Last summer we had a terrible time on our main road; cars, motorbikes, and even quad bikes were roaring up and down the road at all hours. At times it genuinely felt like certain people were using it as their own personal race track.
I mentioned it to our local Liberal Democrat councillor and, to be fair, within days they had contacted the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police and managed to get the road designated as a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) zone.
PSPO zones are designed to tackle anti-social behaviour in specific areas. They can cover things like nuisance driving, public drinking, begging, intimidation, and other behaviour that affects local residents. Breaching a PSPO can lead to fixed penalty notices, fines of up to £1,000, or even prosecution.
From what I understand these zones normally last for three years, although they can be renewed if the problems continue.
But it did get me thinking...
Why do we wait until residents complain before action is taken? Should busy residential roads, shopping areas, and city centres automatically have some form of PSPO protection in place from the start?
I’m sure there’s a cost involved in creating and enforcing these zones, but in our area it genuinely seems to have worked. The road is noticeably quieter and calmer now.
So if they work this well, why not use them far more widely?
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