Parking attendants '˜actively competing' to raise money from fines, says DUP

Hefty charges of up to £90 represent a cash cow for the Infrastructure Department and should be cut to encourage shoppers into town centres, unionists said.But reducing fines would only encourage bad parking which puts vulnerable pedestrians at risk, the Alliance Party insisted.DUP North Down MLA Alex Easton said: “Over-zealous car parking attendants are actively competing to raise as much revenue as possible as an alternative source of income to the Department.“This in my view is wrong and sends out the wrong message to local businesses.“Action is required urgently to reduce the burden of fines, to increase flexibility, to encourage shoppers into our town centres and for Transport Northern Ireland to decide to listen for a change.”Parking tickets carry a £90 fine but are halved if the driver pays within 14 days.Around £4.5 million was collected by the Infrastructure Department last year, an Assembly question revealed previously. Most people paid £45.DUP South Belfast MLA Christopher Stalford said: “The Lisburn Road has become something of a golden goose for the red coats.”Declan McCrossan, SDLP MLA for West Tyrone, concurred the situation was similar in towns like Omagh and Strabane, saying: “One was almost handing them out like raffle tickets.”Kellie Armstrong, who represents the Alliance Party in Strangford, said badly parked motorists blocked footpaths and forced the vulnerable onto the roads, adding: “Bad parking is the fault of a driver who does not care - who takes risks.”She said poor parking could create havoc, blocking bus lanes and making mothers with children in buggies go onto the road.“The fine needs to be enough of a deterrent to stop people from parking badly in the first place. Reducing the fine will reduce the deterrent,” she said.