Traffic Wardens

 

I am so sick of traffic wardens that don't show any common sense. I park my car in Lurgan town centre, admittedly in a delivery space because it's the only one available, to deliver the post for the shops and businesses in the town and this is the conversation I have with a traffic warden:

TW: How long will you be?

ME: Half an hour or so.

TW: You'll have to move.

ME: I have to deliver the town's post.

TW: I understand that, but these spaces are for deliveries only.

ME: I am delivering.

TW: Well, you'll have to move.

ME: Why?

TW: These spaces are for deliveries only.

ME: I am delivering.

TW: If you were in a van it would be okay.

ME: What difference would a van make?

TW: Then I would know you were delivering the post.

I point out my Royal Mail uniform and show him the huge pile of post I'm putting into my postbag.

TW: I'm sorry you can't park here.

ME: Where would you suggest I park?

TW: You can't park here.

Honest to God, I had to park a ten minute walk away from the town. It's especially annoying when you're lugging a heavy mailbag. Where's the common sense? Just let me go about my business, I'm not disrupting the town, I'm pretty sure the businesses want their mail. Where the hell am I supposed to park? For some God forsaken reason the whole town has been dug up and all of the parking spaces have been paved over with unnecessary footpaths.

It's funny, until this year I think I'd probably seen about three traffic wardens in my life. Now in Portadown and Lurgan, with all the parking spaces removed and people having little or no choice but to occasionally park illegally, there are teams of about half a dozen traffic wardens within a quarter mile radius handing out tickets left, right and centre. Could this be the reason for the inexplicable redevelopment of Portadown and Lurgan's town centres? Total con.