Parking tickets spree sparks fury

The lay-by in Station Road has been closed, all but for two spaces, to allow buses taking a diverted route because of the closure of Canada Grove to turn easier.

Two spaces in Crescent Road have also been closed for the same reason.

But confusion over signage, the fact the ticket machine is still in operation, and heavy attendance from parking wardens issuing dozens of tickets a day has infuriated motorists and traders.

Businesses in Station Road feel Arun District Council, which has enforced the closure after being asked by West Sussex County Council, should have closed the whole lay-by and turned off the ticket machine to save confusion.

Manager at Goody 2 Shoes, 
Louise Asling, said: “I think it’s ridiculous. The signs are not big enough – they haven’t made it clear enough for the people they are giving tickets out to.

“I was here on Saturday and they must have given out 20 tickets in two hours.

“They weren’t hesitating to give them out.

“To let people park in the two spaces is so misleading – it all should have been blocked off.”

The lay-by has had the 
no-parking, waiting or loading restriction in place since October 12, and it will be in place for five weeks while the gas works in Canada Grove divert traffic.

Trudy Reynolds, owner of Photos and Frames, watched parking wardens come round three times on Saturday to monitor the lay-by.

She said: “It was just like watching someone with a gun picking people off. They told us they had been told to stay there and pick people off.

“I just felt awful on Saturday watching people get ticketed.”

As many shoppers do, Mark Norman, of Stanbrok Close, Aldwick, stopped for only a few minutes to pick up a brochure from a shop next to the lay-by. He did not see the signs and was promptly ticketed.

“I was parked for less than five minutes,” he said. “I’ve just been made redundant. I haven’t got a job to pay for this.

“It makes me so annoyed. I didn’t even look up at the sign.”

A spokesperson for Arun District Council said: “We were asked by West Sussex County Council to suspend an area of parking on Station Road, which we have done.

“However, it was not necessary to suspend all the parking bays 
and two remain in use, for which the pay-and-display machine is 
still in operation for people wishing to park there.

“We felt the signage we erected to convey this information was clear and easy to understand, although we now accept it seems to have caused confusion for some people, as the two parking bays remain in operation.

“We would like to remind drivers they can appeal against any parking tickets they receive and that each appeal will be judged on its merits.”

BRAKES ON PARKING PLAN

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