PARKING ATTENDANTS: A RETRACTION

PARKING ATTENDANT UPDATE

“THE TRUTH”

South Tyneside Council have partnered with the private company APCOA to set up South Tyneside Parking Services to manage and enforce off street parking.

As a result of this, Traffic Wardens have been replaced by Parking Attendants.

The council’s own literature describes the situation as such:

“WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

Local enforcement will keep South Tyneside moving, reduce dangerous and inconvenient parking, support local businesses, support town centre needs, assist loading and unloading, improve conditions in resident parking areas, improve safety outside schools and assist blue badge holders.”

There are only 12 Parking Attendants to cover South Tyneside borough as a whole. Not only do they have to enforce traffic laws but the council wants them to act as their eyes and ears and report any fly tipping and street lights that are not working. To make matters worse, police involvement in monitoring of parking on yellow lines etc, has been taken out of their control.

I therefore believe that the literature should have described the situation more accurately as:

“WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS? – NONE!

Local enforcement does not keep South Tyneside moving, increases dangerous and inconvenient parking, offers no support to local businesses, offers no support to town centre needs, does not assist loading and unloading, neglects residential areas, ignores safety outside schools and offers no assistance to blue badge holders.

· When was the last time you saw a parking attendant outside East Boldon schools?

· When was the last time you saw a parking attendant enforcing yellow line restrictions at East Boldon shops?

· When was the last time you saw a parking attendant improving conditions in resident’s parking areas on the side streets of East Boldon?

I apologise for any misunderstanding that the council’s version may have caused and hope that my interpretation has made matters clearer.