Anyone remember when policemen (and women) stood on point duty, to keep the traffic moving when local snarl-ups were experienced?The scores of us who sit in cars, vans and lorries on the almost-gridlocked A18 in Brigg, particularly on Thursdays (yesterday was bad), might have reason to ask whether a PCSO/PC might be deployed to direct traffic at local level.
The worst area is definitely around The Monument, where unwary or unthinking, drivers block the exits to Bigby Road and Bigby Street.
They wouldn’t if someone was standing there in uniform, taking charge of the localised difficulty.
Compared to today there were very few cars on our roads in the 1960s and 1970s but police/traffic wardens turned out on point duty.
Anyone know whether the new breed of traffic enforcement officers is permitted to direct traffic? If so, North Lincolnshire Council only needs to send a member of staff out to walk a few yards from its Hewson House office block to see whether near-gridlock is being experienced and an enforcement officer or two is called for.
Ken Harrison (pictured above), our friend from Wrawby, penned a fine letter on the topic of traffic bottlenecks in Brigg, which appeared recently in the Scunthorpe Telegraph. Though we can't recall him mentioning point duty.
Evening all!
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ReplyDeleteThe Civil Enforcement Officer will not be permitted to direct traffic, Nige......as they, as their position indicates, they are 'Civil', ie controlled by the Council (although there is an exception, see below).
Very few categories of people are legally empowered to control/stop traffic. For example, police (this would include actual police, the old-fashioned police employed traffic wardens and, I assume, PSCO's); Custom Officers and Lollipop people (employed by the Council).
Anyone failing to comply with the directions of the above folks are committing a criminal offence..and could get points on their licence.
(North Lincs' basic parking offences are now a civil matter and offenders may get fined, but they would not now get points on licence.)
Essentially, the CEO's patrol basic parking infringements; the police retain control over moving traffic offences and such things like obstruction (ie parking on the pavement and parking on school's yellow lines)....
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ken. Further to your letter in the Scunthorpe Telegraph about gridlock (notably at times when council staff leave en masse from Hewson House) do you agree with my point about a bit of point duty for the PCSOs being in order? If we had a uniformed presence in the vicinity of The Monument at peak times (eg on Thursday) it would deter those motorists who block the roundabout.
ReplyDelete