Parking Ticket picking up daughter from Nursery

[Mouthwash]

I am so mad right now, I picked up my daughter from nursery the other day, stopping outside for a total of 4 minutes to collect her. On my return to my car, I had been issued with a parking ticket!

I have appealed (and lost), they state as there is no parking, and although loading/unloading is permitted, this doesnt included children.

The reason I am mad is that it wasnt 'pre meditated' parking, there is a huge sign next to where I parked saying nursery drop off zone - they have advised that the nursery has no authority to ovveride the parking restrictions....ok thats the rules, but clearly I did not know this and was being compliant with the signs in place at the time, and did not knowingly park there unlawfully. But they still want 70 off me!!!!

I am so upset.

I will be writing to my councellor as a next step as I think this is morally wrong and unfair. Now I am aware I will be advisig the nursery to remove this sign as I have seen many others park there.

Anyone else been in a similar situation?

Your argument would be with the nursery, if the area was suitably signed by the council.

What signage have the council put up?

Yellow lines, and a time restriction from 11am-2pm, which is clear, but outside nursery, as they have this sign up I was mislead into thinking it would be ok to stop to pick up my daughter (as all other parents presently do).

it says 'no parking' and 'nursery drop off'. These are contradictory - but you weren't dropping off.

you were picking up which takes longer. Hence the sign.

park further away next time.

Did you have a bag when loading/unloading dropping off? Might be worth mentioning.

Sounds very unreasonable that children and their belongings aren't included for loading/unloading. I'd be asking to see that policy. In writing.

ps the fact that other people do it doesn't make it right.

Zig zag lines outside schools are still no parking even though it is widely ignored.

Thanks for your comments, clearly I will not be parking there again, (she doesnt go there now anyway as she has started school), but at the time as a working mother, stopping outside nursery to collect my child, (with bags) next to a huge sign, I clearly assumed it was acceptable.

There are no other places to park as the road is yellow lines all the way along the road and then there is a dual carriageway.

Bad place to have business, if no parking available

There are a few spaces adjacent to the building but they were full :-(

I read the notice as 'no parking as children get dropped off here' not 'parking for nursery drop offs'. Think You might just have to pay this one.

I just looked at the sign and it says no parking, to me that's no parking.
You weren't dropping off ( although I don't see how you just drop off nursery age children) you were picking up so all in all I think it's a fair cop.
I do think its a bit mean spirited though of the traffic wardens, especially if they targeted that time as they knew parents would be there.

I know exactly where that is and I am constantly amazed that they put a nursery there in the first place!

My dds nursery has no parking either (there is virtually no parking in the city at all, so it's not like they could have put the nursery somewhere else). I usually walk there but on the odd occasion I've had to drive I do what everyone else does - call nursery and ask them to get her ready to go and they bring her and the buggy to the nursery gates, I then dash out of the car and grab her and run back. The traffic wardens are circling like vultures here so its the only way.

Bad luck op

Its very obvious that the sign is not an official one, just something the nursery has put up. The yellow lines and parking signs are official. You shouldn't have stopped there, end of story.

I don't get the point about picking up vs dropping off. Surely the first is loading and the second unloading?

Is the parking ticket a council parking ticket or a ticket from a private parking company like Parking Eye or Civil Enforcemnt. Who did you appeal to? There should be an independent appeals procedure li www.popla.org that you can appeal on certain grounds. The website money saving expert can help you.

iK8 I think the point being made is that "dropping off" normally means you stop your vehicle, someone gets out and you leave - like the drop-off zones at the airport. It does not mean, stop, turn ignition off and leave the vehicle, even if only for a few minutes. Obviously, normal drop-off does not work in a nursery situation - unless you are going to turf your two year old out to walk in on their own! However, it is fairly clear from what you have said that there is no parking there and nursery have no authority to over-rue that. Their sign is ambiguous, you took it to mean that you could park there to "drop-off" but I read it as a warning to any random person who might decide to park there that it is particularly dangerous as there are small children around. Seriously though, who locates a nursery somewhere with no parking?!

I haven't said anything about what I saw - it's not my thread and I wasn't there!

My point was that according to the op, the council signs apparently permit loading/unloading so not the same as an airport drop off point at all. I ignored the nursery sign because they don't set or decide parking enforcement.

Round my way (which is probably irrelevant as different council) you get 20 mins for loading unloading and the bays/areas are clearly marked.