Traffic wardens have been urged to go easy on ticketing disabled drivers in Keswick when new rules come into force in the new year.
Highways authority Cumbria County Council is consulting on a wide-ranging review of traffic regulations across the town with comments needed by January 3.
The 13 proposals for the area included restricting parking in disabled bays to a maximum of three hours on the existing disabled parking bays on Station Road, Keswick, which do not currently have any time restriction.
A maximum three-hour waiting limit will also be introduced on the existing disabled parking bays on Derwent Close, Keswick, for the same reason.
Cllr Paul Titley told a meeting of Keswick Town Council that at first glance the proposals for disabled bays may seem “rather harsh”.
But he said the disabled bays in Station Road outside the museum were regularly occupied from “sun up to sundown” and that quite often it was the same vehicle “day after day after day”.
“At least it will only be three hours day after day after day,” he said, “so I do support that.”
However, Cllr Sally Lansbury said the last time the county council made changes to the parking arrangements, penalty notices were handed out “really quickly” which had been distressing for people unaware of the changes.
She called for a “grace period” for those with blue badges to get used to the rules.
She said some motorists might be visually impaired and would need time to adjust.
Cllr Tony Lywood, Keswick’s representative on Cumbria County Council, said he would ask the authority’s head of parking enforcement to be lenient in the early stages, but added: “I’m afraid you can’t have a grace period, if it’s law, then it’s law.”
Mayor councillor Alan Dunn added that the last time changes were made, the wardens were “a bit quick off the mark”.
Cllr Lywood added that he had received a number of representations from people living in Derwent Close who could not park because of others parking for excessive amounts of time.
Figures for Cumbria show that parking enforcement officers issued a total of 38,500 penalty notices in 2019-20, which generated £1.4 million in fines, although the service cost £1.6 million to run, having taken on extra staff.
A total of 1,278 parking enforcement notices were cancelled following representations from the driver.
A total of 1,269 tickets were issued to drivers leaving their cars in spaces intended for disabled parkers without displaying a blue badge.
Anyone wanting to make comments on the parking changes can write to TrafficTeam.West@cumbria.gov.uk by Monday January 3.
