Local Councillors Welcome New Parking Measures (Leeds Liberal Democrats)

Leeds Liberal Democrats <info@leedslibdems.org.uk>

Local Councillors Welcome New Parking Measures

March 2, 2005 12:12 AM

Local Lib Dem Cllrs Penny Ewens, Linda Rhodes Clayton and Kabeer Hussain have welcomed Council plans to combat careless motorists in the Hyde Park and Woodhouse area of Leeds. From today, fines of £30 (rising to £60 if unpaid within 14 days) can be issued if vehicles are parked illegally.

Leeds City Council has sent out a warning to persistent offenders to take the new rules seriously. Cllr Ewens and Cllr Rhodes-Clayton were out today to see the Enforcement Wardens take up their new roles.

Cllr Ewens said "This is great news for the ward. We were delighted to see to see the wardens out and about in the Little London area this morning.

This area has been particularly badly hit with illegal parking."

Cllr Rhodes Clayton added "As local Councillors we are well aware of the problems we have in our ward with parking and congestion. The news rules will undoubtedly go some way to combat the concerns raised by local residents."

· From Today (March 1st) Leeds City Council has taken over enforcement for many parking restrictions from the Police. The changeover in responsibility from the police to the Council is called decriminalised parking.

· Illegal parking is now a civil rather than a criminal offence so any

disputes do not go to court they are dealt with by an independent appeals service. Decriminalised parking enables the police to concentrate on other duties and gives the local authority greater control to target problem areas.

· Leeds' Parking Rules are as follows:

Clearways/bus lanes - no parking or stopping during hours displayed on

the time plate

Double yellow lines - no parking at any time
Single yellow lines - no parking during hours displayed on the time

plate.

Parking meters/pay and display machines - no parking unless fee paid

and displayed.

Disabled bays - no parking at any time except where a valid blue

badge is displayed in a vehicle.

Loading bays - no parking during hours displayed on the time plate,

except goods vehicles when actively loading/unloading.

· The Council has run a campaign known as Park Properly - Cut the Chaos in conjunction with the new constraints in order to educate motorists to respect parking restrictions and ensure that they always park legally. This campaign will continue to run until April 2005.