Are Greenwich’s traffic wardens targeting “easy” areas?

After many years of parking budget deficits and  few civil enforcement officers  Greenwich Council recently hired 10 agency staff after 130 London bus drivers complained of unsafe road conditions due to parking problems.

Since then the authority has stated that it’s issuing more tickets than ever before – but increasingly people are emailing about the locations of staff seen.

Of course this is purely speculative at this stage and any feedback would be welcome (leave a comment below or email fromthemurkydepths@gmail.com with pics) but are areas of dangerous parking still being put behind cars in parking zones or car parks overstaying by a few minutes?



Today I was emailed by a Greenwich resident showing a number of wardens ticketing cars near the half marathon. The resident claimed people were unable to access cars due to the half marathon (the particular road itself wasn’t on the marathon route but nearby) and while that the event was underway a number of wardens arrived – a very rare site in Greenwich borough.

Meanwhile, with traffic extremely heavy due to the marathon and Dartford crossing closure, an area on Woolwich Road a mile or two away that sees numerous cars blocking cycle lanes on a dual carriageway is again full of parked cars.

Courtesy TfL

Despite numerous reports about this area the same thing continues on a daily basis unchecked. On Twitter a couple of weeks ago a cyclist uploaded a video of 30 cars parked. Councillors and Greenwich Council were tagged in. Little has happened.



Targeting easy areas has long been apparent. Even before 10 staff were hired a trip to Greenwich town centre would usually see wardens at car parks (but not often on roads where parking hampered buses and traffic and where poorly parked cars were putting pedestrians in harms way) whilst other areas of the borough had almost no presence.

Greenwich have claimed they are now “robust” at Plumstead station, for example, which turned out to mean less than one ticket on average per day. Five a week since December.

They may have more wardens but are they still ignoring certain areas? Feedback below welcome.

EDIT: Two minutes after posting this someone tweeted showing numerous cars badly parked on Eltham High Street. Another area of chronic poor parking which has also damaged areas of £6.5 million street upgrade scheme only finished last year. 

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J Smith

I've lived in south east London most of my life growing up in Greenwich borough and working in the area for many years. The site has contributors on occasion and we cover many different topics. Living and working in the area offers an insight into what is happening locally.

9 thoughts on “Are Greenwich’s traffic wardens targeting “easy” areas?

  • Yes eltham high street is a mess in terms of parking, but rather than wardens they could easily deal with that via CCTV and number plate recognition, that way it would be a constant deterrent. They really need to increase use of technology, for example in redbridge you have cars going around with cameras and get fines through the post. Even for things like leaving building material in the road, blocking the road with bins, inconsiderate parking, etc.

    Reply
  • Herbert Rd regularly blocked by cars on double yellow. Last week saw bus get hit by wing mirror of car trying to find a way past.

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  • The other day I saw a Traffic Warden walking down Wellington Street, basically just strolling, not doing a thing, while over on Woolwich New Road there were many cars parked up outside the Church, some parked across dropped curbs, as far up as the bus stop at Claydown Mews! This is an area that’s rarely enforced, and I’m surprised the bus drivers haven’t petitioned it along with Plumbstead Station!

    Reply
  • Not long ago I watched one of the enforcement officers trying to convince an elderly gentleman to leave his car and speak to him (the officer) as he was parked on the single yellow outside Lidl. The old chap was trying to explain something and looked quite distressed. I went to enquire and the chap explained his blood sugar had run low and his wife had gone to the little Polish shop to buy him a soft drink. He’d been sitting at the wheel to prevent getting a ticket – and this is why the officer was trying to get him out of the car.

    Needless to say I told the officer he had no right to prey upon a confused and vulnerable person to which he simply shrugged and said he had every right as he was an enforcement officer. To make himself clearer he summoned his other goon and tried to read me the riot act, going so far as to remind me I was on CCTV and any attempt to provoke him would result in the police being called. If they’re all trained like this one they’ll avoid anyone who can give them an earful (ie: most of Plumstead and Eltham) and stick to pensioners or mums with kids or a pushchair.

    Reply
    • I hope the Wardens reported this man to the DVLA. Any driver who has a diabetic episode leaving him “confused” and “vulnerable” and unable to drive without treatment is a menace on the road , in my view. Had I been there I would have asked him to refer himself to his GP. I don’t know where the law stands on this.

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    • Karma gonna bite back to that enforcement officer… not only CCTV was watching. Hope the elderly man had his soft drink soon and got well

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  • Certain areas are definitely given a free pass. Many near religious buildings. Walk past them every day or week in the very same spots and see how no tickets given. Now is that policy and if so why is the law not being applied equally?

    Ironically I don’t think God would approve of the selfish parking seen near those buildings full of people worshiping him.

    Reply
  • Agree with all comments posted so far, Herbert Road and by Plumstead Station are still go-to areas. Lakedale Road by the Tescos is an absolute joke too.

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  • I was moving home and we were unloading in a permit bay. Now by law we are allowed to unload for 20 minutes, but a bored warden came over after 5 minutes, he had no idea how long we were there though. A bit of back and forth and we were made to move, though had nearly finished at this point. I was losing it but the removal guys were great and kept their cool in the face of a fine.

    Reply

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