Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hi,

Any help with this PCN would be much appreciated. I was given this around 10am on Tuesday 18th July 2023.

I was parked outside my house on a cycle lane.

I parked there as parking in the road would have impeded traffic (although there are no yellow lines or parking restrictions).

The night before, I briefly searched on google to see if parking in a cycle lane was illegal. My brief search implied it was not.

However, I was given a code 62: parked with one or more wheels on or over a footpath or any part of a road other than a carriageway.

I wasn't aware of the rules about parking with wheels on the kerb were specific to London.

It should be noted that (moving from the road to my front garden) there is the road (with no parking restrictions), then the raised pavement with the cycle lane outside my house (where my car was parked, between, but not over my neighbours crossovers), then a grass verge, then a footpath, then my front garden.

PCN photos below (front and back):

PCN Front

PCN Back

photos taken by parking warden:

warden photo 1

warden photo 2

warden photo 3

warden photo 4

google street view location:

https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4257764,0.0...i8192?entry=ttu

Thanks very much for your help in advance

Hi,

Thanks for you help.

The front and back of the PCN are the first two links in the original post.

Cheers

Thanks very much for your advice, cp8759.

I've just submitted my appeal (online) as the following:

"Dear sir or madam,

The alleged contravention is "Parked with one or more wheels on or over a footpath or any part of a road other than a carriageway".

As can be seen by the parking warden's photos, the car is plainly not parked on the footpath.

A cycle lane or track is by definition a carriageway, because cycles are (just like cars) simply a particular type of carriage.

Please cancel the PCN as it has been issued incorrectly.

Kind regards,

Thomas Maxwell-Aylwin"

I've also attached a couple of files. A PDF of the URL (text) of the google maps location I had on this post and an annotated  picture (screenshot) of the location (attached to this post).

I'll let you know of any developments.

Thanks again for your help,

Thomas

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Can cars motor along a footway? No, they can't because it's not a carriageway!

Yes it is, it might be a carriageway where motorised carriages are not permitted but that doesn't mean it's not a carriageway at all.

People seem to forget but bicycles, unicycles, horse-drawn carriages, cars, scooters, mopeds, HGVs, all are "carriages" for the purposes of the Highways Act.

LATOR does not apply to the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1974 so we can't use it.

Hi,

I received a letter from Bromley Parking Services today:

Bromley
THE LONDON BOROUGH

Our Ref: BY20081824

121211L573049000073

Mr Thomas Maxwell-Aylwin
13 Red Hill
Chislehurst
Kent
BR76D8

22/09/2023

Dear Mr Maxwell-Aylwin,

Traffic Management Act 2004 (as amended)

Penalty Charge Notice number: BY20081824
Vehicle Registration: MX15WEL
Contravention Date: 18/07/2023
Contravention Time: 10:06
Location: ELMSTEAD LANE, CHISLEHURST

Notice of Rejection of Challenge

Thank you for your recent communication in connection with the above Penalty Charge Notice (PCN).

The PCN was issued as your vehicle was parked with one or more wheels on any part of the road other than a carriageway.

Having reviewed the case, we have decided not to cancel the PCN. The reasons for our decision and the options available to you at this stage are set out below.

Your correspondence indicates that you were not aware of the restriction and we are therefore required to check the clarity and accuracy of the footway parking at ELMSTEAD LANE, CHISLEHURST.

Parking on the footway has been banned across London since 1985. It is only permitted in areas exempted by the Local Authority, and there must be blue signs showing how you may park. There is no requirement for signage where there are no exemptions as the ban is London wide.

In some Bromley roads white marked bays are provided to confirm exactly where exemptions apply, however, there are also roads where an area of the footway has been made exempt and there are no white marked bays. If white marked bays are provided, then you must ensure that you park fully within said bays to be exempt from the ban. Footway parking exemption bays are only ever marked on the flat sections of the pavement, never on dropped footway sections, cycle lanes or grass verges etc.

Having checked the photographic evidence available for this case, we are satisfied that the signs/lines are correct and in line with the regulations.

If you would like to view the evidence we have in relation to this notice, then please logon to: www.bromley.qov.uk/parking and follow links to pay/appeal your PCN. When prompted, enter your PCN number and vehicle registration details, the available evidence can then be accessed using the 'View Evidence' button towards the bottom of the screen.

Going forward

The discount payment amount of £55.00 has been reinstated so you can pay and close the case. You have 14 days from the date of this letter being served to do this. This Notice will be taken to have been served on the second working day after the date of posting (shown above) unless you can show that it was not.

You can pay £110.00 if you pay outside this period. You have 28 days from the date of this Notice being served to do this.

Alternatively, if you wish to make formal representations regarding the PCN you will need to wait for the Notice to Owner (NtO) to be sent to the registered keeper of the vehicle. They will then be able to submit formal representations to the Council.

Act now

If, after 28 days, you have taken no action, we will send the NtO to the registered keeper of the vehicle. They will then have 28 days to pay the charge or submit formal representations against the PCN to the Council.

How to pay

Payments can be made:

• By Phone: 0330 088 4681 (24hrs debit/credit card) (Please have your PCN and credit/debit card ready). You may make payment with most major credit or debit cards (not Diners Card or American Express).

• Online at: www.bromley.qov.uk/parking

• By Post to: Bromley Parking Services, PO Box 1166, Wellington House, Uxbridge, 8 9BD. Please do not send cash by post. Cheques and postal orders should be
made payable to 'London Borough of Bromley'.

• In Person at: Bromley Civic Centre Payment Desks Stockwell Close Bromley BR1
3UH, during office ours. Please ensure you have your PCN number with you.

Please note: Further communication may not be responded to, the statutory options set out above are the only options available to you.

Yours sincerely

J James
Parking Support Officer

Issued by Bromley Parking Services






what should I do now?

Thanks very much for all your help

Thomas

Thanks for the advice,

We’ve actually recently moved house. So my wife (the car is registered to her) changed the address in the V5C yesterday.

So what should I do next?

In their letter, the council said, “Your correspondence indicates that you were not aware of the restriction”

But that’s not what I said at all.

I said that the car was parked on a carriage way. A cycle carriageway. Therefore not a footpath.

What do you think?

Thanks,

Thomas

The old address is my mum's so we'll get the letter there.

How should I notify the council? Or doesn't it matter as we'll get the letter anyway?

What about their reply saying (incorrectly) that I told them I wasn't aware of the restriction? and nothing addressing that the cycle path is a carriage way and not a footpath.

I guess I should pursue it, it's not really fair.

So wait for the letter and go from there?

Thanks,

Thomas

Thanks very much for your advice. On Thursday 28th September my wife (the registered keeper) wrote to the council and included a copy of her V5C with the new address on:

“Eba Florence Maxwell-Aylwin
182 Elmstead Lane
Chislehurst
Kent
BR7 5EN
28th September 2023

London Borough of Bromley Council
Civic Centre
Stockwell Close
Bromley
Kent
BR1 3UH
 
 
Your Ref: BY20081824


Dear London Borough of Bromley,



Please be advised that on the date when you allege a contravention took place, the vehicle was registered in my name at the DVLA at:
 
13 Red Hill
Chislehurst
Kent
BR7 6DB



However on the 19th May 2023, I moved to:
 
182 Elmstead Lane
Chislehurst
Kent
BR7 5EN
 
Therefore, this is my address for service. Service at any other address will not be good service. I attach the front page of my V5C as proof.



Yours faithfully,
 
  
 
Eba Florence Maxwell-Aylwin”

Let me know if I need to do anything further.

I’ll keep you posted of any developments.

Thanks so much, again,

Thomas