TRAFFIC wardens are back issuing fines in the city.

During the coronavirus lockdown, wardens have not been penalising residents in Worcester. But they were in the Arboretum on May 27 warning drivers that they would be restarting patrols and issuing fines the next day.

Chase Hoban, an Arboretum resident, said: “There haven’t been any tickets issued during lockdown with residents being parked on both sides of the road. It would have been nice to have a notification that the wardens would be returning, instead of them just randomly turning up, taking pictures of cars. It’s better to have warnings than tickets, but obviously not everyone is going to be aware that they’re not allowed to park on both sides of the road now - they need to inform residents another way.

“The restrictions make it really difficult for residents. People will park on the road to walk to town, which then takes up spaces for the residents.”

The 24-year-old added: “Wardens should be here to stop non-residents parking. I think parking by residents should be allowed on both sides on the road. Parking is quite a nightmare, especially in the day and on Saturdays. It’s a difficult time and this isn’t helping. People still need to use their cars to go shopping for food, so it puts residents in a position where they’re a bit trapped. There’s the stress of having nowhere to park over being able to go out.”

County councillor Matthew Jenkins, who wants a residents’ parking scheme in the Arboretum, said: “I had a number of residents complaining about this. I was in touch with both city and county councils, as I was very concerned that this was unfair to the many residents in the Arboretum who are either furloughed or working from home and so have nowhere else to park. Fining them every day would clearly not be right.”

The details of the residents’ parking scheme, such as exact locations for signs and line markings, are being finalised at present. These will be sent to Ringway (the contractor who does the work), where they will look through the plans to assess the amount of work involved and the cost. The final step will be to arrange dates for the work, which has been delayed due to the virus.

City councillor Joy Squires said: “When lockdown started I lobbied the city council to ease up on parking enforcement because so many residents were required to stay at home.

“Although it is right that instances of dangerous parking and parking on double yellow lines are dealt with, overall I believe it is too soon to start enforcing parking restrictions on single yellow lines in residential areas and I have made my feelings known to the city council about this.

“Most people are still not back at work. It is unfair to penalise them for something over which they have little control. Once non-essential shops, cafes and restaurants re-open in mid-June, thee might then be a case for fuller parking enforcement action to take place.

A city council spokesman said: “With more activity and travel being permitted it is important that people park considerately and legally. Our Civil Enforcement Officers have been putting warning notices on cars that are illegally parked to alert them that they will be fined if the vehicle is not moved. Any action we take will be sensitive and proportionate.

"NHS staff, health and social care workers, and NHS Volunteer Responders have been issued with passes which they can continue to display in their car windscreens while they are on duty to park for free in the city council's 14 car parks, in on-street and residents' bays, and even on single yellow lines if no other space is available.”

READ MORE:

Mum finds bra, knickers, glass bottles and cigarette packets on Worcester walk

The Farm Shop at Ombersley re-opens to sell compost and plants after devastating fire