £100 for going over my time by two minutes is insanity.”
Other correspondence warned that controlled parking zones were failing and insisted that wardens were handed bonuses for issuing as many tickets as possible.
All the letters will be considered by the cross-party inquiry, which resumes its work on Wednesday.