12:52pm Thursday 7th May 2009
By Pat Sharma
Over many years I have witnessed cars being towed away on Mansfield Road. It is sad to see this happen as it causes distress especially if it happens to be on a Saturday or public holiday.
This incident I witnessed on Saturday Bank Holiday weekend at 7:26am of a little car being towed away must have left the car owner wondering if their car had been stolen. Where was the 'tow away' sign?
The single sign that is on a post at the far end of the yellow line indicates no parking Mon-Sat 7am - 7pm. It is up to the car owner to check the parking restrictions when parking on yellow lines even if this means walking to the end of the yellow line to look for the sign! Yet in some roads nearer to Croydon Central the restriction is Mon-Fri and in most cases 9am-5pm. You would be forgiven to assume that roads away from Croydon Central would be more welcoming.
This was an occasion when a simple penalty parking ticket may have been punishment enough for the vehicle owner.
The tow-away truck appeared to be causing more obstruction and inconvenience to road users (as often is the case)than one single vehicle causing no harm on a Saturday at 7:26am!
If vehicles parking on the yellow line in Mansfield Road are such a long term problem it is surprising that the Croydon Borough Highways and enforcement team have not used some intiative and invested in an additional sign and placed it at the other end of the yellow line on the two available posts. What is more amazing there are no warning signs that can act as a deterrent on or near Mansfield Road indicating that Croydon is a tow-away zone. Where have these signs gone?
In the absence of these simple measures and simple solutions it could make car owners and residents wonder if this is just a good money making operation.
People rely on their vehicles for many reasons from transporting young children to helping the elderly.
Many people with physical disabilities and other health problems rely on their cars.
Is towing away cars that are causing no obvious obstruction any way to treat the residents of Croydon when a simple penalty parking ticket would do?
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