Traffic wardens to be removed from some towns and villages

Traffic wardens may be a thing of the past in some local towns and villages, as a review of parking enforcement is being undertaken across Northern Ireland.

The review will look at parking enforcement deployment which could see traffic wardens removed from a number of areas.

It will consider effectiveness of deployment and the number of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) / Warning Notices issued and the number of Vehicle Drive Aways (VDAs) recorded.

Currently Dromore, Rathfriland, Gilford, Tandragee, Crossgar, Richill and Dunmurry have been set to be removed from the schedule for routine traffic attendant deployment.

Commenting on the review, Infrastructure Minister Chris Hazzard said: “My priority as Minister is to ensure the free flow of traffic in towns and cities across the north. In order to maximise effectiveness and efficiency, Traffic Attendants are deployed to those places where they will have the most impact upon road safety and traffic progression.

“Any town that was routinely enforced and generated less than 10 PCNs/VDAs on average per month, will be removed from the schedule for routine traffic attendant deployment.

“The review has been completed in Transport NI’s Southern Division and a number of towns have been removed from scheduled enforcement. The same criteria will now be applied in the Northern, Western and Eastern Divisions. The Department will continue to visit all towns, including those removed from regular deployment, when need arises or when requested and resources are available.”

Commenting on the recent deployment of Traffic Attendants in Coalisland, Minister Hazzard concluded: “Following representations to my Department to commence scheduled parking enforcement in Coalisland, a trial was established to ascertain if scheduled routine enforcement is necessary. During the trial which ran from August to December 2016, two warning notices were issued. This trial has now ended and on the basis of efficient and effective use of resources, Coalisland will not have routine scheduled enforcement.”