After encountering a particularly badly parked car, the editor of Enfield Dispatch is asking readers to send photographs of antisocial parking with the aim of shaming the culprits and persuading the council to take action.
James Cracknell's example might be slightly more extreme than usual (not just parked on a pavement, but on the tactile paving meant to help blind pedestrians locate the new crossing over Church Street), but similar examples of complete disregard for the safety and convenience of pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists have now become two-a-penny. At the junction of my street and Green Lanes I see cars parked on double yellows almost every time I pass by. They make crossing the road hazardous because they block my view and the view of drivers turning into the street. Cars parked on double yellows on Green Lanes often protrude past the end of our street, increasing the danger. And every other day I see vehicles parked across the dropped kerbs, forcing pedestrians into the bike lane - that is, if the car isn't obstructing that too!
Help the Dispatch shame Enfield’s pavement parkers
I could scarcely believe my eyes.
I had just come out of a hardware shop in Enfield Town, when a white van pulls up at a pedestrian crossing. But the driver is not stopping to let people across – instead he veers on to the pavement, completely blocking access to the crossing.
After snapping a photo, I confront the driver. He pleads ignorance, saying someone said he could park there as he dropped something off. I tell him he’s breaking the law and ask how he could not even notice the crossing? As we argue the shopkeeper comes out to see what the fuss is all about, and thankfully persuades the driver to move on.
It is clear to me that pavement parking in Enfield has become an epidemic. It’s true that the installation of cycle lanes, more crossings and other things like rain gardens have reduced the amount of street parking available on our high streets, but there is no excuse for breaking the law and endangering the safety of pedestrians and cyclists, who are the most vulnerable road users.
How and why are drivers able to get away with it?
The problem is that unless drivers are caught in the act by enforcement officers directly themselves, they will almost certainly not be issued penalty notices. As members of the public, we can try to gather our own evidence and send it to the council, but the likelihood of action being taken is slim to none.
When I reported nearly three years ago on the problem of cars parking in the cycle lanes along Hertford Road, at Enfield Wash, the council said it would be working to enforce the law using new powers to stop drivers using cycle lanes.
I returned to Enfield Wash this weekend, on my bike, and had to dodge seven cars in the cycle lane just to travel about 25 metres.
In the next edition of Enfield Dispatch I want to shame these drivers and highlight the extent of the problem to the council. As readers, I am asking for your help.
Throughout February, if you see a vehicle illegally parked on the pavement or in a cycle lane, take a picture and capture the registration number. Email the evidence to me at and I will publish as many of these pictures as I can in the March issue of the paper.
Traffic wardens are a bit thin on the ground, and pretty much non-existent in the evening, and thanks to a change in the law introduced by Eric Pickles back in the days of the Conservative/Lib Dem coalition government, if they catch anyone they have to give them ten minutes to drive off, and very often their mates are watching out for wardens and tipping them off (at the time it puzzled me that Eric Pickles seemed to think that it was unfair to penalise drivers just because they'd broken the law, but nowadays, in the era of Donald Trump, I suppose that's a perfectly acceptable point of view).
Selfish drivers blocking footway and dropped kerbs on both sides of the Windsor Road junction
Then there is the problem of drivers parking in the bike lanes on the way up to Enfield Town. There are a couple of spots that are particularly bad: one on the left between Fox Lane and Bourne Hill, the other on the right near Barrowell Green.
The driver of this van parked at the end of Hazelwood Lane evidently is unconcerned about the safety of either pedestrians or cyclists
If you come across particularly blatant examples of bad parking, you can email photos to James, you can send them to me, you can post them to the forums, and/or you can follow the procedure below:
The best course of action to target illegal parking is for it to be reported at the time it is occurring as often a Civil Enforcement Officer will attend at the time illegal parking is not taking place or vehicles will return once the officer has left the location. Unfortunately illegal or inconsiderate parking cannot be stopped completely and due to the size of the Borough and limited resources an officer cannot be in attendance at all times.
Illegal parking can be reported by calling the NSL Parking Shop on 020 3856 0036 or email (Mondays to Saturdays 7am-10pm and Sundays 7am-6.30pm).
How could someone even think about parking like this?