Wardens' late-night ticket blitz
SWANSEA'S new traffic wardens will patrol the streets until midnight, council bosses have confirmed.
New wardens are being drafted in to work the late shifts.
-
Wardens ticketing cars in High Street
Swansea Council said the move would help tackle illegal parking in the city centre and other hot-spots.
Head of parking enforcement Phil Davies said the wardens would be focusing on keeping the Vue taxi rank in York Street clear of cinema-goers so that cabs can wait there.
Debate this issue at Planet Swansea
They will also tackle the increase in illegal parking near Waterfront Winterland in the marina, especially during the evening.
"The parking in the evening is of great concern to us and is something that we will address," he told a Pact meeting for the residents of Manselton and Cwmbwrla.
"At the moment the staff are contracted to work from 8am to 8pm. But the new staff we are employing will work up to midnight every night."
Mr Davies was attending the meeting to hear the concerns of residents of Manselton and Cwmbwrla, who regularly complain of illegal and inconsiderate parking near their homes and businesses.
Mr Davies said the new wardens, who began issuing tickets in October, have so far handed out around 4,000 fines in just two months, mainly in the city centre. He said: "The problems are usually around multiple-occupancy houses, and parents taking their children to school, normally for around 15 minutes in the morning then again for about half an hour in the afternoon.
"Certainly in the city centre there is a total disregard of all the restrictions."
The council currently has 20 wardens, compared to just seven when on-road parking was enforced by South Wales Police.
Three of those wardens now work for the council's parking enforcement team, with most of the rest coming from existing jobs enforcing the parking in designated car parks.
Four more wardens will be added to the pool when the council sifts through the 144 applicants and awards the jobs.
But despite the swelling ranks of parking enforcers, Mr Davies insists the problem of parking will continue.
"There is no magic wand for this problem. It's an ongoing issue but we've got to keep plugging away."
23 Comments
View all
by Laura, Pontardawe
Friday, December 05 2008, 11:45PM
“As others have stated, they're not actually tackling the problem. I'm regularly the designated driver on nights out with friends and there is nowehere near enough parking facilities to meet the demands. The only free car park is the strand and I haven't parked there since my car got stolen from there 8 months ago! We need somewhere cheap to park which is safe and patrolled by cctv cameras (that actually work).”
by ian, morriston
Friday, December 05 2008, 1:06PM
“This story does not make any sense. If new wardens are to be recruited to work late in the night to combat the parking around the winter wonderland, surely by the time they have been recruited and trained the wonderland will be finished.”
by george, swansea
Wednesday, December 03 2008, 9:59PM
“I work i the city centre at night and believe that there should be an area that the public park and a total seperate area that the taxis work from they have the yates rank and st mary's and thats plenty since they started working york st i have had damage to my car on a regular basis as stated i move my car at 10pm”
by parking pete, swansea
Wednesday, December 03 2008, 9:52PM
“Just another cow to be milked dry.
By the council”
by MARMITE, ABETAWE
Wednesday, December 03 2008, 9:47PM
“I,d rather the wardens do it than me!. The cleansing department tried this late night thing a while ago , only to have their machinary turned over by drunkards !.”
by dave, swansea
Wednesday, December 03 2008, 7:05PM
“do these wardens know were st helens road is”
by mike, st marys taxirank
Wednesday, December 03 2008, 6:28PM
“Council wardens!!!! What a joke.The parking is worst now than when it was run by the police.It is about time the council put the no parking signs back up around the lane behind Primark so the wardens can book the cars parking there.”
by Adam anon, Swansea
Wednesday, December 03 2008, 4:48PM
“ok can J hasbit please just confirm one thing for me? it takes ages to ring?? you call traffic wardens? what a sad world we live in.,”
by sJones, Brynmil
Wednesday, December 03 2008, 4:35PM
“we should all park in the free car park where the old swansea baths once stood. Thirty free parking places for council staff! try parking there folks and walk down to the SA1, this is where these new traffic wardens will park! free parking for council staff, I wonder if the Taxman has noticed this benifit in kind!”
by wayne, swansea
Wednesday, December 03 2008, 4:02PM
“does the evening post believe in freedom of speech as they never put my comments up”