A Cape Town city councillor is to discuss flexibility in the law with traffic authorities after they towed away 41 cars during the early hours of Saturday morning for parking illegally, leaving late-night party-goers stranded. What do you think of this action?
A Cape Town city councillor is to discuss flexibility in the law with traffic authorities after they towed away 41 cars during the early hours of Saturday morning for parking illegally, leaving late-night party-goers stranded.
City Bowl city councillor Belinda Walker told the she understood that the law needed to be obeyed, but there should be some degree of flexibility.
“Traffic cops have to make allowances for the fact that people won’t have the necessary cash on hand. A good idea would be to put up signs warning people their cars will be taken away if they park illegally,” said Walker.
The motorists had parked in side streets, which are mainly deserted at night, near the popular Long Street nightspots. After leaving the clubs early in the morning their vehicles were gone. Many thought the cars had been stolen, but later found out that they had been impounded.
The motorists had to pay R400 at the traffic department in Green Point to get their vehicles released and R350 for parking illegally. Many did not have the money and had to call for lifts or walk home.
“We have been parking in these streets for years. It is after hours and our cars pose no problem to non-existent traffic. If they did not want us to park there, why did they not put up signs? They are putting people’s lives at risk,” a motorist told the newspaper.
Another motorist said luckily she had enough money to get her car released. “Other people certainly didn’t have the money. I was fortunate because a police sergeant felt sorry for me. He was shocked at what was happening and offered me a lift to Gallows Hill. I saw other people hitchhiking. It is ridiculous and dangerous to expect people, especially young girls, to walk to Green Point,” she said.
The traffic department said it was within its right to remove the vehicles. “The law is the law. If you park in such a way that it inconveniences other road users, you must suffer the inconvenience,” said traffic spokesman Heathcliff Thomas.
“Every single impounded vehicle was causing an obstruction or was endangering other road users. The law does not differentiate between times of day. There were instances where midi-buses, that had been hired to bring groups of people to the city centre, could not turn into side roads.”
What do you think of this action?