Jamie at Audiences Central has blogged about something interesting which makes me wonder which is more likely:
- Traffic wardens are routinely told to wander around abandoned industrial units in Ladywood at night looking for cars to ticket; or
- Visitors to (the nationally acclaimed) Birmingham Opera Company’s King Idomeneo are being opportunistically targetted by the city’s traffic wardens.
After hearing council leader Mike Whitby expound on the importance of the arts in the city last night I sincerely hope it’s not the latter.
Now, fair enough, a double-yellow’s a double-yellow and there’s a fire station a couple of roads away that it wouldn’t be very smart to block off. But why does the response have to be to send people to ticket the cars (and rake in the cash) night after night? Those streets surround derelict buildings and are deserted in the evenings so surely there’s a more constructive solution.
I understand the Opera Company have actually been managing the limited parking availability as well as possible – stewards are telling people where not to park and they’ve put on buses from the Town Hall – so there’s a sense of satisfaction when the wardens (allegedly responding to ‘a complaint’) are unable to ticket anyone. Maybe, in hindsight, the Company should have contacted the council themselves to put extra arrangements in place.
Birmingham Opera Company are busting a gut to do something spectacular, putting Birmingham on the map (for the right reasons) and providing something genuinely exciting to attract new audiences and people from outside the city.
Why on earth would anyone from the city want to stand in their way?
By the way, I’ve tried to be a proper journo about this and have called the council’s press office for a response but I’m still waiting for that and, heck, there’s a comment box below. If I do hear back from anyone I’ll update this post.
Oh, and the final performances of King Idomeneo are tonight and tomorrow – if you’ve not gone yet then please do, it’s great.
I’m not sure “putting birmingham on the map” is the wisest choice of words when mentioning THAT story…
p.s. the website field on your comments entry form isn’t big enough to fit my blog’s URL in, boo!
They do the same thing outside football games every week. Wait for people to park and go inside and then send the lorries around to carry you all away to the pound. Its real robber-baron behaviour on the part of the council or their hirelings!
It’s not as if the law on parking on double yellow line isn’t clear tho’ is it?
If you decide to risk it you take your chances.
Sure, ticketing as many cars as possible is the technically correct thing to do. I just reckon if that’s what was happening here it was a bit short-sighted.
Thing is there aren’t grades of law here — the double yellow lines have been put there for a reason (possibly they should be single ones with daytime only restrictions, but I don’t know the area or the circumstances in which they were set up). The parking attendants don’t have the power to decide.
I woudn’t park on a double yellow line – they’re normally there for a reason.
Quite right, the law was applied. As I said in the original post there can be no argument with that. I’m not blaming the attendants.
My point is that there was surely a more constructive solution that would’ve created less resentment and frustration – daytime restrictions would be a great example. That decision would have to be taken higher up – surely someone was sending those attendants down their every evening of the performance.
Besides, it seems the Opera folks didn’t forsee the problem, forcing the transport folks to react to it. That lack of planning is up for as much criticism as the transport dept’s reaction.
I’m playing Devil’s Advocate really Chris. I’ll be interested to see what the council say – after all do you know any council department that reacts to anything this quickly ;)
I have to hold my hand up here and say I have subsequently found out that that quite industrial estate is an entrance and exit slip road to a nearby fire station…
… I think benefit of the doubt might be the one here… oops
I know Birmingham Opera company did everything they could to lay on transport and inform attendees including informing them on the night.