Whittington Hospital parking signs to be changed

Published: 1st April, 2011
by PETER GRUNER

ISLINGTON Council are to remove confusing “no loading” signs outside the Whittington Hospital after dozens of complaints that disabled motorists were being unfairly targeted by parking wardens.

Executive member for the environment, Councillor Paul Smith, said he’d read last week’s Islington Tribune and agreed that the sign was unclear and would be changed. “I saw the photo of the sign in the Tribune and I agree it is very unclear,” he said. “I’ve asked for officers to look at installing new signs which are clear and concise.”

Disabled drivers accuse council wardens of “heartlessly lining up” to issue £60 penalty fines even though the signs restricting parking in Magdala Avenue are too small to see and “don’t make sense”. 

Instead of saying “no parking”, the signs outside the hospital confusingly state “no loading”, which is normally associated with high street shopping.

No-parking restrictions operate between 6am and 9am and 4pm and 7pm outside the hospital; the majority of patients get fined after 4pm when their appointments run late.

Retired lorry driver Len Penny, 80, who is receiving cancer treatment, described how he always parked outside the hospital without problems until last November, when he got a parking ticket.

He said: “I discovered that the rules had changed. I was told I had contravened loading restrictions and would have to pay £60. Loading restrictions? Isn’t that what they have outside shops?”

Rather than get caught out again, he asked his daughter Ann to take a day off work to drive him to hospital for the next appointment.

Mr Penny, a widower from Tufnell Park, said: “She asked a passing warden if she could park with my Blue disabled badge and was told she could.

“But when Ann came back to the car, she found it had been ticketed. She appealed and was told that unless she could give the name and number of the warden who had advised her, she would have to pay. That’s £120 we ended up paying.”

Mr Penny’s next-door neighbour, retired IT manager Stephen Moorby, helped him appeal against the parking fines but was unsuccessful. 

Mr Moorby said: “Obviously we’re pleased that the confusing signs are being changed. But disabled drivers will still be targeted. What kind of world are we living in when a hospital which is meant to be a place of caring is used to trap elderly patients for cash? Ironically, Len prefers to drive, even though he is entitled to community transport, which would be an enormous cost to the health service.

“Cllr Smith’s words  of sympathy in the Islington Tribune last week to disabled drivers similarly caught out for parking outside the Whittington lacked credibility.”

Lib Dem Cllr Tracy Ismail said she understood the need for parking restrictions to allow better access in the road for buses.

“But there is a problem here and both the hospital authorities and Islington Council need to stop burying their heads and investigate an issue which is causing great distress to the elderly and disabled.

“What can be worse, after receiving bad news about your health, than to find you’ve been ticketed? Public transport is not an option for many elderly and disabled people and their car is a lifeline. They need to know where they can park and it needs to be clear.”

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