Busted again? The wardens ‘parking’ on yellow lines

Angry motorists hit the street with their cameras and catch ‘illegally’ parked CCTV cars

IF you thought drivers hated getting stung with a parking ticket more than anything else, think again.
What they really hate, it turns out, is watching Camden’s parking wardens helping themselves to the borough’s best parking spots – yellow lines or no yellow lines.
The hunted became the hunters this week when a host of drivers sent in pictures of the Town Hall’s CCTV enforcement cars parking up in spots that would be out of bounds to any other vehicle.
It follows the New Journal’s scoop picture last week which showed how one of the cars, which are supposed to be roving Camden in search of rule-breaking drivers, sat stationary in College Crescent, Swiss Cottage.
Parking chiefs last night (Wednesday) defiantly insisted their cars could park where they liked as long as it was in the line of duty.
They said investigations would only be launched if wardens were found to be acting inappropriately – for example, if a driver was found having a quick snooze in the front seat.
But the explanation does not wash with motorists who believe it’s just a case of one law for them, and another for the council.
Fred Johnson, who grabbed photos of a CCTV car in Compayne Gardens, West Hampstead, last Wednesday afternoon (see above), said: “Ironically, there was a parking warden issuing penalty notices nearby and when I pointed out that he should be issuing a ticket to his comrades, he looked at me as if I was asking him to murder his mother.”
The car has already been photographed parking on double yellows in Englands Lane in Belsize Park – a neighbourhood where spaces to park are at a premium and finding one is a daily scramble.
This week’s batch of photos fired through to the New Journal included several snaps captured in Camley Street, King’s Cross, where wardens have regularly enjoyed the luxury of parking on double yellows in an otherwise empty road over the past few months.
A council press official said yesterday that there was specific enforcement action being taken around Camley Street because drivers were flouting the rules.
She said: “Certain council vehicles carry a permit which enables them to park anywhere in the borough, including on double yellow lines if it is for the purpose of carrying out enforcement duties.
“Our drivers have strict instructions that they should only park on double yellows when it is both necessary and safe for them to do so.”

Revealed: The security camera raking in £100k a year in fines

NEW statistics show a spy camera put up in Hampstead on the premise that businesses needed extra protection from crime is raking in at least £110,000 every year in fines by being turned on drivers.
Figures released to the New Journal under the Freedom of Information Act show the camera on the junction of Hampstead High Street and Perrin’s Lane has been used to clamp down on motorists making a No Right Turn rather than catching shoplifters.
Camden issued 2,748 penalty fines, which works out to around 52 tickets a week. Over a year, the council will have collected at least £109,920. The final collection is likely to be higher because £40 fines rise to £80 if they are not paid within a fortnight.
The level of fines is not as prolific as the 4,000 tickets dished out in the first four months that it overlooked the junction and are on a slow decline – but the figures still make it one of the parking department’s biggest money-spinners.
The installation of the camera was at the centre of hot debate three years ago when the former Labour administration was lobbied hard by residents and businesses who wanted the added protection of CCTV in Hampstead High Street following a series of break-ins.
The Town Hall agreed, but months later Conservative councillor Mike Greene said the council was using the camera for a different purpose altogether, warning: “Camden seems to be milking it for all it’s worth.”
Ironically, a change of power at the Town Hall later saw Cllr Greene become Camden’s environment chief and in control of the borough’s parking policies.
“I find it amazing that people haven’t learned about the No Right Turn,” he said when he was shown the number of fines still being issued from the camera last year.

£109,920 - The minimum amount of money the Perrin’s Lane CCTV camera nets the council each year

2,748 - The number of penalty fines issued to motorists for making a No Right Turn

52 - The number of tickets issued each week

£80 - The cost of the fines if they are not paid within two weeks

Camden New Journal

CCTV Smart car Caught in the act?

Investigation launched as traffic wardens are snapped ‘parking’ on double-yellow lines

PLEASE guv, I was only there for a minute – can’t you let me off, just this once.
Parking chiefs have heard every excuse a million times but they were frantically checking their own records this week to see whether there were any possible grounds for appeal in a particularly sensitive case.
As this picture shows, the Town Hall’s own parking enforcement car appears to have been caught out slap bang on the middle of two fat yellow lines.
The Smart car, which zips around the borough filming motorists making mistakes and parking in the wrong places, was spotted in College Crescent, Swiss Cottage, on May 14. Camden has checked the authenticity of the photograph and said it is now the subject of an internal inquiry.
Enforcement teams will have to explain why the car stopped there and what staff were doing inside. A spokesman said disciplinary action would be taken if necessary.
The picture was captured and sent to the New Journal by a passing driver – who just moments before taking the photo had been stung with a £40 penalty by wardens for overstaying in a residents’ bay for just four minutes. The photographer said: “I drove up the road looking for somewhere to park. As I passed them, I remember thinking it would be nice if I could park like that.
“One wonders whether there is one law for Camden and one for the poor residents whose sole role is to support them.”
He added: “I am not really angry – I just believe that we vote for governments and councils to be honest, open, intelligent and to be working for the betterment of the voters. Sadly, the reverse seems to be the case and I get every impression that both government and councils are not very honest.”
A Camden press official said: “Our drivers have strict instructions that they should only park on double yellows when it is both necessary and safe for them do so.
“We expect the highest standard of conduct from our staff and contractors.
“We have started an investigation into the incident shown in the photograph and will take formal disciplinary action if necessary.”

Camden New Journal