Linlithgow’s Local Area Committee has asked for assurances that police will continue to monitor the parking in the town’s high street before Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) comes in.
West Lothian Council agreed last month to introduce DPE but it will take two to three years of legal and technical process to bring it in.
In the interval it is up to police to tackle wayward motorists who Councillor Sally Pattle said “ just abandon their cars” in the High Street.
READ MORE: West Lothian parking charges backed by council - but at least three years away
Under DPE the council assumes the role of policing parking, either by using its own wardens or contracting enforcement out.
Councillor Pattle, the Lib Dem chair of the local area committee. questioned local community officer Constable Fiona Bell about details of ticketing drivers who were abusing parking rules.
The police officer said: “Community officers conducted proactive patrols in problematic areas identified and, during Quarter 4,[January to March] issued 40 tickets to vehicles parked in disabled bays without a disabled badge along with parking on yellow lines. This enforcement action will continue until the issue has improved.”
Councillor Pattle asked: “Is that for the whole of West Lothian, if possible could you find out and bring that back to the next area committee.”
Constable bell said she would bring back figures to the next meeting
“It would be good to know more information about where you are targeting. Again Linlithgow High Street is a really well known hotspot for terrible parking. People just abandon their cars because they know that there’s no enforcement.
“I enormously welcome the parking strategy that has now been approved by West Lothian Council but I think that we are at least two to the three years off anything being to be so so in that time we continue to rely on police enforcement action to try and stop the bad parking that we see every day, so I wonder if we could just get some more detail for the next area committee?”
Constable Bell replied: “Absolutely. I will pass that back.”
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