In the last two weeks, Shropshire Council’s civil enforcement officers (traffic wardens to you and me) have been slapping penalty charge notices on everything that stops for a moment longer than permitted. That includes three buses and a funeral car.
There have been spats between the traffic officers and buses before, in the town centre and on Corve Street. To them and their bosses thirty miles away in Shrewsbury, this is just a breach of the rules. And slapping a ticket on a vehicle is a way to raise money. No matter that Shropshire Council dictates the bus timetables. No matter that it has long been accepted that funeral vehicles have long been able to park outside what is now WH Smith’s without fear of a ticket. The bay is even marked off with black cones to indicate it’s a vehicle supporting a funeral. There is no traffic obstruction whatsoever.
In targeting funerals, Shropshire Council is being disrespectful. It is breaching a long established social etiquette around funerals. But the council is oblivious to anything else but getting income.
Shropshire Council’s recently introduced bus timetables mean that buses are often parked outside Ludlow Assembly Rooms for 15 minutes or more. If they are in the bus stand that is fine but if at the bus stop, they are being given penalty charge notices. Three so far this month. There is not enough time for the buses to go to the Smithfield bus parking while the buses are running hourly, except when the buses are parked for a break. Even during the break, bus drivers they have found that the Smithfield bays, which are also used by vans, motorhomes and trucks, are fully occupied.
This is an only in Shropshire situation. Shropshire Council sets the timetables and pays for the buses to run. Shropshire Council slaps parking tickets on the buses. It is too much to hope that the traffic wardens in the could talk to the bus managers. It seems so.
We need to find a long term solution to the bus parking problem. The bus stop at the front of Ludlow Assembly Rooms could become a bus stand but that would mean it could also be used by tourist coaches. There are a lot of services using the Mill Street and Castle Street bus stops: 490, 701, 702, 703, 722, 738/740, 745, X11 and school buses.
The current situation is far from satisfactory and needs a bit of brainstorming to solve the situation. I have asked for meeting with the council officers involved and the bus company as soon as possible in the New Year.
Quite agree. Shroshhire Council desperate for revenue because they find themselves desperate for cash due to their own ineptitude. Meanwhile talking about buses. Can someone please tell the drivers to turn their engines off. I was in Bill’s a couple of days ago. There was a bus parked at the front of the cafe the engine was running all the time I was there which was quite a while. Bad for the environment and for peoples health. Must be awful on a nice day when the doors to Bill’s are left open.
I quite agree. I’ll raise it with the bus company.
The worst thing that ever happened to South Shropshire and Ludlow was the Unitary Authority. Its capital is Shrewsbury which thinks its Westminster and uses the rest of the county as a milk cow.
busses and a funeral car are ridiculous and they need to show some common sense BUT those blocking roads by parking on double yellow lines in Ludlow are a menace and a danger and need tickets- particularly those who park on double yellow lines on upper and lower Galdeford Road and Station Road by the doctors
Whilst such inherently local services as parking and enforcement (there are others) are run from a town 30 miles away, giving out contracts and instructions, to third parties, they will never be to attuned to residents wishes and needs. Budgets, policies and control of such local services should be in the hands of our local council – implementing our democratically determined local requirements.
It might be that larger unitary authorities with elected Mayors, overseeing and coordinating budgets and services SO LONG AS budgets and direction devolved as far as possible to local communities like ours, could be a good thing. The devolution is so much more important than the further consolidation – particularly for relatively rural and remote communities – who otherwise are never top of any bodies priorities.
From a passenger point of view the stops outside the Assembly Rooms are ideal. There are cafes, toilets and seats nearby, shops and market in close proximity. It is also great for visitors as they know where they can catch the Park and Ride bus back and for college students. We must ensure that the integrity of this location is maintained for bus passengers. It has worked well for at least the past 20 years.
There are clearly marked spaces for the buses to stand and pick up. However, some car drivers still insist on parking on the yellow lines here to pick up or set down which is not acceptable. The focus of attention now needs to move away from zealous enforcement of buses to how we can improve services for Ludlow bus passengers and in particular to attracting car borne visitors to use the park and ride service.