Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Parking appeals
In the past four or five years, I have twice appealed against parking tickets. The first time, the restrictions in Burgoyne Road were temporary and I thought they were not properly marked. I asked for an explanation as to how such temporary restrictions should be displayed. No explanation was forthcoming but, as Haringey didn't deal with the appeals process within the time allowed, the fine automatically lapsed.
The second case was quite recent. I parked without paying for a few minutes near the old N8 Royal Mail delivery office in Tottenham Lane to collect a parcel. It was early on a Saturday morning and the street was deserted. There was no queue in the delivery office and I was there only as long as it took the clerk to decide that he couldn't find the parcel(!). When I came out, there was still no one about and no ticket on my car and I went home. Some days later I received a ticket through the post implying that I had driven off before the "Civil Enforcement Officer" could issue a ticket and fix it on my car.
I appealed against this saying I was loading and asked why the CEO had not approached me and where he/she had been hiding. Haringey sent copies of photos the CEO had taken, rejected my appeal but did not respond to my points. I therefore appealed to the new (ish) Parking and Traffic Appeals Service for London on the grounds that Haringey had not properly dealt with my appeal and that the CEO had not been prevented by any action of mine from fixing a notice or giving it to me personally. I was content for the case to be dealt with by post.
The result of this appeal has now arrived. Haringey offered no evidence, ie no response at all, not even a copy of the Penalty Charge Notice. The Independent Adjudicator therefore had no choice but to allow the appeal on the grounds that the contravention did not occur. This means that he did not take account of anything I had said in evidence either.
Haringey's action (or lack of it) could be seen in several different ways. For example, they could simply have decided that offering evidence would take too much time and effort for an uncertain result. What might be called the "let's be careful with public money approach". They could have actually agreed with me that there could have been something dodgy about the way this CEO acted which they either didn't wish to defend or would rather not spend time investigating. They could simply have been too busy in the weeks before Christmas to deal with the work.
I suppose that this is end of the matter but if not, I shall update this thread later.
In both cases, I was left with an unsatisfied feeling that my local council are not interested in whether I understand their activities.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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The blue van parked in front of the 29 bus stop by Dogtas never gets a ticket and he's there all day. Oh of course if he leaves his back doors open then the bus cameras can't photograph his registration plate and he looks like he's "loading'.
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Permalink Reply by Gordon T on
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Similar situation, different borough [Hackney] but affects Harringay people too: the number of times the 141/341 buses have to wait to arrive at the Manor House bus stop because a minicab is parked on the double yellow lines immediately in front of the bus stop layby.....
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Ah yes... surely this is worth a bit of digging? I have asked a parking warden why the guy doesn't get a ticket and he just said he was loading and didn't want to talk any more about it.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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As a former councillor, from time to time I had complaints from residents who wondered why particular vehicles appeared to be ignored by the parking wardens. (You might have been one of the people who raised this.)
I tend to favour giving people the benefit of reasonable doubt. But I also understood why residents who do pay for their own and their visitors' parking permits, may get irritated by others who appear to freeload.
I passed these queries to senior staff in the Parking Service and often they were resolved. So you may wish to pass these to your ward councillors.
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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Alan, there is no doubt in this case. The van belonging to the grocery shop near Dogtas is there all day, every day. " Loading / unloading " is restricted to 40 minutes at a time and there must be evidence of actual activity.
I too have asked the Parking Warden why nothing was done and he just walked away. It's not a question of Freeloading: it's a matter of continued obstruction reducing the highway from two to one lane, of particular concern given that this van is parked near a bus stop..
I'll take some time-stamped photographs and ask Emine to follow up.
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Permalink Reply by sparkle on
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and me. This particular instance is a royal pain in the behind. Not only does it block the lane forcing cars to pool in just one lane at the lights, but it's a traffic hazard that also means cyclists AND THE BUSES have to pull out around it. It's been going on for years and is ridiculous. I have no idea why the wardens dont ticket it, but can only wonder as its there sooo often it must be obvious to them it's not genuinely loading all day.
i have photographed it & previously raised it with a councillor who has sadly now been voted out(sure it's not connected). I also got so annoyed one day i actually asked the person in the shop. He just waved and said 'loading loading' and walked away.
To add insult to injury- there is actually a dropped curb there so he could in fact park on the pavement to load assuming that is legal, and leave the road surface unblocked for his loading.
I am amazed the person who owns the car yard the van parks in front of hasn't actually realised their business is no doubt seriously affected by the frontage being blocked so often.
And- yes you can count me as a third person who has asked a parking warden why the van is not ticketed. It was parked up unattended, a warden walked by and the shopkeeper ran out and quickly opened one of the back doors of the van (revealing the empty interior). I questioned the parking warden who just shrugged and walked off.
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My suggestion, Sparkle, is that if you want to make a difference, you could add your voice to that of John_D.
Take another photo or two and email them with your comment above to the three Harringay ward councillors and to Cllr Stuart McNamara the "cabinet" councillor whose remit includes parking and highways.
It's possible of course, that they've all read this thread and are already looking into this. But "belt-and-braces". (As people used to say. Is there a modern equivalent?)
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Annoyingly, the van hasn't been there since Friday
And, Alan, I sometimes wear belt and braces - advisable when the waist is but a dim memory.
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Why "annoyingly"? Shouldn't that be "pleasingly"?
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So John D and Sparkle - lights, action, cameras, emails!
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