http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: "Parking enforcers frozen out by snow" en Thu, 21 May 2026 06:27:51 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1927#post-20476 Fri, 31 Dec 2010 01:26:13 +0000 kaputnik 20476@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>trail </em></p> <p>if it's a trail, surely it leads somewhere (otherwise it would be a pile of unpaid tickets.) Have they tried following it? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1927#post-20475 Fri, 31 Dec 2010 01:13:16 +0000 chdot 20475@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"<br /> Foreign drivers leave £445,000 trail of unpaid parking tickets  </p> <p>EDINBURGH city council lost hundreds of thousands of pounds in revenue from parking tickets over the past two years, because they could not trace foreign drivers.<br /> "</p> <p><a href="http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/news/Foreign-drivers-leave-445000-.6675659.jp" rel="nofollow">http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/news/Foreign-drivers-leave-445000-.6675659.jp</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1927#post-20156 Thu, 23 Dec 2010 10:00:49 +0000 cb 20156@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"(PS. Almost certainly the loss of parking revenue largely comes from the fact that people don't need to pay to park in the bays which are obscured, rather than the fines - surely!)"</p> <p>I assumed that that was what the loss of revenue was refering to. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1927#post-20149 Thu, 23 Dec 2010 00:04:57 +0000 Dave 20149@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>The problem is, in order to enforce zero infringement you need an overwhelming number of enforcers. Suppose it cost £1m a day to police our streets to the point where nobody parked illegally - would it be worth it?</p> <p>On the other hand, if there was only one warden illegal parking would be rife, but he'd hardly be able to move for issuing tickets, so "making" many times more than his salary in fines.</p> <p>Personally I'm in two minds about the use of parking fines as a revenue stream. On the one hand it sits badly to "milk" crime rather than prevent it (especially the most dangerous sort of thing like parking on a double-yellow blind junction corner), but on the other, I'd find it equally silly to spend a huge amount stamping out illegal parking rather than, say, violent drunks in the town centre.</p> <p>The bus lane cameras have caught me by surprise, I must admit. Normally when a technology arrives which can actually stop infringement it proves just as unpopular with the authorities as drivers (precisely because, I suspect, you have to pay to run it and very few people get fined). Look at average cameras - a set at every motorway junction would completely eliminate speeding on the motorways, but there is no movement in that direction.</p> <p>So we come back to parking - at the moment the council (effectively) hires another enforcer when the number of people infringing reaches a certain multiplier of their salary. Do we think this value is too low or too high?</p> <p>(PS. Almost certainly the loss of parking revenue largely comes from the fact that people don't need to pay to park in the bays which are obscured, rather than the fines - surely!) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1927#post-20106 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 15:47:04 +0000 kaputnik 20106@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Couldn't quite work out from the article how much of this "lost revenue" is from enforcement tickets / tow-aways and how much is from people just not paying at the machines.</p> <p>As I said on the thread about the £600k bus lane enforcement cameras, it's wrong that the council look on large numbers of such fines as "revenue", particularly where safety or the flow of traffic is concerned (overstaying in a legitemate parking space is different).</p> <p>In a world where the council was concerned with the smooth and safe flow of traffic around town, they should be aiming to collect <strong> nearly nothing</strong> from these sources as they should be aiming for a situation where there's close to <strong>zero infringement</strong>.</p> <p>Instead they aim to collect a certain amount of revenue and to protect that "revenue stream". It almost creates a situation where it's in the council's interest to allow illegal parking, so they can reap the rewards of fines and fees! What incentive is there in really trying to tackle the root of illegal parking, all that would do would be to cut off the "revenue stream" (at the price of better traffic flow and safer roads). </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1927#post-20103 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 15:13:27 +0000 Arellcat 20103@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>It's a sorry situation when a significant source of city income is from fining people who make mistakes, honest or indeed otherwise. Imagine if everyone in Edinburgh parked entirely legally. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1927#post-20094 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:10:19 +0000 cb 20094@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Do traffic wardens in Edinburgh get commission for the number of bookings? Hopefully not, but if they do then it seems a bit unfair for them while the snow is lying. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1927#post-20089 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:52:10 +0000 Smudge 20089@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>(checks bag carefully)<br /> .<br /> .<br /> .<br /> .<br /> .<br /> Nope, sorry, I'm all out of sympathies.*</p> <p>*polite version for the benefit of the more sensitive forummers ;-) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1927#post-20087 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:42:32 +0000 spytefear 20087@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>bwahahahahaaaaaahahahahaaahahaaaa<br /> *breath*<br /> aaaaahaahahahaahahahahaaa </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1927#post-20085 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:36:18 +0000 recombodna 20085@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>My heart bleeds for these poor poor traffic wardens. With any luck the snow will melt soon so they can get back to ticketing the good citizens of Edinburgh. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1927#post-20084 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:25:59 +0000 chdot 20084@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"THE big freeze has cost council chiefs more than £700,000 in lost parking revenue in just two weeks, it has emerged."</p> <p><a href="http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/topstories/Parking-enforcers-frozen-out-by.6668584.jp" rel="nofollow">http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/topstories/Parking-enforcers-frozen-out-by.6668584.jp</a><br /> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chdot/5280714405"><br /> <img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5164/5280714405_0e4a896a6f.jpg"><br /> </a> </p>