Transfer of responsibility for parking enforcement

The responsibility for on-street parking enforcement has today transferred from the Police Service of Northern Ireland to the Department for Regional Development.

Around 100 of the new private wardens, dressed in red and yellow, will be on the streets of Northern Ireland from today in a bid to clamp down on illegal or dangerous parking, those abusing disabled spaces, and to enforce waiting restrictions.

However, unlike Traffic Wardens the new traffic attendants will not have any responsibility for directing traffic as , this will remain with the PSNI.

Roads Minister David Cairns said: “Today, I am pleased to announce the commencement of on-street enforcement by our new traffic attendants. I wish to remind drivers that the advice is ‘park properly or pay the penalty’.

“This is a pro-car policy. So, for drivers who currently park properly this new system means that little will change. However those people who park illegally will be much less likely to get away with it. Our aim is to reduce illegal parking, reduce traffic congestion, improve road safety and make roads more accessible to all users.

“It is not our goal to ‘catch people out’. We want you to park properly and free up blocked traffic lanes which are more valuable than the cost of a few parking tickets. We don’t want to give out tickets but, if we have to, we will.”

A fixed penalty of £60 will now issued to offenders, however if this is paid within 14-day, it will be reduced to £30.

Persistent offenders will be clamped, and those causing an obstruction will be towed away.

(EF)