Chaos fear on parking
Traffic wardens are being withdrawn across Dudley borough a year before responsibility for punishing drivers switches from the police to the council – sparking fears of a parking free-for-all.
The move has sparked fears that roads in Dudley, Stourbridge and Halesowen could descend into chaos with a surge in illegal parking.
West Midlands Police is due to hand over responsibility of on-street parking to Dudley Council next April but wardens are already being taken off the streets.
They have been given the choice of moving to a new job with the council or remaining with the police, which the majority have opted to do. Police community support officers (PCSOs) will dish out tickets to motorists parking illegally.
John Shepherd, vice-chairman of Stourbridge Township Council, said: "We will be left with a vacuum between now and April. The PCSOs do a great job but are already hard-pressed."
Councillor Angus Adams, Dudley transport boss, said the council would increase the number of traffic ward-ens from April 2008 but said until the Secretary of State had signed off the plans, none could be put in place.
In the meantime, some of the future wardens may also be trained as PCSOs. Until then, town centres will be without wardens, he said.
He added: "Traffic wardens are being moved into other areas of the police, such as the control room.
"In the meantime there are PCSOs, who are particularly thorough and will make sure people are not parking illegally."
Stourbridge resident Brian Waller, who has compiled a dossier of hundreds of photographs to show drivers dangerously parking on pavements in the past, echoed calls for High Street to be made traffic-free.
