Traffic warden for town to be appointed in the new year

Lerwick is to get a new traffic warden early in the new year, chief inspector David Bushell has confirmed.

Mr Bushell said he was in the “fairly advanced stages” of putting a warden in place and was hoping to be able to put out an advert for a position involving “a number of hours a week” within the next few weeks.The last traffic warden in Lerwick left his post in 2007 and has never been replaced. It has led to complaints from councillors and members of the public concerned that cars are often wrongly parked in the town centre because owners are well aware that they will not get caught.

The news was welcomed by Lerwick South councillor Gussie Angus, who has previously raised his concern about the impact the absence of a warden was having.

He said: “It’s very good news indeed, because the parking in Lerwick has been getting more and more inventive and more and more congested. I’m very pleased indeed, as I’m sure Lerwick Community Council will be.”

Previously the police have said that their limited resources would be better diverted towards having more police officers who enforce traffic regulations themselves. Mr Bushell said officers have been issuing tickets and moving cars on in the town centre but that he accepted there was a need for a more formal arrangement to be put in place.

But he said he had been able to identify resources to fund the post without a negative impact on the number of police officers.

“I think it will be good news for the town in helping to keep traffic in check,” he continued. “I’m a good juggler. I recognise there’s a need for us to have some traffic warden cover and I’ve managed to arrange so that we do have cover, but not at the expense of police officers.”