 Nick Bye: Pounding the streets |
The Mayor of a Devon resort is holding a cheap parking stint as part of his pledge to tackle drivers' issues. On Wednesday, Torbay Mayor Nick Bye donned a uniform and accompanied traffic wardens patrolling the streets of nearby Torquay.
A two-week reduced charge period starts on Monday, with the Bay's car parks costing �1 between noon and midnight.
Mr Bye says the move aims to bring more shoppers to the Bay before the main tourist season begins.
At the moment, it costs more than �1 for any stay of two hours or more.
Parking fines rose six-fold, from 4,581 in 2004 to 28,500 last year - about 80 a day - after national parking firm NCP took over duties in Torbay.
Mr Bye said that despite the huge rise in fines, the council was still making a small loss from parking enforcement after paying setting-up costs, including a new IT system and extra staff.
The council pays �543,000 a year to NCP and is expecting to break even in four years' time.
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