WGTN Parking Enforcement Camera Car

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961 posts

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#417647 15-Dec-2010 14:37

Nice one Jon - I think it's awesome when organisations and departments take the time to properly explain and hopefully put an end to the flame wars and trolling.

Your staff have a difficult job and one that people just love to hate - never should it be condoned to verbally or physically abuse anybody carrying out their job - what ever it is and whether the abuse is carried out on-line.

I would love to see the equivalent of the UK show "Parking Wars" (I think) over here. Why don't you see if you can make it happen - perhaps then we will understand the job that needs to be done.

Procrastination eventually pays off.

graemeh

2078 posts

Uber Geek

#417648 15-Dec-2010 14:42

WCCParking: And lastly, there are no such things as quotas - this is just an urban myth :-)

So the reports in the media a while ago about parking wardens being eligible for prizes (from memory ipods and travel) for writing lots of tickets were not true? I don't recall them ever being denied at the time.

Found it: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3258023/Parking-wardens-offered-iPods

It's not a quota, it's a "guideline".

wreck90

780 posts

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#417665 15-Dec-2010 14:58

graemeh:
WCCParking: And lastly, there are no such things as quotas - this is just an urban myth :-)

So the reports in the media a while ago about parking wardens being eligible for prizes (from memory ipods and travel) for writing lots of tickets were not true? I don't recall them ever being denied at the time.

Found it: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3258023/Parking-wardens-offered-iPods

It's not a quota, it's a "guideline".

SNAP!!

oxnsox

1923 posts

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#417679 15-Dec-2010 15:10

graemeh:
WCCParking: And lastly, there are no such things as quotas - this is just an urban myth :-)

So the reports in the media a while ago about parking wardens being eligible for prizes (from memory ipods and travel) for writing lots of tickets were not true? I don't recall them ever being denied at the time.

Found it: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3258023/Parking-wardens-offered-iPods

It's not a quota, it's a "guideline".

'They are Trained not to inhale'

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.
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Thanks Jon for posting, I think it's great you came into this and shared an official view. We all know there's many sides to every story, and many stories to ever side.

graemeh

2078 posts

Uber Geek

#417689 15-Dec-2010 15:23

wreck90:
graemeh:
WCCParking: And lastly, there are no such things as quotas - this is just an urban myth :-)

So the reports in the media a while ago about parking wardens being eligible for prizes (from memory ipods and travel) for writing lots of tickets were not true? I don't recall them ever being denied at the time.

Found it: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3258023/Parking-wardens-offered-iPods

It's not a quota, it's a "guideline".

SNAP!!

Now despite my glee at finding that article, I do find that generally the Wellington parking wardens do a useful job and I can't wait until they extend the time restrictions on inner city parking to Sunday as it is a major PITA to find a park on Sunday on the odd occasion where I have wanted to.

If only they could extend their powers to giving drivers tickets for running red lights and not stopping for pedestrian crossings, they would make a fortune from the bus company alone.

WCCParking

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#417707 15-Dec-2010 15:40

graemeh:
WCCParking: And lastly, there are no such things as quotas - this is just an urban myth :-)

So the reports in the media a while ago about parking wardens being eligible for prizes (from memory ipods and travel) for writing lots of tickets were not true? I don't recall them ever being denied at the time.

Found it: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3258023/Parking-wardens-offered-iPods

It's not a quota, it's a "guideline".

Nope - it is just a myth perpetuated by bulletin boards such as this. We did respond:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/opinion/3376585/Don-t-believe-everything-you-hear-about-Wellington-parking-wardens

In case the above link does not come through, just go to "Stuff" & do a search for "Don't believe everything you hear about Wellington parking wardens".

Jon Visser

graemeh

2078 posts

Uber Geek

#417713 15-Dec-2010 15:49

WCCParking:
graemeh:
WCCParking: And lastly, there are no such things as quotas - this is just an urban myth :-)

So the reports in the media a while ago about parking wardens being eligible for prizes (from memory ipods and travel) for writing lots of tickets were not true? I don't recall them ever being denied at the time.

Found it: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3258023/Parking-wardens-offered-iPods

It's not a quota, it's a "guideline".

Nope - it is just a myth perpetuated by bulletin boards such as this. We did respond:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/opinion/3376585/Don-t-believe-everything-you-hear-about-Wellington-parking-wardens

In case the above link does not come through, just go to "Stuff" & do a search for "Don't believe everything you hear about Wellington parking wardens".

Jon Visser

In the article I linked to it states "He said those numbers were guidelines and it was understood ticket numbers would vary every year." and this was attributed to a WCC spokesman Richard MacLean but it was not listed as a direct quote. The article you linked to says nothing to suggest that the journalist was wrong when he wrote this.

So are you are saying this is incorrect and that Richard MacLean was wrong when he said this?

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

WCCParking

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#417719 15-Dec-2010 15:54

graemeh:

If only they could extend their powers to giving drivers tickets for running red lights and not stopping for pedestrian crossings, they would make a fortune from the bus company alone.

There is a red light camera trial underway elsewhere in New Zealand which will assist in modifying NZ legislation to enable this. Red light running is a serious safety issue that we want to address. Until legislation is changed, red light cameras are not possible. In many cases, the pulling over of vehicles to issue a ticket to the driver in person (since it is not legally possible to issue a ticket to the vehicle owner for this type of offence) is practically impossible in a busy urban environment and probably just as dangerous to adjacent traffic if done on a regular basis.

Jon Visser

gehenna

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#417722 15-Dec-2010 15:57

Jon: Thanks for the comments. What is the official position/recommendation for picking someone up/dropping someone off? As there are no designated areas for doing so, how are members of the public expected to do this?

graemeh

2078 posts

Uber Geek

#417725 15-Dec-2010 15:58

WCCParking:
graemeh:

If only they could extend their powers to giving drivers tickets for running red lights and not stopping for pedestrian crossings, they would make a fortune from the bus company alone.

There is a red light camera trial underway elsewhere in New Zealand which will assist in modifying NZ legislation to enable this. Red light running is a serious safety issue that we want to address. Until legislation is changed, red light cameras are not possible. In many cases, the pulling over of vehicles to issue a ticket to the driver in person (since it is not legally possible to issue a ticket to the vehicle owner for this type of offence) is practically impossible in a busy urban environment and probably just as dangerous to adjacent traffic if done on a regular basis.

Jon Visser

Thanks, I can see how not being able to just issue the ticket to the owner would be a huge problem for enforcing this.

WCCParking

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#417739 15-Dec-2010 16:25

graemeh:
In the article I linked to it states "He said those numbers were guidelines and it was understood ticket numbers would vary every year." and this was attributed to a WCC spokesman Richard MacLean but it was not listed as a direct quote. The article you linked to says nothing to suggest that the journalist was wrong when he wrote this.

So are you are saying this is incorrect and that Richard MacLean was wrong when he said this?

The "ticket numbers" that Richard MacLean is referring to does not relate to any expectation on an individual warden. In our Council's Annual Plan we must show what we intend to spend or earn from our various activities, including parking services. While we do budget income from parking fees and tickets, that does not mean it becomes a "target". Rather, it reflects that we do expect there to be a certain level of offending occurring that we need to deal with every year, and it would not be prudent to budget "zero" income from enforcement. This budget changes and does go up or down from year to year, but is not passed on to our contractor as a target.

The only "targets" that we have in place with out contractor relate to quality and standards of service.

In relation to what we expect from wardens, it would be fair to say that we don't expect them to sit on a park bench all day doing nothing. If they do that, they are likely to face disciplinary issues regarding their performance (that would be true for most jobs I would think), and if they get fired for such non-performance then they can become a disgruntled ex-employee that writes misleading letters to the Dom Post...

However, it is also fair to say that a lot of wardens do very nice things for people during their shifts (e.g. helping to carry a bed up a long flight of stairs, helping to change a nappy for a distraught mother, administering first aid at accidents, directing tourists, helping people to find vacant parking spaces etc - these are all real examples) and if, as a consequence, they issue less tickets that day than they normally would this is rewarded for showing excellent customer service (not penalised). How many tickets they do issue is entirely up to them, and usually depends on many factors such as what they encounter, which part of the city they are working in, how fast they can walk etc.

Jon Visser

WCCParking

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#417741 15-Dec-2010 16:35

gehenna: Jon: Thanks for the comments. What is the official position/recommendation for picking someone up/dropping someone off? As there are no designated areas for doing so, how are members of the public expected to do this?

There are designated areas for doing this - they are called parking spaces. The middle of the road is deffinitely not designated for this purpose. There are usually plenty of spaces around, on both public and private property, though this may require some walking on the part of the pedestrian.

Rather than planning to meet in a location where it will be very difficult for the driver to find a safe and legal place to stop, people should always plan to be picked up in locations where it is a lot safer to do so and spaces are typically available.

Jon Visser

gehenna

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#417746 15-Dec-2010 16:46

WCCParking: spaces are typically available.

Jon Visser

I really have to challenge that part of your comment. Wellington central is notoriously bad for available parking spaces, especially around 4pm-6pm. Driving around the immediate area to find one is also unrealistic at this time of day considering what might be a 1 minute drive around the block turns into a 15 minute drive between 4pm-6pm. There really needs to be some discussion around this as if (as I believe) my situation is not uncommon, then a lot of disgruntled ratepayers will be raising the same concerns in the near future.

StarBlazer

961 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#417751 15-Dec-2010 16:50

gehenna:
WCCParking: spaces are typically available.

Jon Visser

I really have to challenge that part of your comment. Wellington central is notoriously bad for available parking spaces, especially around 4pm-6pm. Driving around the immediate area to find one is also unrealistic at this time of day considering what might be a 1 minute drive around the block turns into a 15 minute drive between 4pm-6pm. There really needs to be some discussion around this as if (as I believe) my situation is not uncommon, then a lot of disgruntled ratepayers will be raising the same concerns in the near future.

Gehenna makes a good point - why can you not have designated pick-up/drop-off areas around the city in the same way as at the airport?

Put CCTV on the area and fine anyone who is there for more than 5 minutes or when the driver leaves the vehicle. Two or three of theses dotted around the CBD would work wonders :-)

Procrastination eventually pays off.

WCCParking

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#417764 15-Dec-2010 17:10

gehenna:
WCCParking: spaces are typically available.

Jon Visser

I really have to challenge that part of your comment. Wellington central is notoriously bad for available parking spaces, especially around 4pm-6pm. Driving around the immediate area to find one is also unrealistic at this time of day considering what might be a 1 minute drive around the block turns into a 15 minute drive between 4pm-6pm. There really needs to be some discussion around this as if (as I believe) my situation is not uncommon, then a lot of disgruntled ratepayers will be raising the same concerns in the near future.

That is exactly the point I was trying to get across. If you try to do a pickup in the central CBD during peak hours, it's dangerous, takes ages to get through by car and there's usually nowhere to stop. However, you only need to walk one block towards the periphery of the CBD (e.g. the Michael Fowler Centre car park and 'designated' pickup/dropoff area) and it is not only safer for the person being picked up, but it's also a lot quicker and easier for the driver (i.e. reduces congestion). There are already many such locations around the city - MFC, Railway Station, Parliament, several locations along the waterfront, the parking lay-bys along Victoria Street and in Courtenay Place, New World in Chaffers St, parking garages, all the service station forecourts etc. but to name a few.

Some people seem to have this funny notion that they should be allowed/able to stop and park right outside their destination at all times regardless of the needs of all the other people they share the public road with - if only we had the room to accommodate everyone's needs...

Jon Visser

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