Patrolling of and issuing penalty parking fines - Find a freedom of information request

1. What system does the County council have in place within its jurisdiction for the patrolling of and issuing penalty parking fines for yellow lined roads?

2. Are they delegated to town/district councils or administered centrally and controlled by the County council?

3. Or are they outsourced to a private company on contract and if so, what company do you use please?

4. If this is the case, is there a public phone number that members of the public can report incidents they need prompt attention in real time to the company or traffic department to deploy Parking control operatives to a hot spot?

I am NOT concerned with pay and display car parks or on street pay and display parking bays although that information is welcome.

I am more concerned with the protocols around vehicles parked on yellow lines.

5. Do the operatives give a grace/observation time before issuing a penalty fine on yellow lines?

6. If that is the case, do the operatives withdraw this and issue the fine immediately if vehicles are parked wholly or partially with one or more wheels on the footpath blocking pedestrian access.?

7. Lastly does the County council have any plans to combat pavement/verge parking where this prevents disabled/blind/infirm/ and abled pedestrians to pass freely without having to walk in the road and risk injury?

1. The County Council currently enforce all on-street restrictions within Lincolnshire and enforce to the requirements imposed by the Traffic Management Act 2004, by The Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Approved Devices, Charging Guidelines and General Provisions) (England) Regulations 2022; The Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Representations and Appeals) (England) Regulations 2022.

2. All on street restrictions are enforced by the County Council.

3. Our parking enforcement is outsourced. The current contract was awarded to APCOA Parking Ltd.

4. There is no specific public phone number available to report incidents, however the member of the public can report this to the Customer Services Centre at Lincolnshire County Council. The advisor will either give advice on how to report it, or submit the report on their behalf. Members of the public can report this to us via our nuisance parking tool online. This can be found at http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/xfp/form/351

5. Lincolnshire County Council operate a 5 minute grace period for all yellow line restrictions. If there is a loading restriction in addition to the yellow line, there is no grace period required.

6. No. There is a 5 minute observation period still given.

7. The Council can currently enforce pavement parking under the following circumstances.

Where:

• Vehicles are parked in contravention of existing waiting restrictions (for example yellow lines, which also apply to the verge and the pavement)

• The vehicle parked is a ‘heavy commercial vehicle’ with an operating weight of over 7.5 tonnes

The County Council are still awaiting further from Department for Transport following the pavement parking consultation in 2020.

You can view the details here https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/managing-pavement-parking/pavement-parking-options-for-change