Parking and safety

It seems to me that the whole problem could be solved if we had more traffic wardens in Thanet. They would not only make the roads safer but it would also mean, that where relevant, drivers would pay.

With the system we have at the moment outlying car parks, such as the Marina car park in Ramsgate, do not seem to be checked. This means that day after day I have noted that as many as ten motor homes park overnight without paying.

During the summer at weekends cars park in Broadstairs on pavements, on double yellow lines and across peoples drives. It appears that traffic wardens do not work on Sundays.

In Thanet we have miles of yellow lines on the roads costing thousands of pounds to maintain but it seems that nobody is enforcing the law. It seems that anyone can park in disabled parking bays. On the sea front in Ramsgate outside the tunnels motor homes are parked all night, when even with a blue badge you are only allowed to park in disabled parking place for thee hours.

In Ramsgate ,Thanet Council spent money putting up signs on Victoria Parade to inform motor home drivers that they must not park overnight. Within weeks the notices were being ignored.

If Thanet really wants to get to grips with this problem they need to employ more traffic wardens who work seven days a week covering the whole of Thanet not just the town centres a couple of days a week. The alternative is to do nothing and let the area grind to a halt.