POLICE and residents in Clitheroe have declared decriminalised parking a success after wardens issued more than 330 tickets in six weeks.
Many householders in town centre streets feared traffic chaos when Ribble Valley Council-appointed wardens took to the streets for the first time on September 6.
But residents have reported many streets clear of traffic.
And fears that restrictions would force motorists into non-restricted roads have proved largely unfounded.
Ribble Valley Council, which enforces the scheme, said 335 tickets had been issued since the scheme started, amounting to an average of 55 £30 fines a week. This compares to an average of 836 in each of Lancashire's 12 boroughs since the scheme was launched. A total of 10,042 tickets have been issued, with roughly half of them in East Lancashire.
The county council, which is working with the 12 district councils including Hyndburn, Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale, took over on-street parking enforcement from the police and has employed car parks firm NCP to recruit staff.
Ribble Valley Council employed three of its own wardens after opting out of the NCP-run scheme.
Retired couple Peter and Marion Miller, of Church Brow Gardens, off Church Brow, expected the restrictions to force more vehicles into their non-restricted road.
But Marion said the opposite has happened: "As far as this street is concerned it has been a resounding success.
"I don't know where the cars are going, but they're not parking here.
"We just hope they continue to issue tickets." Insp Bob Ford, of Clitheroe police, said: "There seems to be less indiscriminate parking in the town centre, probably due to the high visibility wardens."
Mick Hargreaves, senior parking attendant at the council, said motorists are beginning to heed the newly enforced rules.
He said: "There seems to be more parking available in the street and in general things are improving. Some people are even coming up to us saying we're doing a good job - that has to be a first!"
A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said the number of tickets issued in the 12 authorities taking part has varied from just below 100 to more than 1,000.
He added: "The variation is explained by the mixture of rural and urban areas that make up the different enforcement areas."
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