Street parking - what you can and can't do

Parking on the highway can cause an obstruction to other road users, including emergency service and refuse vehicles, creating a hazard, causing congestion or an inconvenience.

Parking restrictions control where and when people can park. They are very important for:
  • Reducing congestion - parked cars can mean roads are narrowed causing traffic jams and delays
  • Increasing road safety - parked cars can reduce visibility making a road unsafe for motorists and pedestrians, particularly at junctions 

From April 2015 the Deregulation Act 2015 has restricted the number of parking contraventions that we can enforce using CCTV. We can only use CCTV to enforce parking at bus stops and school entrances and will continue to enforce in these areas in the interests of safety and facilitating the free flow of traffic.

Types of parking restriction

 

Yellow line waiting restrictions help traffic to move freely and improve road safety. They are marked on the road at locations where there is a need to control or restrict parking and to prevent obstruction.

Double yellow lines mean that parking is restricted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in other words ‘at any time’. Following a recent review of traffic and parking signs by the Department for Transport ‘at any time’ restrictions no longer need to be signed.

Single yellow lines indicate a shorter period of restriction and mean that at some time of the day parking is restricted. The days and times of the restrictions will be shown on a yellow time plate, with the exception of yellow lines within Controlled Parking Zones.

Yellow loading restriction kerb blips Loading restrictions are shown by yellow lines on the edge of the kerb. They indicate that loading and unloading is not allowed during the times shown on the nearby white signs.

White Lines are marked on the carriageway to draw attention to dropped kerbs. They are only advisory and cannot be enforced unless a vehicle is obstructing access to a driveway.

You can request to have a white line installed by the council, at a cost, by completing the application form.

Red routes are identified by a single or doubles red line on the side of the road instead of yellow lines. The following roads in the London Borough of Sutton are:

  • A24 Stonecot Hill and London Road, North Cheam.
  • A217 Belmont Rise, St Dunstans’ Hill, Oldfields Road and Reigate Avenue
  • A232 Ewell Road, Cheam Road, Carshalton Road, Pound Street, High Street  (Carshalton), Acre Lane and Croydon Road.
  • A297 St Helier Avenue
They are managed by Transport for London which includes parking enforcement as well as street lighting, trees and road maintenance. 

 

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