Pavement parking ticket

[DUCAUDI]

I got a parking ticket a couple of weeks ago for parking on the pavement on Maidstone High Street while I went into NatWest. It was a dumb fuck thing to do but thought I'd try my luck, and I've had a lot of success recently at tribunal getting parking/traffic tickets overturned that had initially been rejected by the local authority (I think more through lack of initiative or willingness to commit funds and resources to the case on the part of the local authority if I'm honest than the actual plausibility of my case, COVID-19 and lack of staff/resources may also have played a part in this).

Either way:

Maidstone High Street is a pedestrian zone with exceptions for disabled badge holders, buses, taxis, for "access to off street premises" at any time, and for loading by HGV from 5:30pm to 10:30am:
https://i.ibb.co/60BTCsG/1.png

The ticket they gave me was Code02 parked or loading/unloading in a restricted street where waiting and loading/unloading restrictions are in force.

Bit flimsy maybe but my challenge to the council was that my bike wasn't parked "in the street" as their ticket claims. It was parked on the pavement (which is a very grey area as to whether or not that's legal but I'll go into that later) but I think the most flimsy part of the challenge is claiming that being parked on the pavement isn't actually being parked in the street as they claimed. What do you guys think? Is being parked on the pavement classed as being parked on the street? Surely I can't be the first biker to get a ticket for parking on the pavement, I'm guessing there must be a whole raft of people on here who have challenged such tickets with varying amounts of success?

Did my vehicle even have legitimate reason to be in the area? It would be a stretch to argue that NatWest is an off street premises as it's right on the High Street. But I never actually admitted I was going to NatWest. There's a PROPER pedestrian zone down Week Street which is adjacent to NatWest and spurs off from the High Street that not even Buses and Cycles are allowed down. I could argue I needed to gain access to one of the businesses down there and this was the closest point I could get my bike to without actually riding down the pedestrianised pavement?

They rejected my challenge and now I either have to pay the fine or wait for the notice to owner to come through at which point I can take it to tribunal. Their reason for refusing my representation didn't address the fact I was parked on the pavement and not on the road though. They came back to me with "The area in which your vehicle was parked is a Pedestrian Zone. Pedestrian Zones are areas where you may not park at any time and by parking there you were in contravention of the parking places order.".

I've done a lot of searching on Google and while I cant find any solid government legislation to back my theory up, a lot of credible sources on the internet are saying that the legality of parking on the pavement is a very grey area. Only London and a very few other local authorities have specific bylaws in place to prohibit parking on the pavement. Everywhere else it's kinda legal but frowned upon but so long as you're not causing an obstruction it's overlooked/allowed.

Where I parked was at a bicycle stand on the pavement:
https://i.ibb.co/2YCHL0F/2.png
You'd be hard pushed to argue that was causing any sort of obstruction. What also springs to my mind is that sign entering the High Street didn't give any permissions for cycles to enter, yet there's a cycle stand on the pavement. Aren't cycles classed as vehicles on the road? I sure thought they were! So if bicycles are allowed to park there why aren't motorcycles?

Regarding the tribunal I see the route of decisions going something like this:

Was there a procedural impropriety in issuing the ticket (i.e. does my argument hold up that I wasn't parked on the street?).

If yes, I win the case, if not:

Do I have a legitimate reason for being in the High Street (i.e. do my reasons for requiring access to off street premises hold up?).

If not I lose the case. If I DO have legitimate reason to be in the High Street, am I permitted to park on the pavement, bearing in mind it's a pedestrian zone?

Bearing in mind there's no legislation I can find that prohibits parking on the pavement. The sign only prohibits access to the High Street for vehicles with exceptions. If you meet those exceptions then surely parking on the pavement should be the same for anywhere else in the country (except London where it's illegal) right?

Also worth bearing in mind, if they say I'm not allowed to park on the pavement why are they allowing other vehicles i.e. bicycles to do so (as long as they're not causing obstruction)?

I'd be really interested to hear your thoughts EVEN if it's not what I want to hear
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2023 DucAudi Mehrstraße V4 Hechte Gipfel - "Objectively the best motorcycle ever produced" - "You can have any colour, as long as it's red"
2021 Honda CMX500 Rebel S

[DUCAUDI]

As I said I have to wait for the notice to owner to come through before I can take it to tribunal but this is my draft challenge:

I am challenging this PCN as I believe there has been a procedural impropriety in its issue.

The PCN was issued for being parked on a restricted street.

MBC's own photographic evidence shows that my motorcycle was not parked on the street as the PCN claims. It was parked on the pavement outside the business establishment I was visiting.

I challenged the PCN to Maidstone Borough Council on this basis and they rejected my representation on the basis that my motorcycle was parked in a pedestrian zone (not that it was parked on the street as indicated on the PCN).

Their change of reasons for issuing the PCN is why I am claiming procedural impropriety.

However, notwithstanding this, the use of the High Street by motor vehicles is restricted with some exceptions; one of which being access to off street premises.

My reason for being in the High Street was indeed for access to an off street premises. My motorcycle was not parked in the street, it was parked on the pavement. To my knowledge no local legislation exists to prohibit the parking of motorcycles on the pavement provided they are not causing an obstruction. As you can see from Maidstone Borough Council's own photographic evidence the footway is more than wide enough and my motorcycle was parked sensibly and responsibly so as not to cause obstruction to anybody.

I have searched the internet extensively for a definitive answer as to whether or not the parking of motorcycles on pavements is allowed or not and while I have been unable to reference any official government legislation, the general consensus from dozens of reputable sources indicate that unless there is a specific bylaw in place by the local authority, it is not illegal to park a motorcycle (or any vehicle) on the pavement, and even if there is a relevant bylaw there should be appropriate signage (which there is none, only the sign permitting access to off street premises which is exactly the reason for my vehicle being there in the first place).

Sources to back up my claims:

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/advice/biking-tips/where-can-you-park-motorcycles-rules#:~:text=Parking%20on%20pavements%20is%20sometimes,life%20it's%20best%20to%20push.

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/legal/parking-on-the-pavement/

https://www.askthe.police.uk/content/Q387.htm

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/cars/1360472/Can-you-park-on-the-pavement-EVG

Thoughts?
____________________
2023 DucAudi Mehrstraße V4 Hechte Gipfel - "Objectively the best motorcycle ever produced" - "You can have any colour, as long as it's red"
2021 Honda CMX500 Rebel S

[twooo]

[doggone]

In the streetview image a car is waiting if not parked which might add weight to the case.
In some places a building frontage is actually not part of the 'road' at all originally there might have bene railings or even garden there.
You could also cite security concerns if you chained to the bike rack.

I did have a similar dispute years ago in a local high street they had parking bays then at intervals a pavement build-out with planters.
There were tarmac triangles where the paving joined parking ideal to park a bike.
They decided to pave over that area with no change of signage so I just continued parking there but got a ticket for 'on footpath'.
They conceded not an obstruction but still wouldn't have it because the paved area had short stretch of double yellows which they said extended no parking on that bit right to the shops adjacent.

Eventually had to pay up but I never went back to that poxy town again so their loss

[ThunderGuts]

In a highway context, the "highway" or "street" is the entire public realm on a given road, including the footway. The extents begin where the public highway begins (usually the front of buildings on these sorts of streets) and extends to the opposite side.

You may wish to be careful; although the local authority is attempting to diddle you on the waiting restrictions, you technically have also breached the Pedestrian Zone order - I am fairly sure this is a traffic offence and potentially endorsable. The person who issued your ticket will have taken photographs and it looks like the ped zone order is in force continuously (unless loading and unloading, but I think you'd be hard pressed to justify that retrospectively!). Probably unlikely to manifest itself, but the local authorities often have close working relationships with the local bobbies and their evidence is considered pretty solid. If they felt particularly annoyed they may share the info . . .

FYI; commonly misunderstood, but the side of the road where a waiting restriction exists (e.g. double yellow lines), the restriction applies to that whole side of the road including the footway; it doesn't just apply to parking along the kerb. This is why some people fall foul and get tickets for parking at the back of very wide footways or even verges (e.g. in industrial estates) even though they're not parked "on" the double yellow lines.

I'd bite the bullet and chalk it up to experience.
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TG.

[MCN]

It would be lifted, transported and crushed if it was in Scotland. Our government has no leeway.
(Unless you're a Scottish government minister.)

Edit:
Easy option is to cough. Expensive refresher on council parking rules.
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[xX-Alex-Xx]

Don't ever admit how you got the bike onto the pavement (unless you did actually push it there with the engine off). You'll wish you just paid the parking ticket otherwise.

edit: apparently I was given bunk info by a cop once and you don't need a lid on to push it along the road.
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DILLIGAF

[1198]

You gambled, you lost. You knew it’s was a bit necky and did it anyhow.
Pay up.

[DUCAUDI]

[1198]

At the expense of looking like I’m rolling over for the state and toeing the line, is it worth it? You may save a couple of minutes parking more locally to where you want to be and save a brief walk but spend hours fighting tickets afterwards?
Still, your time, your decision...

[Pete.]

[yen_powell]

The bit about the first metre outside a shop being private is rubbish. You do get private bits outside some shops, luck of the draw, but every public highway boundary in the country can vary widely, you need to look at the relevant highway authority's maps to check each one. The back line of the highway can even go in and out, different for buildings next door to each other, usually because of the buildings that may have been there before the current ones were built.

I've had to repave a large area of footway near Aldgate Station and then have a line of blocks cut in afterwards in a crazy pattern, straight lines, then right angles, 45 degree angles etc, just because that was the old building line, but the developer didn't build up to it because they wanted some landscaping or new pedestrian areas. The developer paid me to do all the areas in the same material, but I needed to put a physical reminder of what was ours and what was their land in case there is ever a liability claim when a dozy pedestrian falls over and breaks something they need. You could still get a parking ticket all the way to the building line though, I was just marking which bits we repair and which bits are theirs to fix.

These days, thanks to a court case a few years ago, lots of adjudicators consider the waiting or loading restriction to go all the way up to the building line unless there is something physical first, like a fence or a line of bollards, something that stops Joe Public wandering freely.

Find the traffic order for the offence they are trying to do you for, the waiting and loading order I assume. Read it, it might be wrong, it might be experimental and never made permanent after expiry date, it may have an exemption you can prove you fulfilled. It might even give a bay location that bears no resemblance to what's on the ground.
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Blackmail is a nasty word........but not as nasty as phlegm!
XT1200Z and a DR350 in bits

[Pete.]

[st3v3]

[MCN]

[yen_powell]