DISGRUNTLED drivers feel they are being ‘targeted’ by Central Beds Council as they are being fined for parking in their own street.
Angry couple Romie Bentley-Graef and Jody Knight canvassed their neighbours in Capron Road, Dunstable. They say they discovered 177 parking tickets have been issued to residents since the council introduced CCTV number plate recognition cars earlier this year.
Romie and Jody, who have been forced to pay £104 in fines themselves, collected signatures for a petition that they are sending to the council to get the yellow line removed.
Romie said: “A lot of people are getting angry at each other about where they are parking. There is a lot of finger-pointing going on and it’s all down to these cars.”
“The street has a single yellow line on one side – to stop parking between 7am-7pm on weekdays – to allow commuters to use the street to ease congestion at the junction of Brewers Hill Road and High Street North.
But residents see this as unfair and claim the street is being targeted by the CCTV cars just after 7am and just before 7pm to catch people out. Romie and Jody, both 44, contacted South West Beds MP Andrew Selous in the hope of finding a solution.
Romie said: “He asked us what we thought should be done, and asked if we thought there was an alternative parking area nearby that we could use.
“But do I want to be walking streets and crossing roads late at night? No. The only answer is to take the yellow line away.”
“I appreciate they do a job to keep the main arteries clear, but Waterlow Road is narrower and they don’t have a yellow line.
“Why target the residential areas? £35 to park every day, where we live, is excessive. I don’t see why we should be penalised.”
Mr Selous said: “I’m hugely sympathetic for people with young children and the elderly who have to park far from their homes. It’s reasonable to expect rules to be enforced, but the enforcement isn’t the issue here. People need to be able to get up and down the road, but people also need to park their cars.
“There needs to be more parking spaces around the area. I’ve written to the council to ask what the people of Capron Road are supposed to do.”
Cllr Nigel Young, of Central Beds Council, said: “The yellow line, which runs down one side of Capron Road, currently prevents parking from 7am to 7pm when traffic is at its heaviest. The parking restriction is designed to stop people double parking, blocking the footway and restricting access for emergency vehicles.
“The automatic number plate recognition cars are proving effective in stopping people parking illegally and enforcing restrictions which are often there for public safety reasons.
“If the issue is more with the parking restrictions, as seems to be the case here, there are procedures for residents to air their concerns. In this particular case we have committed to review the permitted hours and consider the current ‘start’ time.”