There was a free for all before November 1st. Since then residents, and visitors, are getting caught out by the stricter Civil Parking enforcement. The new company running the scheme, on behalf of Oxfordshire County Council, is giving no leeway. I spotted these 3 penalty charge notices (PCNs), yesterday, walking up East St Helen Street.
1. Waiting a permit.
2. Wheels behind the line and the bumper in front.
3. Not showing the blue badge arrival clock in the disabled space? The ID alone may not work.
Fines have increased from £40, last time I got one, to £70 (or half that if you pay within the shorter time shown on the PCN.)
Car drivers own cars, not the street.
It’s about time that the well publicised penalties are being enforced.
This new Company should make a fortune in Abingdon the way people have abused parking regs the last so many decades since Mr Pratley was around.
Read the small print…it is possible/likely “their” parking guidelines say that the parking “ticket” needs to be “fixed” to the vehicle, as in stuck to the windscreen, not “placed” under the wiper. Is the backing still on the rear of the ticket?
If “they” are not adhering to their guidelines, then there is a chance that the penalty can be challenged as it has not been served correctly.
In addition, using the wiper blade as a method to attach the penalty is extremely bad practice. What if it blows away? What if a ne’er-do-well rips it off? Did the parking attendant cause any damage to that wiper blade? What permission has that attendant got to touch your car?
Do your research….
Just sayin’…..
Abingdon is not doing great. Officious parking regulations seems a bizarre way to go…but hey…what do I care, I now shop in Didcot.
Daniel, you made my day. There was a good balance before and now there isn’t. I’ve moved and so it won’t affect me but it still made me sad to see the overzealous council using this as a way to get more money. Like the High Street needs this as well as all that is going on to harm business
If it’s only about the parking then why drive to Didcot? (16 miles @ 35mpg @ £1.49/litre = £3.30)
There’s plenty of appropriate parking in Abingdon.
If your issue is the range and type of shop then no amount of parking is going to change that.
Firstly, thankfully…I have a diesel so my fuel costs are a fraction of those above. Secondly, because I want to be liked by Guardian readers…I of course walk to Didcot.
(I jest).
It is not necessarily about either of those. If it is thought that Abingdon “could be better”, then overzealous parking restrictions will not in any way help “Abingdon be better”. I would have thought that, with a run up to Christmas…with 18months of covid, etc etc etc then “The Town” could do with as much help as possible, rather than more hindrance. And, with that in mind “Bigger, tougher, stronger parking enforcement” seems a little counter productive.
But that’s just me, and, if helpful, I apologise for wanting Abingdon to be better.
But hey, as I said…what do I know….I am not an exceptionally well paid con-sultant who needs to come up with whatever policy is needing to be implemented (whether it works or not…I still get paid). I am not an unelected, unaccountable council officer who cares not if the policy is “good” or “bad” for the town…I just need to “come up with policy”.
Please…give people fines for parking their bumpers over the white line…it’s as good a use of council time and funds as any I suppose….I mean…months and months waiting lists for other council services that could do with some funds are fine, right?
Meanwhile, the chances are that the parking regulation is as poorly implemented as anything else that is done; so, at least this time that ineptitude may work in your favour…and there’ll likely be something that gets you off the ticket if you do enough research…
Merry Christmas!
Firstly, if you have so much spare time that you drive to Didcot simply to save £1.50 on parking that would be a pretty bleak existence.
Secondly, as Daily Mail readers are always right about everything, perhaps its a good idea that they take their entitlement to Didcot. That might actually make Abingdon a better place to be.
(I jest)
Car drivers own cars, not the streets.
I only repeat that because no one has actually challenged it yet.
I don’t drive to Didcot, I walk 🙂
I would love to drive in to Abingdon, but it seems pointless as I only live about 2min walk from the town centre, however, I can, if you want, start driving in?
I can not comment on Daily Mail readers. I don’t actually understand all that stuff about newspapers… but I am surprised to hear they are always right about everything? However why do they need to take their entitlement to Didcot – I don’t understand? What entitlement? And, anyway…I am not that fussed about their entitlement, but am about the pound in their pocket. I’d far rather they spent it in Abingdon? I am surprised you don’t?
Anyway…car drivers do not own streets. No one owns the streets. The streets are provided for our benefit and maintained by local government, I don’t understand what the sentiment means. And I am unclear what it is you want challenged?
I am still confused…why is discouraging people to drive in to town a good thing? Don’t we want people to come here? I assumed we did want people to come here….so, it makes sense to me to make it as easy and welcoming as possible, not as awkward and difficult as we can. But, perhaps it’s just me….
I’m all for enforcement of parking restrictions as the previous arrangement of no enforcement at all was becoming a real problem. There does however need to be some flexibility applied and not the present robotic direct application of the rules, it looks and feels like a tickets win prizes system is running the show here and the enforcement officers are on a performance related system, a more intelligent human approach would help everyone.
All in all it will indeed drive people away from the town to shop elsewhere, indirectly the Council appear to be encouraging this by allowing more retail at the periphery of the town than in the centre… how many more coffee shops, opticians, charity shops or bars can the town centre support?
These new traffic wardens clearly only work between 9 and 5 as Saturday night saw a numbers of cars parked illegally on double yellow lines around Sue Ryder and further down to the Kebab shop (an area already congested due to the traffic issues on the bridge (note the road crumbling on the approach to Andingdon prior to roadworks also: perhaps soon this whole road will be closed!!!)).
Take-away drivers are obviously not monitored for illgeal parking!
I’m all for parking restrictions and wardens monitoring areas (as I park properly) however Abingdon is taking the ‘Michael’ a bit here. They have closed off nearly the entire multi strey car park leaving everyone either struggling to find parking, going elsewhere or impacting genuine Waitrose shoppers who can’t park due to everyone using their car park to park and walk into town.
Backstreeter’s intro says the new wardens are employeed by OXCC, not the Vale, or Abingdon Town. Who gets the revenue from the tickets? Probably not Abingdon…
What happened to “Lovely Rita, meter maid”?
…replaced by “Revenue raising Ralph”.
I went along East St Helens Street today. It was much easier to travel down with all the inconsiderately parked cars blocking the road.
Next, East St Helens Street along the Market Square needs to be reclaimed from stored cars, as they prevent people from being allowed to cycle along this stretch of National Cycle Route.
The fact that you are not supposed to cycle along a NCR is a strong sign of how much Abingdon welcomes cycle traffic.
Rather than cycle to the local shops, you may as well drive to an out of town supermarket.