Sir,
I am sure that all the good folk of Tenby who like me skidded and slid their way through the untreated snow and ice covered roads and pavements to support our local shops just prior to Christmas truly appreciate the role of the new traffic patrol officers. They can do what the worst of the weather couldn't by keeping the shops, pubs and restaurants clear of customers.
At a time when all other local authorities in Wales are doing all they can to keep their town centres alive by encouraging more shoppers into our town and city centres and preventing the spread of out-of-town developments, Pembrokeshire does its best to drive them away.
Hundreds of local people supporting local shops have already received parking fines.
Parking a car in a normally empty loading bay on a wet Sunday afternoon now costs £70 (yes I've had mine).
Apparently, the sight of a nice empty row of parking bays in winter is far preferable to pubs and shops full of customers and people earning a living.
Stopping to pick-up a newspaper from a struggling newsagent or a bag of chips from a fish and chip shop employing local people can now cost the same as a week's dole money. Which is by coincidence where many proprietors and their staff will soon be heading. A stung customer does not come back.
For a town dependent on tourism for its prosperity, surely common sense would suggest looking at increasing free parking, not discouraging visitors and locals.
Does the town really need so many double yellow lines?
Many believe that we have not yet seen the worst of the recession. How many people drive through and away from Tenby because they could not park. What is certain is those that get a ticket will not be coming back or recommending a visit to their friends.
As frustration mounts, there is a light on the horizon. The wardens may be here to stay, but the councillors who brought them into existence will all be facing an election in just over a year's time. Their future might not be quite so secure.
Allan Morris,