Sheffield Council trying to kill off city centre pubs and bars?

[Dentzler 10]

They are giving the area increased attention, because after the temporary car park closed, abuse of on street parking restrictions increased. The restrictions are very clear and they are there for a reason, which is usually to ensure traffic can keep moving safely. If no-one abuses the restriction, they make no money. It's pretty simple.

 

---------- Post added 06-12-2013 at 00:12 ----------

 

What exactly is excessive about enforcing an existing restriction that is there for a very good (usually safety related ) reason? Do you think that people attending an event should be exempt from parking restrictions just because they can't be bothered to look for somewhere they can park legally?

 

---------- Post added 06-12-2013 at 00:17 ----------

 

So do you think 50p an hour in the Spooner Rd car park and the area around your premises is ridiculous and expensive?

 

All councils use parking to raise revenue and Sheffield council is no exception.

 

There are 1000's of threads on Pepipoo

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showforum=30

clearly evidencing unfair, unlawfully issued PCN's, and no doubt many more which aren't.

 

Then there's hundreds of other reports evidencing how council's exploit parking to raise revenue such as.

 

http://www.theinformationdaily.com/2013/10/23/councils-exploit-parking-fines-to-raise-revenue-illegally-warn-mps

 

http://news.sky.com/story/1123010/council-parking-tickets-raking-in-millions

 

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-cctv-traffic-wardens-caught-on-camera/4od

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYb2PIAw_Ps

[Planner1 438]

All councils use parking to raise revenue and Sheffield council is no exception.

Parking costs a lot to operate and enforce, so its perfectly understandable that they want it to at least cover its costs. It's also perfectly ok legally to earn a surplus from parking, so long as you spend the money as prescribed by the legislation.

[mrplodge 10]

I find the single yellow line restrictions a joke, why waste potential spaces. Change them to parking bays, I do not for one minute believe traffic flow is anything to do with it. Not sure about what disabled people are allowed to do but always makes a lot of rules re traffic movement a lie i.e we need to keep traffic flowing but its fine if a couple of disabled people park there. I still think yellow line areas should always have a clear notice of the restriction not a blanket notice 500yds away. Also there is absolutely no need for traffic wardens, cameras could be used with smart meters. The use of technology should be a good investment (Make it much less likely for people to be caught out with clear warnings). Before someone talks about losing jobs blah blah blah, I have an answer but its a whole change in the way society works so not something I want to explain here

[sheffandy 34]

I find the single yellow line restrictions a joke, why waste potential spaces. Change them to parking bays, I do not for one minute believe traffic flow is anything to do with it. Not sure about what disabled people are allowed to do but always makes a lot of rules re traffic movement a lie i.e we need to keep traffic flowing but its fine if a couple of disabled people park there. I still think yellow line areas should always have a clear notice of the restriction not a blanket notice 500yds away. Also there is absolutely no need for traffic wardens, cameras could be used with smart meters. The use of technology should be a good investment (Make it much less likely for people to be caught out with clear warnings). Before someone talks about losing jobs blah blah blah, I have an answer but its a whole change in the way society works so not something I want to explain here

 

I agree, they bend the rules to fit their parking enforcement, like when I enquired about parking on single yellow lines on a Sunday daytime.

[Planner1 438]

I agree, they bend the rules to fit their parking enforcement, like when I enquired about parking on single yellow lines on a Sunday daytime.

Can you explain further? How have they "bent" the rules?

[Dentzler 10]

Parking costs a lot to operate and enforce, so its perfectly understandable that they want it to at least cover its costs. It's also perfectly ok legally to earn a surplus from parking, so long as you spend the money as prescribed by the legislation.

 

I'm sure this will be of great comfort to the millions of unfair unlawfully ticketed drivers whom have been used as cash cows by councils.

 

Car-parking is not supposed to be a form of taxation for councils, however it is now 100% pure taxation by stealth.

 

---------- Post added 07-12-2013 at 01:22 ----------

 

Can you explain further? How have they "bent" the rules?

 

All councils have the advantage of knowing the system and how they can best use this advantage to increase revenue from issuing more PCN's.

[SYorksDeano 10]

So when the council are ticketing people in a cul de sac then that's keeping the traffic moving?

 

Moving to where exactly?

 

The traffic can't move in Sheffield anyway for pot holes and out of sync traffic lights.

 

Do the council give a toss? Bung them some money and they might tell you.

[LeMaquis 10]

The traffic can't move in Sheffield anyway for pot holes and out of sync traffic lights.

 

That comment's so ridiculous I suspect Penistone999 may have hacked your account.

[Dannyno 19]

I run the South Sea in Broomhill and behind us there is a massive car park which is administrated by Excel parking.

This car park is a 24 hour pay and display car park and is, other than on Saturday daytime is nearly always half empty.

Several bands have in the past turned up and temporarily parked around the back of the venue to unload their equipment and in the 10 minutes it has taken them to unload and sort themselves out, they have gone back to their car and got a ticket, with no parking warden to be seen. (I wouldn't suggest for one minute that the wardens make sure they are here for around the time when they know bands are turning up at the venue).

Lorries, vans and cars during the day also do the same when they are delivering to the other businesses in the complex and the parking attendants are nowhere to be seen, and the delivery people seemingly don't get ticketed.

Now my question is, what is the difference between a van driver who is dropping off goods at a shop, and a band that is dropping their equipment off at a venue...nothing in my eyes.

I keep telling the people not to pay the Excel ticket, cos the Keeper of the vehicle is not necessarily the driver who went into contract with Excel, and unless they can prove it was you parking the vehicle it is a case not worth taking to court for them to risk high court fees with no guarantee of success.

While parking attendants earn a commission this zealous approach is going to carry on. I think its unfair that the people who come to the venue to perform have to endure this stress of Excel sending them threatening letters to try to scare you into paying, and tha fact that they get the ticket in the first place.

 

The Council have been trying to get the contract for the administration of the car parking but I don't know whether it would become better or worse if this became the case.

There is a small car park 100 meters up Spooner Rd which is free from 6pm and holds approximately 20 cars (which is always nearly full, and their are illegal double yellow lines all the way around the side of the venue which obviously are on private land and have been painted on by the Council.

Car parking in this country has become ridiculous and expensive, and I feel that this is another one of those initiatives which has come in because they have sold all our manufacturing and production to the east and have to recoup all them lost taxes and business rates back somehow so are replacing it with money generating schemes like parking fines, getting in the wrong lane fines, fines for this, fines for that...I think this countries administration has gone to the dogs.

When you try using our so called democratic system to address this, the councillors are seemingly powerless and corporate business seem to now "rule the waves". Capitalism gone mad. Whinge over.

 

The Excel car park is pretty cheap: what is it, 40p for an hour? Free for 15 minutes. But it would take longer than that to get stuff from a vehicle to your pub. So although it's close, is it close enough for bands delivering their equipment?

 

You seem to be talking about the area round the back of your pub? Are deliveries allowed there? Should be, and that should apply to bands if they're delivering. So is the problem that wardens don't know they are delivering? What about a note in their car/van?

 

Or, would the business visitors scheme help? https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/roads/travel/driving/parking/parking-permits/business/visitor.html

 

What's illegal about the double yellow lines?

[Planner1 438]

Clearly they do appear to exploit any new opportunity to exploit the careless, the unaware and naive, as they scrabble to draw yet more funds from their victims to feed the coffers of their masters. Their masters being the very ones that ironically we employ to make our own lives a misery, as they strive to strangle businesses in the city centre by encouraging motorists to use out of town shopping centres.

 

I assume it is some pen pushing desk warrior that decides which traffic warden (whatever they call themselves now) is sent where and at what time. However I can not help but feel they are akin to jackals and hyenas poised waiting for the errant motorist. Vulture like they await the inevitable errors.

 

I cannot for the life of me understand the mercenary like mentality that would drive someone to sink to the depths of earning a living by preying upon others. I guess in another life they would be muggers, or with more advantages, they would have become solicitors or bankers.

There is ample evidence of what the results are when there is no threat of enforcement. Drivers park anywhere they like, then, when there is no space left on the yellow lines, they double park and bring the place to a grinding halt. Enforcement is the difference between some sort of order and absolute chaos. You may not like that, but it is in the nature of people to push their luck and there needs to be some threat of consequences if they don't.

 

How do you expect the Beas that CEO's follow to be decided? Do you think they ought to decide by ballot? Of course someone has to make these decisions. There are a number of priorities and these change depending on time of day. Main arterial routes have priority in peak traffic hours, as do school entrances. At other times there are patrols in the city centre because it's the busiest place and in the permit parking zones, because part of the agreement when these zones are proposed is that they are regularly patrolled. Enforcement is also targeted at locations where there are issues, as you would expect.

 

---------- Post added 07-12-2013 at 11:34 ----------

 

So when the council are ticketing people in a cul de sac then that's keeping the traffic moving?

 

Moving to where exactly?

 

The traffic can't move in Sheffield anyway for pot holes and out of sync traffic lights.

 

Do the council give a toss? Bung them some money and they might tell you.

There are restrictions on cul-de-sacs, they are there for a reason. For example if the turning head is not kept clear, vehicles can find it very difficult to turn. Sometimes restrictions are needed to allow proper use of drives or entrances or to allow safe visibility. There can be many reasons.

 

It isn't rocket science. The restrictions are clear, don't contravene them and you don't get a ticket.

 

---------- Post added 07-12-2013 at 11:38 ----------

 

I'm sure this will be of great comfort to the millions of unfair unlawfully ticketed drivers whom have been used as cash cows by councils.

 

Car-parking is not supposed to be a form of taxation for councils, however it is now 100% pure taxation by stealth.

If people feel unfairly penalised, there is a very simple appeal process, which can go to an independent adjudicator. It is free to use and details are on every penalty issued.

 

Parking costs huge amounts of money to provide and operate. Councils need to cover their costs.

 

---------- Post added 07-12-2013 at 11:40 ----------

 

 

All councils have the advantage of knowing the system and how they can best use this advantage to increase revenue from issuing more PCN's.

 

All the restrictions, signs and lines are in the Highway Code, which every motorist should know. It isn't difficult to avoid a PCN.

[sheffandy 34]

Can you explain further? How have they "bent" the rules?

 

Of course they have bent the rules.

Someone realised they were missing a trick by allowing free meter parking on a Sunday daytimes, so the council starts charging on Sundays....oh and at the same time they just happen to make it illegal to park on a single yellow within a certain boundary in the town centre at the same time....if thats not bending the rules to fit, then I don't know what is.

[Dentzler 10]

There is ample evidence of what the results are when there is no threat of enforcement. Drivers park anywhere they like, then, when there is no space left on the yellow lines, they double park and bring the place to a grinding halt. Enforcement is the difference between some sort of order and absolute chaos. You may not like that, but it is in the nature of people to push their luck and there needs to be some threat of consequences if they don't.

 

How do you expect the Beas that CEO's follow to be decided? Do you think they ought to decide by ballot? Of course someone has to make these decisions. There are a number of priorities and these change depending on time of day. Main arterial routes have priority in peak traffic hours, as do school entrances. At other times there are patrols in the city centre because it's the busiest place and in the permit parking zones, because part of the agreement when these zones are proposed is that they are regularly patrolled. Enforcement is also targeted at locations where there are issues, as you would expect.

 

---------- Post added 07-12-2013 at 11:34 ----------

 

There are restrictions on cul-de-sacs, they are there for a reason. For example if the turning head is not kept clear, vehicles can find it very difficult to turn. Sometimes restrictions are needed to allow proper use of drives or entrances or to allow safe visibility. There can be many reasons.

 

It isn't rocket science. The restrictions are clear, don't contravene them and you don't get a ticket.

 

---------- Post added 07-12-2013 at 11:38 ----------

 

If people feel unfairly penalised, there is a very simple appeal process, which can go to an independent adjudicator. It is free to use and details are on every penalty issued.

 

Parking costs huge amounts of money to provide and operate. Councils need to cover their costs.

 

---------- Post added 07-12-2013 at 11:40 ----------

 

 

All the restrictions, signs and lines are in the Highway Code, which every motorist should know. It isn't difficult to avoid a PCN.

 

The appeals process heavily favours councils, they investigate their own PCN's and just send out templated nonsense letters stating motorists are wrong and they're right.

 

Most drivers are not aware you can see an independent adjudicator and have their appeal rejected by councils 3X before it gets to this stage.

 

Well over 95% of motorists win when they present their case to an independent adjudicator.

 

As already stated which you chose to ignore. There are 1000's of cases on Pepipoo clearly evidencing councils have unfairly and unlawfully tickets.

 

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showforum=30

 

It takes a lot of time and money appealing PCN's something the average motorist doesn't have, so councils blackmail motorists knowing this by halving the PCN fine if they don't appeal. How does this favour the motorists?

 

Loads of council scams listed here

 

http://www.appealnow.com/scams/

 

Here's one of many examples demonstrating how ruthless councils are

 

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article395585.ece

 

Here's another Parking Warden stopping this builder buy a ticket, and lying to general public stating you must have the correct change.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NvuPTyxkBo

Edited December 7, 2013 by Dentzler
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