Motorists are facing more parking fines

Apr 15 2009 By Amy Hunt, The Journal

WATCH out. Motorists are set to have 20,000 more parking tickets slapped on their windscreens.

From today the Newcastle City Council takes charge of upholding parking rules which used to be enforced by the police.

More than 115 miles of yellow and white lines have been painted on city streets and traffic wardens will work from 8am to 10pm seven days a week. The 20,000 additional tickets a year the council expects to issue will bring in up to £400,000 in extra revenue.

Parking fines will vary from £70 for a more serious or £50 for a less serious offence. If people pay the charge within 14 days it will be cut in half.

The council hopes a review of parking restrictions will make the rules clearer and will cut congestion and traffic jams in the city centre. The council’s head of parking Neil Cuthbert, said: "We have done a lot of work in terms of refreshing the lines and signs around the city.

"The vast majority of lines have simply been refreshed but there are areas where, for good reason, we’ve had to replace a single yellow with a double.

"We’ve tried not to make too many changes but there are certain areas where circumstances have changed. Perhaps in some places in years gone by a single yellow might have been sufficient, but it’s now a much busier area so a double yellow is needed. We’ve done the same the other way, replacing a double with a single where circumstances have changed. We’ve tried to come up with the best solution for each area." At the moment the council hands out around 70,000 parking tickets each year, which is expected to rise to 90,000 under the new rules, including those already issued by police wardens.