Redbridge - ridiculous PCNs in Barley Lane IG3

Readers may have seen Mr Musatrd's tweet about Mr Audi and his pavement parking PCN. Mr Mustard was a bit busy when he told Mr Audi not to leave his car on the pavement, hadn't studied all the facts, didn't anticipate that Redbridge Council would have completely lashed up but the advice he gave that roads are for cars and pavements are for pedestrians was generally sound. He told Mr Audi not to put his wheels on the pavement unless there were marked bays. He has now had to add 'or signs'.

Here are all the blue footway parking allowed signs on Mr Audi's side of Barley Lane.

This is the sign as it appears in the law

So now you have to ask yourself how & why 3 cars in a row where ticketed one after the other and there was a blue pavement parking allowed sign adjacent to the boot of one of the cars, the traffic warden can hardly have missed it and has probably, on his scooter, passed half a dozen signs along Barley Lane to where he stopped. This is one of them

One option is the traffic warden is new and missed the signs.

More likely in Mr Mustard's opinion is that the traffic warden thought the cars were too far onto the pavement due to the layout, you see tarmac at the kerb rather than slabs. When called to out of the window the traffic warden sped off on his scooter and didn't ticket numerous other cars which were similarly parked.

You cannot be given (well not legally) a PCN for failing to comply with a requirement that is not communicated to you although as pavement parking in London is against the law (except where it is allowed) you are deemed to know that. If Redbridge Council want to limit the extent to which you put your car on the pavement then they need to get their paint brush out and paint bays, like this one outside Mr Mustard's favourite bakery in Enfield (an old photo as Mr Mustard wanted to show you clear markings, the shop is now a lovely shade of light blue).

Unfortunately, three motorists have now been put to the trouble of making challenges on line and Mr Mustard has drafted a complaint about the traffic warden.

If pavement parking is permitted where you are, please leave ample room for a wheelchair to get by.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

Update 16 February 2021

Redbridge Council have now responded to two of the informal challenges.

Here is part of the first one, you are allowed to park on the pavement at that location but 'your vehicle has encroached onto the paved footpath which is for pedestrian and wheelchair users' which is not a legal distinction, all of the width of the pavement is for pedestrians, prams, wheelchairs etc.

and now the second informal rejection, to the brother of the first one at the same address!

The two rejections are electronically signed by different staff members. In the words of an adjudicator, the council have been capricious and unsustainably inconsistent.

Now we sit and wait for the Notices to Owner, make the same challenges for a second time and then see what they do.

Update 21 February 2021

The third informal rejection is now to hand. Signed by a different but un-named person it has a third variation on what is and is not allowed, a manner of parking not set out in law, in the Highway Code nor on signage at the location; so how does the public know this?

It will be a couple of months before we get there but an independent adjudicator will have to decide this.