PAVEMENT / FOOTWAY PARKING

 

Pavement Lights

 

• Pavement (Footway) parking is different in London than in the rest of the country. In London under the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1974 it is prohibited for any motor vehicle to park on the footway (unless it is specifically exempted and signs indicate that you may park partially or wholly on the footway). Outside of London local authorities may only regulate pavement parking through the implementation of specific Traffic Regulation Orders and the police are only able to regulate pavement parking when a vehicle is deemed to be causing an obstruction.

 

• In London most 'Pavement Lights' and small sections of land immediately adjacent to a building are designated to be part of the footway and thus motorcycles parked here are not immune to parking fines (There has traditionally been some leeway given to motorcyclist who park on these areas but this is now diminishing).

Knowing whether the area is so designated (as part of the footway) is becoming less complex as adjudicators find in favour of councils (who normally say that the footway extends right up to the edge of the building). The deciding factor is whether the public have historically had right of way over the land (i.e. to browse in a shop window). If there is a physical barrier preventing such right of way, bikers should be able to park (with the permission of the land owners) without fear of being issued with a PCN. Where no barrier is present then this area is normally deemed to be part of the footway and motorcycles risk being ticketed.

 

A note in the City of Westminster Enforcement Protocol - Section 6 Footway Parking - published March 2005 defines a footway as 'any part of an urban road over which the public have right of access on foot and includes private land, crossovers and pavement lights etc unless a physical barrier prevents access (it does not include footpaths or private roads)'.

One point to be aware of is that under the Highways Act 1885 and the Road Traffic Act 1988, it is an offence to drive a vehicle over a footway (unless the action is permissible - normally a drop-curb will have been put in place), so even if you do find a section of land which is not part of the footway, you may still find a ticket on your motorcycle when you return (not a parking ticket but one reflecting your driving over the footway contravention). One current loophole is that it seems to be that you have not contravened either Act if you push your motorcycle!); however the key issue of finding a section of land which is not part of the footway still remains...

So, whether bikers can park on pavement lights or open forecourts is primarily dependent on whether pedestrians have traditionally had a right of way over such areas. For a more indepth information on this issue click through to www.parkingticket.co.uk

 

Covering your Vehicle Registration Number (VRN) and tax disc

As noted in Parking Ticket News June 2003, under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 it is an offence to either fail to display a vehicle excise duty disc or obscure a vehicle's registration number (VRN).

 

The London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2008 now specifically allows Civil Enforcement Officers (Parking Attendants) to remove any obstacle obscuring your Vehicle Registration (VRN) without being liable for any damage caused in so doing so (provided the act was not done in bad faith, without due care or in contravention of the Human Rights Act)(Updated 9 Sep 08)

 

Section 9 of the London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2008 reads as follows:

 

9 Obscured registration marks

 

(1) An authorised officer of a London Authority or a parking attendant acting in the course of his duties as such may remove anything which obscures a registration mark or any part of a registration mark fixed on a vehicle.

 

(2) None of the persons mentioned in subsection (3) below is to have any liability to any other person for damages or otherwise (whether at common law or otherwise) arising out of anything done or omitted to be done in the exercise or purported exercise of the power under subsection (1) above.

 

(3) Those persons are a borough council, Transport for London, any employee of a borough council or Transport for London, and any authorised officer, parking attendant or person by whom a parking attendant is employed.

 

(4) Subsection (2) above does not apply—

   (a) if the act or omission is shown to have been in bad faith;

   (b) to liability arising out of a failure to exercise due care and attention;

   (c) so as to prevent an award of damages made in respect of an act or omission on the ground that the act or omission was unlawful by virtue of section 6(1) of the Human Rights Act 1998 (c. 42).

 

(5) Subsection (2) above is without prejudice to any other exemption from liability (whether at common law or otherwise).

 

(6) Any person who intentionally obstructs any authorised officer acting in the exercise of his powers under this section shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

 

(7) In this section—

 

•    “authorised officer”, in relation to a London authority, means—

•       (a) any employee of that authority;
•       (b) any person by whom, in pursuance of arrangements made with the authority, any functions
•       under this section fall to be discharged; or
•       (c) any employee of any such person,
•    who is authorised in writing by the authority to act in relation to this section;

•    “parking attendant” has the same meaning as in section 82(1) of the 1991 Act;

•    “registration mark” means a registration mark assigned to a vehicle by the Secretary of State under

•    section 23 of the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 (c. 22).

 

The offence of parking without a Vehicle Registration Number on display can currently only be dealt with by the Police and Traffic Wardens (who have the power to check for tax disc violations). In the event of non-compliance, you may receive a ticket (issued by the Police or Traffic Warden), or as a worse case scenario, your vehicle could be clamped or towed.

 

Also note that the Corporation of London (City) Police are particularly hot on ticketing motorcycles failing to display a tax disc, even if they are parked legally.

(Updated 28 Jun 08)

 

 

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