In this column, I wrote back in December both welcoming and raising a few concerns about the new parking enforcement officers arriving in Lincolnshire.
I expressed my joy at the time at no longer having to sit in traffic on the High Street caused purely through inconsiderate drivers parking outside shops.
Since their introduction, I have not been aware of the officers struggling with one of my points of concern which was the worry that residents parked on their own streets would suddenly find themselves flooded with fines.
It appears, however, that not only are these residents free from fines but everyone still is.
I have not noticed a slight difference in the actions of impolite drivers and this is due to the other area of concern I brought up. The whole of Lincolnshire was to be covered by only 20 officers. My hope was that this did not mean they were spread too thinly to be of help in Grantham which has surely proven to be the case.
I’m not about to claim to know the monetary figures behind the scheme in terms of how much it is costing the county for these 20 officers, never mind how much it would cost to bring in more to raise efficiency. My concern now switches to the way the scheme was introduced.
It was stressed that the focus was to reduce congestion and increase traffic safety. Can we truly say this has been achieved if most days the High Street looks the same as before?
As highlighted through a letter to the Journal last week, where we were informed of a staggering 16 cars parked on double yellow lines, perhaps we need to consider our own driving habits while hoping for a recovery for this limping scheme.