Heat brings wave of beachgoer parking fines

Thursday 13 August 2020

Temperatures soaring to 30 degrees over the weekend brought a wave of fines for beachgoers illegally parking along the Five Mile Road.

Last weekend, St. Brelade’s Parking Control Officer issued 37 parking notices for parking infractions on near Le Braye, with St. Peter Honorary Police also issuing tickets.

The spate of parking infractions have led to concerns that pedestrians walking in the area could be put in danger, and that the National Park could be damaged. 

“We have a situation where people are blocking the foot path, we had numerous complaints from people who were pushed out onto the main road and putting themselves in danger,” Mike Jackson, the Constable of St. Brelade, said. 

That’s correct @Honorary_Police. It’s not something we would choose to do, parking fines are a last resort. We’d prefer people used the car parks provided #PoSB https://t.co/hlhXZ8onxd

— Parish of St. Brélade (@StBreladeJsy) August 10, 2020

“We were forced to do something about it, it’s not something we like to do.”

Other vehicles were parked on the grass verge, which forms part of Jersey National Park, causing damage in the area.

“The floor is very delicate in the area and it takes so long for that to regrow,” Mr Jackson said. “It gets ruined very quickly but it takes a long time to recover.”

There is plenty of parking, including accros the road from Le Braye on Mont a la Brune. Please don’t park on the 5 mile road. We have issued parking tickets this week. Please consider that there are some who need to use the footpath. Thank You https://t.co/yaL8Z2f8M2

— St Peter Honorary Police (@StPeterHonPol) August 9, 2020

A post aiming to alert motorists about the fines was shared on the Jersey Parking Fails Facebook group, with several questioning why they would be fined for parking on the grass rather than the path. 

According to the Policing of Parks Law, it is illegal to “use a motor vehicle or pedal cycle in any part of a park not set aside for that use”.

As Mr Jackson explained, there are not only penalties for parking without an authority in a park, but motorists also risk a criminal record. “You don’t just abandon a car in a park,” he said.

Pictured: It is illegal to use a vehicle in the area in red according to the Policing of Parks Law.

The Constable also noted that some drivers had chosen to park illegally, despite spaces being available nearby.

“There are car parks in the area - we noticed when this situation was happening that there were plenty of spaces available,” he said.

“We would encourage people to park sensibly. People need to think and be considerate when they park, and respect that people have to use the path.”

While the problem is not new, Mr Jackson said it has been “particularly bad” this summer due to the warm weather which has prompted many to go to the beach. 

Pictured: The Constable said places were available in nearby car parks but that drivers preferred to park on the path and grass.

The Constable assured that the Parish is looking for solutions to make it work better.

While some pointed out that there is no yellow line or signs indicating cars should not park on the grass, he said there was no ideal solution.

“It’s difficult for people to understand… You do not want to put signs everywhere. We could put a yellow line but that wouldn’t look good either.

“We talked about putting stones on the verge but we decided not to because motorists it would not be very safe.

“It’s not quite as easy as people might think.” 

Pictured: St. Peter's Honorary Police previously had to "crackdown on drivers illegally parking on the Five Mile Road footpaths.

Earlier this year, St. Peter's Chef de Police, Joao Camara, reminded drivers it was illegal to park on the path. It came after a "ludicrous" number of drivers blocked the area following the relaxation of lockdown measures.

For the Environment Minister, Deputy John Young, the pandemic might be to blame for the increasing number of cars parked along the bay.

“This is a long standing situation in Jersey, but has especially increased this year as many people are holidaying at home due to restrictions on travel due to covid-19 , and the incredible weather,” he said.

“I hope the current increase in car parking is temporary and will go back to previous levels when we get through to more normal conditions.”

He added that the the issue highlighted “just how we are so car dependent”. Deputy Young is however not in favour of “proliferating car parks by taking more areas of valuable conservation quality land”. Instead, he suggested “more frequent and flexible bus services”.