Footway parking
You're banned from parking on almost all of London's footways or footpaths, including:
- pavements
- grass verges
- alleyways
- driveways
- pedestrian crossings
If you park in such a way you could receive a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) and be towed away - even if only one or two wheels are on the footway.
Reasons for the ban
- to prevent obstruction / danger to pedestrians
- to prevent damage to the footway - unlike roads, they aren't designed to take the weight of cars or other motor vehicles
- to maintain footways as an amenity
Grass verges and other areas
You must not park on any part of the public highway, including:
- grass verges
- central reservations
- ramps linking private property to the road
- pedestrian crossings
Exemptions to the ban
There are two main exceptions to the ban:
- Vehicles parked in locations we've exempted from the bans. If you're parking in a street exempted from the ban, there will be bays painted in white indicating where you can park. Never assume that a street has been exempted from the bans - even if there are other cars parked that way. Where parking on the footway is permitted this is indicated by signs with the parking "P" and showing a car parked on the footway (see example): one wheel on the raised area indicates that two wheels may be on the footway.
- For loading or unloading when there's no other way the delivery or collection could be made. This exemption only applies in very limited circumstances and only where there's no loading ban in place. For further details on loading rules see London Councils' leaflet on "Loading and Unloading".
There's no exemption to the ban for holders of disabled badges.
The content of this page is provided by London Councils.
Page last updated: 15 May 2017
