Disclaimer: The following conversation did not happen.
It is fictional, between two fictional Dundee parking attendants – seasoned ticketer, Jim, and his new apprentice, Bob.
But, if you were on Euclid Crescent at 3.55pm on Monday, you’ll also know the dialogue is not beyond the realms of possibility.
It is 3.15pm and an alarm sounds in the Dundee traffic wardens office.
Jim gets to his feet and stretches.
Jim: “Right Bob, it’s time.”
Bob: “Time for what, Jim?”
Jim: “Time to get some four-by-fours.”
Bob: “Four-by-fours Jim?”
Jim: “That’s right, Bob. You’ll never have seen so many Range Rovers on one street.”
Jim rubs his hands.
Jim: “Let’s ticket some pilates mums!”
Bob: “Do you mean the High School of Dundee, Jim?”
Jim: “Bingo, Bob. It’s pick up time. £50 on the spot, up to £100 after a fortnight.”
Bob: “But Jim, isn’t Bell Street Car Park where they are normally allowed to park free for a short period of time, closed for 20 months?”
Jim: “Yes Bob.”
Bob: “And won’t they get a shock when they see Ward Road, where they park as an alternative, is also all blocked off?”
Jim: “Yes Bob.”
Bob: “So there’s nowhere for them to park – apart from a few spaces outside the school?”
Jim: “Exactly. And if they expect to double park for even a minute, they’ve got another thing coming.
Bob looks down and shuffles his shoes, before finding his voice.
Bob: “Do we do this at any other school Jim? I mean… I have pals who went to the High. They didn’t have Range Rovers and their mums didn’t do pilates.”
Jim: “What’s pilates got to do with it?”
Bob: “You said..never mind. What I mean is – do we go to any other school at bell time when we know the usual parking is off limits – and pounce?”
Jim: “What? Well, no, but…look, you’re starting to get on my nerves. We’re just doing our job. What are they going to do? Complain on the council’s website?”
Jim opens the door and ushers Bob out, his wa-ha-ha laugh echoing down the corridors.
Parents fined at High School of Dundee pick-up time
While the above is imagined, the actual facts of Monday afternoon, that I saw, are these:
Two traffic wardens stood in wait at pick up time at the High School of Dundee.
Parking at a city centre school is never easy but the council allows parents to use Bell Street. Bell Street is closed.
Monday presented a new and unforeseen challenge – Ward Road around the corner was cordoned off too.
Parents arrived, parked on double yellows and were told to move on or be ticketed.
One mum protested: “If I go five minutes to the nearest space, I’ll miss pick-up.
“I’m not parking to go for a coffee. My youngest is six. She’ll worry if I’m not there. I can be back in two minutes.”
The warden said no.
The mum pointed out that wardens usually allow five minutes grace to collect a child. This warden still said no.
He was also approaching cars driving slowly and telling them to move on.
One dad said he had driven round the block eight times, in a low emission zone with the aim of having clean air.
“I just want to pick up my grandchild safely,” a grandmother said.
“There is no available parking anywhere close. The bell’s about to go. I trust you are targeting every school in Dundee in a similar way?”
Maybe other schools are targeted similarly. I don’t see it as I drive past them but you can put me right if I’m wrong.
The safety of children, any empathy or reasonableness was replaced by something that felt incredibly orchestrated.
Parents complained – in their droves – via the council link.
Maybe it worked, for the next day, there were no wardens. But it will happen again and most probably when nearby parking is suddenly off-limits.
Explain to a child that you have to pay to park on a road and you realise it’s an odd concept, as they look confused and ask why?
Dundee parking fines brought in £2.5m
But pay we must, and do, and appreciate that attendants are doing a job – most are fair.
A recent freedom of information request by The Courier showed more than 25,000 parking tickets were issued by the local authority between January and November 2024 – and that parking fines brought in more than £2.5 million.
I’d imagine no freedom of information request will ever say how it was spent.
And yet some parents say they have been given fines on surrounding streets even when they’ve paid on the app JustPark. You face the possibility of a fine no matter what you do – correct space or incorrect space; paying or not. How is that allowed?
Unfairness should always be called out – no matter who it is being aimed at.
As a work-group that no doubt face unfair targeting themselves from angry people when just doing their jobs, you’d think attendants would agree.
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