Parking Attendants To Replace Peggy?

THE sight of a traffic warden patrolling the streets of Thame will soon be a thing of the past ? but that does not mean the end of double yellow lines and parking restrictions in the town.
As from the middle of 2008, Thame is likely to see civilian parking attendants, contracted by the county council, take over the job from its currently police- administered warden,Peggy Long, as has already happened in Oxford and some London boroughs.

Under the provisions of the Road Traffic Act 1991, parking offences will be ?decriminalised? and brought within the civil enforcement system. At the same time a number of additional enforcement responsibilities, such as restricted (yellow line), off street parking, will also be removed from the police and also given to councils.
Mr Richard Dix, Assistant Head of Transport at Oxfordshire County Council, told members of Thame Town Council?s Policy and Resources committee last night that the county council will get to keep the money raised through the new enforcement system, but that he did not expect it to do much more than be self-financing.

Richard Dix explained that before the changes can be implemented, a review is to be carried out of all parking restrictions in the county before the council can make an official application to the Department of Transport for a Civil Enforcement Order. OCC will then have to work with the district council (SODC), to work out how they will administer the system on the county council?s behalf and it also intends to consult with parish and town councils.

Town Cllr David Dodds, the new Chair of Policy and Resources, was reassured by Mr Dix that the pay of the new parking attendants in Oxford are not related to targets or the number of Penalty Notices they give out, and that if any surplus money was made, how that money could be spent on environmental improvements in towns, like air quality, public transport, new signage etc had potential for discussion between his and individual town councils.

Cllr Dodds said that he would wish the current car parking system in Thame, where either two or three hours of free parking was available, was ?preserved at all costs.?
Mr Dix replied that he could not guarantee anything for the future, but that it was his personal view that it was better ?to keep things simple and not make changes.?

Whilst the review of current parking restrictions in the county is underway, the county council has implemented an embargo on any new parking restrictions, including new schemes for residents? or business parking permits.

For more information about the new Act and its implications, see Link

ED. Peggy Long has made it clear that she has no intention of becoming a civilian parking attendant and will retire before the changeover takes place.