PCN Experience

[Rory]

Picked up SWMBO from Royal College of Westminster on Sunday in the early evening. Right outside the entrance are zig zags and further on a pedestrian crossing. I know what zig zags mean but thought 30 seconds or less ought to be chanceable. How wrong I was. Today I have just paid £65 for the priviledge of stopping there for less than 30 seconds. My fault, no doubt, as the law is very clear on the subject, but I now I think about it, they must know the locations and times that produce results and concentrate on them. 5pm on a Sunday evening and they are still fining away perfectly happily. This is the first time I have picked up a parking related PCN ever and I am kicking myself. Rant over.

Was it a zig-zag offence, or is the wider covered by a no-stopping restriction?

I gather they're quite common in London and one just introduced near me in Chester and enforced by mobile cameras is causing uproar as it's an obvious drop-off and pick-up point for the city centre shops.

 

[Dieselman]

one just introduced near me in Chester and enforced by mobile cameras is causing uproar as it's an obvious drop-off and pick-up point for the city centre shops.

Which is presumably why it's just be brought in.

 

[DITTRICH]

DITTRICH, you made a small error of judgement and were made to pay a price, and you seem to accept both. It's only a traffic offence, no blemish on your character, time to move on...

I have "moved on". I just wanted to highlight how seeming small things come back to bite you on the bum when least expected. I took my punishment and paid up immediately (well after reading about the specific offence on the internet anyway). The point which I was also making was that they must "know" that location is a minor goldmine with lots of fully occupied parking, a place which people always need to get to and no obvious dropping off point outside the front door, with a xing almost next to the entrance.

 

[DITTRICH]

Was it a zig-zag offence, or is the wider covered by a no-stopping restriction?

I gather they're quite common in London and one just introduced near me in Chester and enforced by mobile cameras is causing uproar as it's an obvious drop-off and pick-up point for the city centre shops.

zig zags, yes: and the offence is stopping on them: qed no grounds for appeal.
i also read that minicabs and taxis are allowed to pickup or set down in these areas, at least thats how i read the regs, so it seems some can and some can't. But time to move on.

 

[Rory]

Which is presumably why it's just be brought in.

Yes, and the city council will gaze at its navel and wonder why more and more people are going to the out-of-town shopping centres.

 

[markjay]

zig zags, yes: and the offence is stopping on them: qed no grounds for appeal.
i also read that minicabs and taxis are allowed to pickup or set down in these areas, at least thats how i read the regs, so it seems some can and some can't. But time to move on.

I did not actually look-up the relevant regulations... but from experience, in central London anyway black cabs refuse to drop-off or stop on white zigzag, so I assumed this is UK-wide.