How to Report Illegal Vehicle Parking

We often receive emails from members and members of the public reporting illegally parked vehicles blocking cycle lanes and the road which can lead to cyclists being forced into fast-moving traffic. If the situation is serious and urgent, please report the illegally parked vehicle to the police and/or council (tweet them a picture) as they will have powers to remove the vehicle but if it’s something minor, follow these steps.

Step 1: Determine Who Manages the Road

London’s roads are either managed by Transport for London (TfL) or the borough that the road is located in so before following up on an illegally parked vehicle, you need to determine who manages the road. You can do this by clicking on this map.

If the road is a red route (marked by single or double red lines), it is managed by TfL, and if it is not a red route, in most cases it is managed by the relevant borough.

Step 2: Report

Take a photo of the illegally parked vehicle to illustrate the obstruction. Currently, public helmet cam, dash cam or phone footage/images cannot lead directly to the imposition of a fine — officers still have to attend — however, helmet/dashcam video of vehicles dangerously parked on the zigzags approaching zebra crossings may be actionable. This is different to moving traffic offences such as close passing which can be enforced directly following submissions of video by members of the public. If the road is managed by:

Transport for London

TfL’s red routes use camera enforcement to identify illegally parked vehicles and issue Penalty Charge Notices. They operate a network of more than 900 CCTV enforcement cameras and these can be used to enforce any type of traffic contravention so in many cases, it’s not necessary to report an illegally parked vehicle. If you do need to report an illegally parked vehicle, you can use this reporting tool or call the TfL customer service number (0343 222 1234), and in some cases, they will send someone to the area to see if it’s a regular occurrence and enforce accordingly.

London Borough

If the road is managed by a borough, first identify which borough the road is in. Different boroughs have different methods of dealing with illegally parked vehicles. Click on the relevant borough below to see what you can do to follow up: