Alleged Traffic Infringement Notice - Parking Fine

Ned Martin
<Address Removed>
<Address Removed>
<Address Removed>

09 August 2012

To whom it may concern:

On 8 August 2012 at 3:36 PM it is alleged that I, being the owner and driver of the vehicle stated in the alleged infringement notice, parked in an official traffic area longer than permitted. The infringement number is <removed>.

The below applies specifically to this alleged infringement, and to <Address Removed> in general.

I claim that a person would reasonably conclude that the area in which the alleged infringement occurred was a signed unlimited parking zone at the time of the alleged infringement, and as such, that it is unreasonable to expect a person to be aware that the area was not within a signed unlimited parking zone.

I believe based on this claim, the alleged infringement should be cancelled, and further action to clearly sign the street and clarify any misunderstandings should be undertaken prior to the issue of any further alleged infringements.

I intend to show:

That the start of the street is clearly signed as an unlimited parking area;
That the signs showing the end of the unlimited parking area at the start of the street were recently removed;
That only one sign on one side of the street has been replaced, and that this has occurred quite recently and without adequate notification;
That it is not possible to see this sign;
That based on the current and historical signage and current conditions in the street, a person would reasonably conclude that the street, and specifically the area where the alleged infringement occurred, is an unlimited parking area, and that no reasonable notification to show otherwise has been given;
That at any given time during standard work hours in a working week, a considerable amount of the available parking space on the street is consumed by construction and other non-car parking, and that due to this a person who may normally be able to park in another area is required to park further up the street where the alleged infringement occurred.
And that based on the actions of other vehicles in the street, it seems clear that other people are also assuming all parking in the street to be unlimited, or that by placing “witches hats” or other official-looking items, a person may park permanently in the street, and that as such a person would reasonably conclude that the street is still unlimited parking at all times.

Please see below for some photos taken in the street between 10 AM and 11 AM the morning of 9 August 2012, being the day after the alleged infringement occurred. These photos are indicative of normal conditions in the street at the time of the alleged infringement.

Photo 1 shows an unlimited parking sign at the start of the street. The street has unlimited parking signs on both sides of the street at the start of the street. A person would thereby reasonably conclude that the unlimited parking extends until either another sign states otherwise or the end of the street, whichever occurs first. The end signs for the unlimited parking zone were removed some time ago, seemingly at the start of construction in the nearby construction site. The side shown still has no end sign for this zone and as such one can only conclude that entire side of the street is unlimited parking. The other side of the street previously had no end sign, it having been removed as stated above, however after investigation this morning it was found a new end sign had recently been placed.

Photos 2, 3 and 4 show a truck obscuring the newly placed end sign for the unlimited parking on the side of the street on which the alleged infringement occurred. As stated above, the other side of the street does not have an end sign for the unlimited parking, and neither side had an end sign some weeks ago – I had carefully checked this and I can confidently state that the end sign for the other side of the street has been recently placed and was not there a few weeks ago. As seen in the below photos, this sign is entirely obstructed by a truck. A person who had recently checked and found that there was no end sign should not be expected to check behind all large obstructing vehicles to determine whether a new sign has been placed or not, especially when it is clear that the other side of the street still has no end sign, and no other form of notification was received to indicate that any parking arrangements on the street had changed.

Photos 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 show various parts of the street obstructed by construction vehicles, double parked vehicles, areas obstructed by “witches hats”, dumped gravel, dirt, etc.

Should you require any further information or wish to discuss this further, please contact me on my mobile <removed> in the first instance.

Sincerely,

Ned Martin

Photo 1