DONT STOP IN ISLINGTON
MAYBE JUST DONT GO TO ISLINGTON
London Borough of Islington,
Parking Finance,
PO Box 16780
London
EC1V 9UD
Dear Sir / Madam,
I refer to your Notice Number IS05 152865, copy enclosed.
I had to deliver electrical items to the Met Police, Macdonald Road ‘area’ and had pulled into the side of the road at the bottom of Highgate Hill to check access to this location with my copy of AtoZ.
Whilst doing this and stationary, due to driving safety reasons, I noticed ‘something’ attached to the far left of the vans windscreen, thinking it to be an advertisment of some kind and not wishing to remain stationary on the highway for more than was vital, I continued down the road in heavy traffic, round a roundabout to come back the correct side of the road and into Macdonald Road.
I parked my company van IN A PARKING LOCATION, and making sure the numerous buses passing down the road, to what appeared to be a Bus Depot could pass, and not to hinder other road users or the footpath.
Having noticed a narrow entrance with a barrier I thought it wise to check access with the buildings security and this I did. Coming back to the van a Parking Officer was attaching something to the front windscreen, above the other attached item.
When I asked what he was doing he said he had made a mistake, he said he would say I was unloading and just walked off.
The ticket issued in Highgate Hill was timed 09.50 with the second ‘event’ being 10 mins or so later, around 10am.
Your comments on this matter would be of value to me.
Yours faithfully,
John Meyer
It can cost £200 per 10 mins to stop in Islington, so just dont risk it - keep on going and be careful at Traffic Lights, Road Junctions and Zebra Crossings, if you have to stop you may well get a ticket, maybe two, maybe more, who can tell.
Letters from Islington Council:
Penalty Charge Notice No. lS05152865
Date of Issue 06/0612005 09:50
Location of Contravention Highgate Hill, N19
Objection to Penalty Charge Notice
Thank you for your letter, regarding the above, which was received at this office.
The Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) was issued because you were parked in a street where loading restrictions are in place. Parking is not allowed for any reason, even for short periods of time. In addition to the single yellow or double yellow lines on the road itself, yellow marks on the kerbstone show that a loading restriction is applicable to that location, and there is often an accompanying sign.
You allude in your appeal to the fact that the PCN was not issued to your vehicle. In response I must state that the Parking Attendant's notes clearly state that the PCN was fixed to the vehicle.I did not 'allude' to this at all - I was in drivers seat when 'something' was attached.
As the PCN was issued correctly, I must request that you make payment of £50 within 14 days of this letter.
Penalty Charge Notice No. IS0518991ADate of Issue 06/06/2005 10:00
Location of Contravention Macdonald Road, N19
Objection to Penalty Charge Notice
Thank you for your letter, regarding the above, which was received at this office.
The Penalty Charge Notice was issued because you were observed parked on the pedestrian crossing or the adjoining area marked by zig-zags. Parking in such a way is an offence at all times as it poses a danger to pedestrians using the crossing.Again this is not correct, I was parked in marked parking area, no ZIG ZAGS and NO CROSSING .
As the PCN was issued correctly, I must request that you make payment of £50 within 14 days of this letter.
Yours faithfully,
M. Vila
For Parking Manager
I HAVE PAID THESE 'PARKING FEES' MYSELF - Not that I agree with the issue of these 'notices' or the right to demand payment, but as the company I worked for, Newy and Eyre, send drivers on low wages into London and other areas to deliver items - say the matter is down to the drivers and nothing to do with them !?!
From Islington Gazette
DRIVERS received more than £2million of penalty charge notices in one Islington street in just 12 months.
In all, 22,808 tickets - each worth £100 - were issued to motorists in Junction Road, Archway, in the 12 months to March 31 this year.
The income makes it the worst road for fines in Islington - and the second worst in the whole of London. Top of the list was Atlantic Road, in Lambeth, where drivers received more than £3million worth of fines.
Sam Akgun, 39, who with wife Sevgi runs La Belle Vie Flowers in Junction Road, said: "You don't have a chance here now.
"I have had seven or eight parking tickets and then there is the clamping. They put the tickets on the car and within seconds there's a clamp as well.
"You end up always looking at your car, checking, checking.
"All our delivery drivers and our customers get tickets. It makes it impossible to run a business. Customers do not want to come back.
"We have been here four years and over the last year trade has been very quiet so the figures don't surprise me.
"People used to stop to pick up flowers but now they don't want to risk it."
Resident Rebecca Hood, 29, added: "You always see wardens out and about and it has definitely got worse over the last year.
"We got a ticket when the warden claimed he could not see the permit even though it had been in the same place for two years. We appealed and won as they had no evidence."
Kathryn Phalp, who runs Map gift shop and who is involved with Junction Road Traders' Association, said: "The traffic wardens are crippling business.
"So they made £2.2million. If you added up the losses the shops have made since the controlled parking zone (CPZ) came in [in February 2003], it probably comes to about that.
"I was in favour of the CPZ because we wanted to get rid of the commuter parking. But no one expected these over-zealous, vulture-like wardens. It's obvious the council is making money out of parking."
Ms Phalp, who has written to the Greater London Authority to complain at how bad things are in Junction Road, added that she was pushing for free customer parking, for 20 minutes or an hour, to ease problems.
Jason Cooper, 31, a company representative, travels around the country visiting businesses. He said: "Boroughs like Islington and Camden are the worst. I have to be very careful."
He added: "I'm appealing one ticket as the pay-and-display machine was broken and while I was looking for another, I got a ticket.
Traffic wardens are already allowed to make your life miserable for the most trivial of transgressions. But that's nothing compared to the powers they might be about to gain, thanks to the new Traffic Management Bill - a raft of measures currently being debated by MPs with the aim of tackling traffic congestion in Britain's towns and cities.
The new laws, which are expected to pass through parliament relatively unscathed, will bring in many commonsense measures - such as clamping down on utility companies which abuse their right to dig up the road. But attention has instantly focused on the proposed introduction of £100 fines for transgressions such as blocking a box junction, letting off a passenger in a bus lane or turning right across a white line - and specifically on the fact that these will be issued by camera evidence and, worst of all, traffic wardens.
The fines won't be backed up by points on your licence, but opponents of the proposed new legislation say it's merely another way of raising taxes from motorists. 'It is spreading a culture of convicting motorists purely on camera evidence,' said Shadow transport spokesman Damian Green - though the Department of Transport stresses that it's only the means of enforcement that are new, as opposed to the offences themselves.
The proposals call for more cameras, which will photograph the number plates of motorists flouting road regulations. Fines will be sent out by letter after a car has been identified by these cameras, or by 'civil enforcement officers' - code for traffic wardens.
Come on 'click' on the above - BE POSITIVE - WAKE UP ..
islington guardians
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Action on Traffic & Parking Controls
Islington council hates the motorist and is determined to use that hatred as a blatant revenue raiser. We need a fair and democratic parking policy that serves all residents - whether car-owners, cyclists or pedestrians. This council is alienating everyone and destroying small businesses and local retailers. It is time to bring back common sense to our streets and give Islington residents a fairer deal.
Islington’s Liberal Democrats are destroying local communities and business
Islington's Liberal Democrat Councils are destroying our local communities and economy with their failure to listen to residents and draconian enforcement of parking controls.
Last year the council earned £10.4 million in parking penalties, including clamping and tow-away fees, parking fines and penalties for driving. This was the fourth highest amount of all the London boroughs, after Westminster, Camden and Kensington & Chelsea. However, Islington saw the highest rise in revenue - up 68% on the previous year.
What will Conservatives do?
Conservatives will restore common sense to our roads and end the council's war on drivers. Our priorities are making roads safer for all, including cyclists and pedestrians, as well as easing congestion and reducing pollution.
Our six point plan includes:
• Restrict traffic wardens to the jobs they are trained for – they should not be pseudo police officers pursuing targets and punishing minor motoring offences;
• No more road humps without proper consultation and full approval of the local people directly affected and the emergency services, whose response times are compromised, leading to an extra 500 deaths every year, according to the London Ambulance Service;
• Introduce a standard 5 minute grace period in restricted parking zones to curb over-zealous traffic wardens;
• Free up the roads by more car-sharing, allowing vehicles with 2 or more adult passengers to use bus lanes (not counting children as passengers as this could worsen congestion during school runs), and improving parking facilities for car-sharing commuters;
• Control the work of Wheel Clampers through a formal code of conduct, to be monitored by the police;
• Increase the use of Vehicle Activated Displays and intelligent road safety systems, such as more electronic, flashing warning signs outside key sites like schools and hospitals. Where practical and safe, these options should be used as a substitute for speed cameras, and any revenue generated from speed cameras should be recycled back into road safety.
Islington Conservatives have demanded by means of the Freedom of Information Act the right to know all details of the design and awarding of contracts, enforcement procedures and financial consequences of controlled parking measures in Islington.
The letter states that “We believe that all who live and work in the Borough of Islington have a right to know this information in the interests of the democratic process and council accountability and transparency".
On 16th February 2005, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Islington North, Nicola Talbot, was accompanied by Tory GLA member, Roger Evans, the Deputy Chair of the GLA Transport Committee, and local residents and traders to hand in the letter to Cllr Steve Hitchins, Leader of Islington Council, at the Town Hall.
