A perplexing and unofficial sticker placed on a railway station parking sign has sparked confusion and financial penalties for motorists in Essex, highlighting significant issues with local parking signage clarity.
Mysterious Sticker Appears on Station Sign
Motorists utilising Gidea Park station in Essex have been confronted by a baffling addition to the car park's directional signage. A small, unauthorised sticker bearing the words 'this side only' has been discovered affixed to a notice detailing Monday to Saturday parking conditions. This miniature amendment has created substantial bewilderment among drivers, many of whom have subsequently received Penalty Charge Notices for incorrectly interpreting the sign's instructions.
Local Resident Falls Foul of Parking Rules
Charlotte Fackerell, a resident from Dagenham in East London, recently became an unwitting victim of these ambiguous parking regulations. On January 4th, Ms Fackerell parked her vehicle at Gidea Park station while using the Elizabeth line service. She received a £55 Penalty Charge Notice for her parking placement, which she initially believed complied with the displayed rules.
"Imagine a sign that is in the middle of two parking bays - but it applies only to the bay on the right," Ms Fackerell explained. "My bumper was level with the sign on the left, but the sign only applies to the bays on the right. We all stood a good six feet away from the sign and said, 'Yeah, the sign says Monday to Saturday', and it was a Sunday."
The Critical Distinction Between Bays
The core of the confusion lies in the sign's dual purpose. While the right-hand side bays referenced on the notice permit Monday to Saturday parking, the left-hand side bays are designated exclusively for five-minute drop-offs and collections. This crucial distinction was not immediately apparent to drivers like Ms Fackerell, who assumed the centrally positioned sign governed both adjacent parking areas.
Ms Fackerell, who works as an administrator for a financial union, claims she failed to notice the small 'This side only' sticker when examining the notice. "I think it was probably added by someone like me who has had a parking fine," she suggested. "When the parking sign is in the middle of two bays, you assume it applies to both sides - but it doesn't. Why was it not made clear on the sign? It's wrong. It's not being open, transparent and honest, is it?"
Council Response and Driver's Dilemma
Havering Council has confirmed that the mysterious sticker was not placed by their authority. In response to the incident, the council has commissioned a comprehensive inspection of all parking notices across the local area to prevent similar confusion.
A spokesperson for Havering Council stated: "The PCNs issued at this site in December and January were for vehicles parked in bays designated for drop off and pick up only, and parking in these bays is limited to five minutes. The picture supplied by the driver is for the parking bays further along the road, which would have been free on Sundays as the RingGo app stated."
The council emphasised that proper directional signs should always be clearly marked, form part of the main sign design, and use consistent fonts and colours to avoid driver misunderstanding. They advised that any driver believing a PCN was issued in error should follow the formal appeals procedure detailed on the penalty notice.
Financial Pressure Leads to Payment
Despite her conviction that the fine was unjust, Ms Fackerell faced a difficult decision regarding her appeal. Upon learning that the formal appeals process could take up to 56 days to resolve, she chose to settle the £55 penalty rather than risk it increasing to £110 during the waiting period.
"£110 is a lot of money," she said. "I couldn't chance having bailiffs at my door. They obviously know people fall for this. Ring Go says it's free to park there on Sundays, but that only applies to the right of the sign. It just doesn't seem fair."
This incident has left Ms Fackerell understandably cautious about future parking situations. "I'm paranoid now," she admitted. "Make your signage clear." Her experience serves as a stark warning to other motorists to scrutinise parking instructions with exceptional care, particularly when signs govern multiple bay types with different regulations.
