Tips on Sensible Parking
- Controlled parking zones
- Motorcycle and moped parking
- Signs
- Avoid driving/parking in bus lanes during restricted hours
- Moving vehicle offences
- Parking in pay by phone bays
- Bank holidays
- Electric vehicles
- Parking for Blue Badge holders
- Parking for Resident Blue Badge Holder Permits
- Parking in suspended bays
- Loading Bays
- Residents’ permit parking
- School ‘Keep Clear’ markings
- Pavement Parking
- Parking on single yellow lines and loading and unloading
- Parking on double yellow lines
Controlled parking zones
The borough has 12 controlled parking zones (CPZs) with various sub zones. These CPZs vary in sizes and parking is restricted by Traffic Regulation Orders. The aim of these CPZs is to reduce traffic congestion whilst enabling road users to park in a safe and organised way that takes into consideration the safety of pedestrians and reduces the risk of accidents. If a road is laid out with yellow lines and parking bays, there are fewer opportunities to park illegally. Visitors, contractors, builders and other non-residents will need a permit to park otherwise they risk being ticketed or being towed away.
At the vehicular entry point of the CPZs, there is an entry plate similar to the sign above. This sign means that between 10am and 12 noon the CPZ is enforceable and yellow line restrictions apply unless indicated by another time plate. Enforcement hours and parking tariffs vary from one zone to the next, please check the entry signs prior to parking.
Outside the CPZs there are fewer restrictions. They may include single yellow lines, double yellow lines, footway parking exemptions, disabled bays, overnight heavy goods vehicle parking, and parking across driveway.
Motorcycle and moped parking
In controlled parking zones, motorcycles and mopeds may park free of charge in residential, shared use and pay by phone bays. Where a pay by phone or shared use bay is used, the maximum stay and no return restrictions apply to motorbikes and mopeds. A penalty charge notice (PCN) may be issued to a motorbike or moped where they are found to be breaching those restrictions.
They should be parked at right angles to the kerb, and at one end of the bay, in a manner that would not prevent other users from parking in that bay.
Signs
Always read the signs displayed in the area. Look out for the sign at the entrance of the CPZ - it will indicate the parking restriction that applies within that zone. Where you do park check for any additional time restrictions that could be in operation. If other vehicles are parking do not make an assumption that it is also OK for you to park.
Avoid driving or parking in bus lanes during restricted hours
Bus lanes are separated from the rest of the road by a single wide continuous white line and are normally marked with red road surfacing.
At the beginning of the bus lane, there will be a sign showing the hours of operation and which vehicles are permitted eg, buses, taxis and cycles. There is also a sign at the end of the bus lane at which point normal parking restrictions commence.
Drivers will receive a ticket in the post if they are captured on CCTV driving in a bus lane during restricted times.
Parking in bus lanes is prohibited unless designated by signs.
Moving vehicle offences
Haringey Council uses various mobile enforcement units or ‘smart cars’ equipped with CCTV cameras which are able to move around several locations within the borough. These mobile units are used to enforce drivers that ignore road signs thereby endangering not only themselves but also other road users. Contraventions enforced are mainly banned turns, no entries and yellow-box junctions.
You must not enter a yellow box junction until your exit road or lane is clear. However, you may enter the box and wait when you want to turn right, and are only stopped from doing so by oncoming traffic, or by other vehicles waiting to turn right.
Parking in pay by phone bays
These bays are for short-term parking only. Haringey uses RingGo paid on street parking, and you need to register with RingGo to use this service.
More information on how to register and pay for parking is on our RingGo page.
For more information on the on-street pay by phone parking bay tariffs please see the respective CPZ pages.
Bank holidays
On bank holidays and public holidays, free parking is available in all on-street pay by phone parking bays and in all council car parks that are open.
See the permit price list page for more information on council car park season tickets and tariffs.
Electric vehicles
Electric vehicles (excluding hybrids and plug-in hybrids) may park free of charge in dedicated on-street pay by phone bays, but the maximum stay and no return periods will remain applicable. Charges will still apply for electric vehicles parked in any shared pay by phone or permit bays and in council-run car parks.
Parking for Blue Badge Holders
The Blue Badge parking scheme is fully recognised in Haringey. If you are a holder of a valid badge, you can park on a single yellow line for up to 3 hours where no loading restriction applies with a badge and clock clearly displayed. You can also park in resident parking bays, permit holder bays, pay by phone bays, and in shared use bays without a charge.
In Haringey you can park in standard disabled bays for an indefinite period if you have a valid Blue Badge. However please note that your blue badge is not valid in dedicated disabled parking bays. Dedicated disabled parking bays are reserved for holders of the permit for that specific bay and their permit will include the bay reference number.
Parking in central London, where traffic levels are much higher, causes its own problems. You must therefore contact individual authorities for information on their parking facilities.
Please visit the Blue Badge scheme: information from your council on GOV.UK (external link) to find the contact details and parking information for other local authorities.
Please note: Blue Badge holders are not entitled to drive or park in bus lanes, taxi ranks, dedicated disabled parking bays, doctors’ bays, loading bays and suspended bays. In some boroughs, you cannot park in residents-only bays.
Parking for Resident Blue Badge Holder Permits
Haringey residents who hold a valid Blue Badge may also apply for the free Resident Blue Badge Holder Permit. The permit is valid borough-wide within Haringey with no time limit in the following places:
- Resident bays within a controlled parking zone (CPZ)
- Shared-use bays – residential/pay by phone
- Shared-use bays – permit holder/pay by phone
- Permit holders’ bays
- Disabled bays (except dedicated disabled bays)
- Pay by phone-only bays
The Blue Badge holder must be present when using the permit and the Blue Badge must be available for inspection when requested by an enforcement officer.
The disabled residential permit is not valid for use in or on:
- single and double yellow lines. If you park on a single or double yellow line you must display your Blue Badge and clock. There is a time limit of up to 3 hours from your time of arrival to which the clock must be set
- dedicated disabled (Blue Badge) bays. These are reserved for holders of the permit for that specific bay – their permit will include the bay reference
- private car parks, including Homes for Haringey car parks
Find out more about the Resident Blue Badge Holder Permit and apply
Parking in suspended bays
The council sometimes needs to suspend parking bays for road works or other essential reasons. Parking is prohibited on a suspended bay by all vehicles, other than for authorised vehicles for a period specified on notices placed on the road adjacent to these bays. The responsibility is with the driver to read and understand when the suspension is in force. For more information on suspended bays please see Parking bay suspension.
Loading bays
These bays are generally reserved for commercial vehicles that are actively engaged in loading or unloading and is represent by the sign to the right.
The days and hours that restrictions apply are shown on the adjacent sign plates.
Resident permit parking
In CPZs local residents pay a fee which entitles them to use residents-only parking spaces near their homes. There are approximately 10,100 residents’ parking bays in Haringey.
Residents parking permits must be clearly displayed in these bays during the restricted hours if they do not have a virtual permit.
School ‘Keep Clear’ markings
With car ownership on the increase and the parking outside schools limited, children are often faced with the problem of trying to negotiate a safer place to cross the road. In the UK, nearly 300 children are admitted to hospital every day because of accidents and tragically, a child dies nearly every day. Most of these accidents happen during morning and after school runs. In Haringey we put child safety first by regularly enforcing keep clear signs outside schools.
Keep clear signs are mainly placed outside schools and are identified by yellow zig-zag lines as indicated above and are provided for safety reasons to ensure clear sight lines for both motorists and children outside schools.
If the school is within a CPZ then the 'keep clear' section will also be covered by a single yellow line restriction which prohibits parking during the CPZ controlled hours.
For more information on child safety please visit the Child Accident Prevention Trust website (external link).
Pavement parking
Pavement parking can cause inconvenience and is hazardous to pedestrians, visually impaired, disabled and elderly people or those with prams or pushchairs as the person may have to step on to the highway to avoid the obstruction, putting themselves in danger. It may also cause damage to kerbs, pavements or the services infrastructure underneath.
You should only park on the pavement where there are exemptions and will be marked by signs shown here. The first sign allows you to park on the footway whereas the second sign indicates the end of the footway parking exemption.
Parking on single yellow lines and loading and unloading
You cannot park on a single yellow line between 8am and 6.30pm, although you should always check street signs for confirmation of regulations.
When parking on a yellow line in a CPZ, the hours of restriction for a single yellow line will be the same as the hours of operation of the CPZ, unless there is a separate time plate for the line displaying different hours of operation.
There is normally a ‘no loading’ restriction between 8am-10am and 4pm-6.30pm. During this no vehicles are allowed to park, load or unload during loading restriction hours. When loading and unloading is generally limited to 40 minutes and the activity must be continuous.
Non-commercial drivers can also load and unload if the items are heavy or bulky or if the driver has many items, which would involve more than one trip. As soon as the loading/unloading is completed, the car must be moved and parked legally elsewhere. Loading and unloading is dependent upon the yellow blips on the kerb. These warn there is a loading restriction. Two blips indicate no loading at any time and one blip means that loading is restricted at certain times as indicated on the white plate. No one, including drivers of commercial vehicles, is allowed to park when these loading restrictions are in force.
When loading and unloading activity is not in evidence a PCN is issued. If you attract a ticket while you were away from the vehicle during loading and unloading and where the parking restriction allows you to park, you can appeal against the ticket and include a delivery note or receipt for goods accompanied by an explanation as to why you were away from the vehicle.
If you want to load and unload for longer than 20 minutes, you can apply for a ‘waiver’, a permit that allows you to park on yellow lines. To make an application for a waiver, please contact us on Tel 020 8489 1000 or see Parking bay suspension.
Parking on double yellow lines
Double yellow lines denote an area where it can be dangerous to park, or where leaving your vehicle can be a hazard to other road users. It used to be accompanied by road signs bearing the message ‘No parking’ with a nearby plate showing either the operational hours or stating ‘At any time’ without which the parking restriction was not enforceable.
These road signs are not required where the restriction operates for 24 hours over seven days.
A better understanding of all these rules and restrictions will enable you to park legally and sensibly within the borough at all times and avoid those dreaded PCNs.
For more information on parking restrictions and safe parking please visit GOV.UK for Highway Code information (external link).