Are The Traffic Wardens Working Yet?
After a year of free for all parking across Aberystwyth the traffic wardens are now back and under the direction of the council.
After their first week back in the town they had already issued 192 tickets in Aberystwyth alone to drivers who obviously hadn’t been reading the news recently!
No doubt the council will be delighted with this as unlike the police the proceeds collected from parking tickets can be used within their budget.
Although I agree whole heartedly that the new traffic wardens were needed I have as of yet been able to find any information regarding how any extra cash generated from parking tickets will be spent and I am sure that many residents would like to know. On the one hand however no one really knows at present how much extra revenue it will provide. After recent flooding it would be nice to see a commitment to use a percentage of proceeds to help people rebuild their lives perhaps?
Anyway this brings me back to my main point. Are the traffic wardens working? The traffic warden debate to me is a bit like the speed camera debate. The purpose of a warden is to act as a deterrant to motorists so that people do not park illegally. If the wardens have issued an average of 27.5 tickets a day in Aberystwyth alone then they are not necessarily acting as a deterrant.
I am sure that over time their visible presence will become much more of a deterrant to motorists who feel they can just dump their car anywhere they like, and I really hope that is the case. The only problem then is that revenue will fall as less people take a risk.
And if you miss the days of cars being parked everywhere across town and finding it difficult to manoveur between them on the tightly packed streets around Aberystwyth just try going to Morrisons any day of the week and you’ll feel right at home….
For more information on the new parking enforcement laws in Ceredigion you can check the council website.
