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PostPosted: Wed Jul 31, 2019 7:33 pm 
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Joined: Wed May 16, 2012 6:33 am
Posts: 13815
Man's anger at receiving £70 fine for parking in Cheltenham taxi rank

https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/n ... ne-3155895

He claims there was inadequate signage provided to signal that the parking bays changed to a taxi rank after 6pm

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Image: Gloucestershire Live/Martin Radford

An angry motorist has hit out after being slapped with a £70 for parking in a Cheltenham taxi rank.

Martin Radford received a £70 fine from Gloucestershire County Council for parking along the Promenade in Cheltenham, opposite Jack Wills, in the evening.

He says it was unclear that the area, which can be used as a general parking area through the day, becomes a taxi rank from 6pm.

The Yorkshireman said the ticket machine did not provide any information regarding the space's function in the evening and the signs stating the change-over were blocked by trees at either end of the road.

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Image: Gloucestershire Live/Martin Radford

It's the principle'

Mr Radford, 57, said: "It's not so much the money that I'm particularly bothered about. It's the principle. Although, it's not the sort of thing I want to be spending my money on."

He parked up at around 7pm in the marked out space on Thursday July 25.

Mr Radford, who is employed as a Laboratory Technician, says that he went to pay 'in good faith' and read the instructions, which read that 8am-6pm were when charges apply. So he assumed that the parking would be free.

However, when he returned an hour later after having food, a traffic warden was ticketing a car behind him.

He enquired whether he was okay to park there. The traffic warden informed him about how the bays became a taxi traffic and then administered a fine.

Image
Image: Gloucestershire Live/Martin Radford

Mr Radford appealed against the fine online and within the message to the council he states: "I fully expect to get the reply telling me that all signage meets the legal requirements. I'm sure it does. But ethically? Morally? I don't think it does."

He told Gloucestershire Live said: "Anyone pulling up to park there would read the instructions on the meter and if it says 8am-6pm, you take it as free after 6pm. You shouldn't expect to then go and have to find another sign that says no parking after 6pm except for taxis.

"They [the council] should have left instructions on the meter or on another notice next to it."

Image
Image: Gloucestershire Live/Martin Radford

Mr Radford was in Cheltenham town centre that evening to watch Welsh comedian Rhod Ghilbert perform live. He says the parking experience "put a dampener on the night".

He added: "I was annoyed at getting a ticket, they should have made the signage blatantly obvious on the meter."

A spokesperson for the county council said: “We are about to update the signs on the Promenade parking machines. Although the signs and lines in place are correct, we have already updated machines in other areas of the town with similar dual use bays to assist our customers. We encourage Mr Radford to follow the instructions on the ticket if he wishes to challenge his fine.”

They added that ‘dual use’ bays are in place because town centres have different demands by day and night. The council elaborated that the dual use "help to balance the range of local requirements; shoppers want to park by day, restaurant goers or those going clubbing want to be able to catch a taxi home in the evening or late at night".


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PostPosted: Wed Jul 31, 2019 7:34 pm 
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Joined: Wed May 16, 2012 6:33 am
Posts: 13815
That sounds very like the arrangement for our own main night-only rank. Main difference perhaps that chances of getting a ticket here are effectively zero. Which in fact may well be the case there in Cheltenham, but the public are used to no enforcement at night, so park where the please, then the token enforcement officer appears once in a blue moon, and it all kicks off...

I know that here the signage and markings can be confusing, but some regulars just park right beside the clear signage because they know they can get away with it. Not sure what's happened above, precisely, but the comments on the website are mainly the predictable stuff about a 'cash cow' for the council and catching people out, etc, while one comment does say that the signage is clear, so who knows?

A couple of weeks ago I was dodging between some parked cars on the rank here. One of the illegal parkers had to reverse a bit to get out at that point (think he was annoyed because he'd driven straight on and expected to drive straight off again) and he pulled alongside and called me a 'f******* asshole', or similar.

Just then a police officer happened to be walking past ( :shock: ), so I asked her to tell this guy to stop shouting at me. She then said something to him, and said to me that he hadn't seen the signs. Which wasn't really the point, because I know the police can't/won't do anything about the parking, but the reason I was annoyed was because he was abusing me for nothing. Even if it *hadn't* been a taxi rank, I can't really see what I'd done wrong.

So she started walking away, and this guy started shouting the odds again. What's the point? ](*,)


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PostPosted: Wed Jul 31, 2019 8:19 pm 
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Joined: Sat Apr 01, 2006 11:47 pm
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Location: Stamford Britains prettiest town till SKDC ruined it
another one annoyed he got a ticket and was probably too lazy to check parking notices

tough titty it's your own fault mate :-({|=

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