Council 'actively recruiting' parking enforcement officers to increase patrols in Sunderland

Sunderland City Council says it is "actively recruiting" more traffic wardens to combat parking issues across the city.

The Echo has been contacted on a number of occasions about drivers routinely ignoring double yellow lines and other road markings, creating danger for pedestrians and other road users.

Hotspots include the Burn Park area of Durham Road, the shopping section of Chester Road, Roker, Fulwell and Villette Road.

In April a resident of St George's Terrace in Roker shared data acquired, under Freedom of Information, on the number of CEOs (civil enforcement officers, commonly referred to as traffic wardens) on duty during each day of the first three months of 2024.

This revealed that zero CEOs worked in the whole of the city on eight of the 91 days, with just one working on 19 days. The average was 2.5 CEOs per day.

Now, another reader has raised the issue of dangerous parking around Hill View Infant Academy on Helvellyn Road, "with vehicles frequently double-parked, encroaching on yellow zigzag lines and obstructing driveways."

Conservative councillor Lyall Reed represents the area and said: "Hill View, as well as many other schools across my ward and the wider city, suffers from bad school time parking issues that seriously impact local residents.

"Recently I have met with many residents from Hill View to talk about this issue and how best we can go forward.

"When I was a child walking to Hill View Infants I was wiped out by a car and taken to hospital so making our roads safer for residents and children is a personal mission for me.

"I have called for the council to hire more parking wardens countless times, which would mean that our streets can be properly patrolled during peak school times.

"I call on the council again to invest more into tackling bad school time parking with a comprehensive approach: more traffic wardens, increased school time patrols, get the mobile camera car out and about to catch and fine bad parking on our streets and introduce the School Street Scheme in key areas which Labour have delayed by several months."

A Sunderland City Council statement said: "Parking restrictions outside of schools exist for a reason; to keep children safe as they enter and leave school.

"Parking in these restricted zones can cause all kinds of problems from blocking pedestrians’ views of the roads to preventing emergency vehicles from accessing the school if needed.

"Our officers routinely visit school sites throughout the city, including around Hill View to enforce the School keep clear markings.

"This includes visits from civil enforcement officers on foot and patrols in our road safety vehicle, which visits schools on a rotational basis and captures evidence of motorists who contravene the School keep clear restrictions.

"The council also works closely with schools across the city to create travel plans that can help to reduce inconsiderate parking and promote safer, sustainable, travel such as walking and cycling.

"The travel plans also have an educational element that highlight the importance of safe parking around schools and how this helps maintain road safety for children.

"We are actively recruiting for additional Civil Enforcement Officers to increase the number of patrols."