BETTER signage is needed in parts of Morpeth to warn people of parking restrictions, traders say.
Complaints were made at a meeting of Morpeth and District Chamber of Trade that too many people are picking up fines because they are not aware of where they can and can’t park.
Member Les Sage said there is a particular problem in Oldgate, where it is residents’ parking only.
“I feel absolutely sorry for people parking in Oldgate,” he said.
“I watch people on a Sunday morning going to the Catholic church and the wardens must think ‘here is another £200’.
“It is free parking on a Sunday so nobody is parking there to rob the council of charges, but the county council seems to be able to put signs up 12ft high saying ‘residents’ parking’. There are certain areas of Oldgate where you could drive down, park your car and never see the signs.
“I just feel sorry for people. They are getting tickets just for going to church. They haven’t said ‘I’m going to rob the council’, it is just that they don’t realise they are residential bays.”
Concerns were also raised about signs in Newgate Street being twisted around so that drivers can’t see them.
County Parking Manager Lynne Ryan said: “There are very strict regulations about the size of signs. I will take it up with the officer responsible for signage, but it is very strict in terms of the distance between signs and the size of them.”