Seen by chance in Landgate this week: a white van illegally parked is preventing the bus from turning the ninety-degree bend from Tower Street into Landgate. The bus managed it eventually but at the expense of some damage to the vehicle and the partial demolition of a bollard (just visible to the right of the bus). In the meantime the road was impassable to all other traffic and the inevitable queues built up stretching back down Cinque Ports Street towards Station Approach.
This is another example of this current era of unregulated parking in the Town. There is now a police presence one day a week and tickets are being issued. The chief constable is on record stating that, in view of the recent commitment by Rother and Wealden councils to CPE (Civil Parking Enforcement) police on our streets will be seen more often, at least until CPE becomes a fact – although we understand that, due to the bureaucratic process it has to go through, this likely to be many many months away yet.
Photo: John Minter
The answer is to install discreet ANPR cameras around the town. It won’t stop illegal parking immediately, but does work in the longer term. These systems are becoming more prevalent across the UK.
Readers may well be interested to read the report to Rother’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 24 July – http://www.rother.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=28692&p=0