Operation “Park Safe” to be rolled out across Cheshire

A pilot project allowing Crewe and Nantwich residents to report obstructive and illegal parking has been deemed a success.

In January, police received 17 reports of parking problems online as part of “Operation Park Safe” in the Crewe and Nantwich area.

This compares with 16 reports in Crewe LPU throughout the whole of 2023.

Of those 17, five have been sent for local resolution and the other cases are ongoing, said a spokesperson.

Now the operation is being rolled out across Cheshire after the trial project was given the green light by police chiefs.

Operation Park Safe allows residents to report parking issues online through the Cheshire Police website.

As part of the scheme, residents can upload videos and photographs of offending vehicles to the website where they will be assessed by an experienced traffic officer, who will triage and deal with any dangerous parking offences.

Any minor traffic obstructions or community impact issues will be allocated to the local PCSO or Beat officers to deal with.

Residents need to do:

– provide a written statement about the offence, including the date and time it happened. This can be completed electronically
– provide your name, address, date of birth, and contact details
– required to attend court if the matter is contested
– Do NOT challenge the driver or get involved in confrontation
– Do NOT put yourself at risk to obtain a photograph

The Roads and Crime Unit will triage reports and will deal with the person responsible.

This may include issuing fines or educational courses depending on the severity of the offence committed.

Offences officers deal with:

– Vehicles parked on or in a crossing area: This includes the area covered by zig-zag lines.
– Parking on white lines: People cannot stop or park on a road marked with double white lines, even when a broken white line is on your side of the road, except to pick up or set down passengers, or to load or unload. This includes the pavement or verge.
– Forcing pedestrians to walk in the road: This includes parking on the pavement where there is not enough room for pedestrians to get past.
– Parking at/on a junction: Vehicles cannot stop, park opposite or within 10m of a junction.
– School parking offences: People cannot stop or park on the zig-zag lines or keep clear markings.
– Parking on a cycle track.
– Parking a goods vehicle on the road: Vehicles with a maximum laden weight of more than 7.5 tonnes (including trailers) cannot park on a verge, pavement, or any land situated between carriageways, without police permission. The only exception is when this is essential for loading and unloading, but the vehicle cannot be left unattended.

Officers can’t deal with:

Single and double yellow line offences: These are local authority parking enforcement only.
Pavement parking: This is where there is still room for pedestrians to get past without having to go into the road.

To report parking issues as part of Operation Park Safe, visit cheshire.police.uk/park-safe

Sgt Russell Sime said: “Road safety is always an important issue to members of the public and I’m pleased the pilot of Op Park Safe was successful and it will now be rolled out force-wide.

“Since we launched Op Park Safe in January 2024 in Crewe, we’ve already received more reports of parking offences in Crewe than we received in the whole of 2023.

“We cannot be everywhere – this initiative relies on the help of active citizens to aid us in making the roads safer.

“It is also important to note there are some offences which do not come under our control, however we will always try our best to resolve parking issues.

“We hope residents will make use of this initiative so we can all work together to make our communities a safer place to live.”

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