Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Elmfield Avenue School time car access restrictions
Having lived in Haringey for practically all my life, I was surprised to get a penalty notice for driving into Elmfield Avenue at 3:15 on a Tuesday. The contravention was "failing to comply with a restriction on vehicles entering a pedestrian zone"
Firstly checking on Google maps I couldn't see any signage to warn drivers not to enter at certain times? I then went onto the Haringey /Parking webpage where you can view the offence. I could see clearly the signage saying no entry between 2:30 and 3:45.
I have driven into Elmfield Avenue to get to Middle Lane for years, so was not aware or on the look out for restrictions, hence the penalty notice.
What I would like to know, when were these notices put up and the restriction enforced? AND what happens to the W3 bus route in these times?
I don't think I have a case to appeal as the signs are clear, but has anyone else received penalty notices for this and appealed successfully?
Very disgruntled Haringey Resident
Betty
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Brian Ahearne on
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Please find below the draft content of my appeal. There are more matters that could be raised which don't fit within the 4000 character limit of my appeal. These include:
The stated purpose of the Traffic Management Order 2021 No. 124 (“the TMO”) is “so that the public’s responses...may be assessed over a trial period.” Failure to grant appeals to contraventions of the TMO discourages responses from the public, thus it fails to achieve the very purpose of the TMO. Moreover, the manner of enforcement is causing resentment amongst motoring residents putting the entire experiment at risk. The consultation was also insufficient thus procedurally unfair. Only 1 objection was received to the School Streets scheme. So few objections indicates a lack of appropriate consultation, amounting to a procedural unfairness.
The Council should use reasonable and clear alternatives to enforce the experimental TMO, such as a Lollipop sign operator, temporary bollards/gates, illuminated no entry signs and other such temporary measures. If making the TMO permanent, then it should install such measures permanently to close off the road during the restriction times, use stop lights,
This is an excellent idea implemented in an unfair, dangerous and unreasonable manner,
However, my draft appeal with photos below in case it's useful to any others.
The council have failed to provide adequate information regarding TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT ORDER 2021 No. 124 (“the TMO”) per:
Regulation 18(1)(a) of The Local Authorities’ Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England & Wales) Regulations 1996 (SI 1996 No.2489): local authorities must go further than merely placing the minimum signs required by the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 1994 (SI 1994 No.1519).
item B 8) on page 4 of the London Council’s Code of Practice on Civil Parking Enforcement
the Parking Appeals Service decision in Bladon v Westminster City Council (Lincoln Inn Fields) which requires local authorities implementing a TMO with unusual or exceptional features to erect and maintain signs and road markings which are fair to the motorist; ensure that the motorist is fully informed of the relevant traffic restrictions when unusual; to provide reasonable information for the motorist concerning what is required; to place additional signs; and make arrangements to enable the Council to discharge its duty to provide adequate information to the motorist under Regulation 18(1) of the 1996 Regulations. The TMO has “unusual” and “exceptional features” because it is experimental, only applies at certain times, fails to use physical barriers and fails to comply with the notice requirements of the Department for Transport’s Traffic Signs Manual.
Moreover, the signs fail to comply with the Department for Transport Traffic Signs Manual (“The Manual”) because of their size, and distance from the restricted area. In particular the signs:
are not legible from the approaching road user’s point of view (5.1.1.), in particular in terms of their siting along the road in relation to the junction, lateral placement in relation to the edge of the carriageway, height above the road; and orientation (5.1.2).
fail to allow road users adequate time to comply safely with their messages (5.2.1)
are not fully legible or visible from a reasonable decision-making distance away from the restricted area and over the entire reading range, and are obscured by intervening obstructions including other signs (5.2.2)
are obstructed, requiring steps to be taken (5.2.6)
require special siting due to the restrictions taking place directly at a junction, and the distance between the signs and the restricted area should be increased (5.2.7)
should be positioned 20 metres into the mouth of Elmfield Avenue road (5.2.8), and the restricted area should start at that point to enable a motorist to make a safe U-turn to avoid the restricted area. No signs are painted in the roads comprising and surrounding the restricted area, which is a reasonable expectation of motorists.
fail the clear visibility distance as road users do not have an unobstructed view of the signs (5.2.9)
are placed right on the corner of the junction. They should be angled at the junctions as suggested by the manual. (5.4.4)
are not oriented to the actual clear visibility distance (5.5.3), and for the left turn into Elmfield Avenue from Middle Lane, the sign is oriented in completely the opposite direction
Furthermore, the use of cameras to enforce the restriction is not well publicised for the reasons stated above, contrary to 8.3 of the Department Of Transport’s Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities on Enforcing Parking Restrictions. Moreover, per 9.1 of that guidance “if a representation against a PCN shows that a traffic sign or road marking was defective, the authority should accept the representation because the adjudicator is likely to uphold any appeal.” I also rely on the duties imposed on authorities by: Section 122 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, the judgments in Burnett v Buckinghamshire Council and Ex parte Doody [1994], and The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016, Schedule 8, PART 5 The General Directions, item 2.
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Permalink Reply by Paul Greaney on
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Very comprehensive!
Again, from ND, a different correspondent this time ... (verbatim) ...
"The government manual on road signage, states In order to perform the function for which they are intended, it is essential that signs can be read and understood by road users IN GOOD TIME for subsequent actions to be carried out safely. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/traffic-signs-manual
For the following reasons it is not possible to ‘read and understand in good time’ and then take the necessary action of turning around and exiting the street,
• The driver's attention is on potential street level hazards, namely checking for pedestrians crossing Elmfield and at the same time any oncoming traffic intending to turn right into Elmfield. To read the signs at the entrance to Elmfield would require the driver to raise their eyes from both roads and there wasn’t enough time to then take action.
• The street is only inaccessible at certain times. The sign gives two time periods when access is forbidden and I think it impossible for a motorist in a moving car to register the time details and decide if they can enter. Photos taken by this website's users show that the sign on Middle Lane is partially obscured by a tree.
• The picture taken by the roadside camera, shows the sign on the junction was angled away from oncoming motorists making it impossible to read when turning the corner".
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That's great, and I agree. I have focused on citing regs and putting as much as I can into the photos due to character limit, but it says much the same things. I'm no longer a member of a local Next Door community. Would you mind sharing my content above with that community, please?
Thanks for your help,
Brian
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Yep, will do. Shall I mention your name explicitly? Or just say 'another Haringey resident' ... ?
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Forgot an image. Also keep getting an error when trying to submit. I'll try again later as it suggests, but any suggestions let me know.
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As expected, Haringey Traffic Management have rejected my appeals, so I will be going to London Tribunals.
Interestingly, they have failed to give reasons for the rejection - which is odd because Betty Brewster above received a letter of reasoning.
Anyone else want to add their name & submission to my appeal - whether you've paid the fine or not?
If so, please contact me within the next 7 days as I only have 28 days from the date of service of the Notice of Rejection. (That said, they have also failed to date the Notice of Rejection, so I suppose I'll just have to go from the date of actual knowledge of the Notice of Rejection, which is today.)
This is a very poor response indeed.
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You and Betty with appeals in hand may want to go back and recheck those signs - I've just driven past the Tottenham Lane end of Elmfield Avenue and the face of both signs showed as completely black.
I wasn't able to stop and see if they've simply been turned round, or whether the previous legend has been removed just leaving the backing plate in situ.
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Thanks Gordon. I'll take a look, but questionable whether it'll impact my appeal, as I've submitted photographic evidence associated with my appeals. It may useful to note regarding the poor management of signage generally and help other people who are victims of this laudable but laughable project.
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Hmm, don't think this is extra grounds for optimism. I took a second, closer look since I had extra business locally. I didn't realise that the sign faces are hinged, so that by swinging up the bottom half and latching it in place (there's a turnlock right at the top) the sign is obscured as I earlier described. It's the same for the other two pairs of signs, I went round the block.
But who does this, I wonder - Council staff? School maintenance staff? You'd need a tall set of steps, or a special tool on a long pole. How often - start and finish of terms? Half terms? Why are the signs so presented. Why had it been done despite the time was 1500 on a school day (the last one for a while, but still). Was the camera still operational. And so on.
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Interesting. So they're removing the signs during holidays? But, in fact, before the holidays have commenced?
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