 Biker wrath at block ticketing
Advice on the following, related subject would be gratefully received:
For the past six months while at work I've parked my motorbike in the same place, usually with about a dozen other motorbikes. This is in a street in Richmond (W London) called Princes Street which is like a little dead-end service road that runs behind some shops although there is a pedestrian route through. There is a double-yellow line running from the entrance to the street to the far end and all the way back again to the other side. The motorbikes were actually parked back from the line on what could be pavement, or perhaps private property belonging to the adjoining building - not easy to tell which. Several times I've seen Parking Attendants walk through without paying any attention to the line of bikes. Because it's a dead-end and has virtually no traffic, pedestrians using it as a cut through always walk on the road rather than using the rather awkwardly placed areas at the side.
On April 5 I came back to find a PCN on the bike. Other bikers who were parked there had been ticketed as well. We're all pretty unhappy as a simple warning that the council intended to start enforcing parking regulations would have seen us all moving to a designated motorcycle bay another hundred or so yards away. Seems very shoddy.
I'm wondering how best to tackle the appeal and two things strike me:
The first idea is to appeal on the grounds that the yellow line is broken in a couple of places for a foot or two, slightly away from where I parked. There is definitely not an uninterrupted line all the way round from end bar to end bar although to be fair most of the line is intact. Any thoughts on my chances using this defence?
Second, I notice the contravention code on the PCN is 01 "Parking in a restricted street during prescribed hours". Looking at the Contravention Codes, I notice no 62 is "On street - parked with one or more wheels on any part of an urban road other than a carriageway (footway parking)" I wonder if I have a better case if I argued that the ticket has been issued for the wrong reason, ie, the 01 offence did not occur.
I'm also in two minds about the double-yellows themselves. Until I got the PCN, I can't really remember them being there - I wonder if it was a single yellow until recently and I missed them adding the double. I've asked the council if there has been any change to the restrictions in this street that suddenly prompted them to start issuing PCNs for this area.
Any thoughts would be most welcome and I'm quite keen to share this with the other bikers who also had PCNs issued so you may be helping about a dozen of us.
Sackchap | 
