Is this parking restriction legal?

[Imran-vx]

This last week I have been parking twice a day in a 'parking layby' type spot on a main road into the town centre to visit someone in the local hospital. It is marked with just a white broken line indicating the dozen or so parking places. I thought it was odd that with an overflowing pay and display type hospital car park nearby that hardly anybody else was using this spot and saving the stress and cost of the hospital car park.

Today I found out why when I had to use one of the bays further up the road. There was a small white sign on a post further up with the blue 'P' on it and "limited to 20 minutes. No return within 2 hours". I then noticed that there was a second sign near where I had been parking obscured by being put on a pole behind a 'School' sign which as I had parked and walked off in the opposite direction I hadn't seen it.

Now I thought on-street parking restrictions such as this required a broken yellow line and the usual yellow red/blue signs. Are these council signs under some sort of local order and how are they enforced? Do the same rules apply about them having visible signage and does it specify the distance between the signs because with my old eyes the second visible sign was miles away.

I haven't had a ticket yet but then the bays are never full so I guess it isn't a top priority to patrol but I do like to know where I stand.

[Hooli]

signage sounds normal to me. wouldnt know about if it has to be obvious - but somehow i doubt it, too many dodgy signs about for people to get off on those grounds.

[Dwight VanDriver]

By the sound of it the area is within a controlled zone where entry signs will give details of restrictions.

Parking bays within the zone are marked on the carriageway with white lines andf any conditions on upright signs i.e. disc zone - Mon to Sat - 8am - 8 pm - 30 minutes - no return in 1 hour.

dvd

[me4ty]

This site is quite helpful http://www.ticketfighter.co.uk/parking.htm

[Imran-vx]

"All parking bays must be accompanied by a sign. Where a bay is long, it must contain repeater signs at regular intervals. According to the guidance in Chapter 3 of the Traffic Signs Manual, signs should be placed a maximum of 30m apart. All the bays listed above should be marked by a white box of width between 1.8m to 2.7m."

I will measure the 30M. It seesma lot more and with one sign obscured I think I would give it a punt if I got a ticket.

[Alpinestars]

http://www.rmbconsulting.co.uk/

Try this site. It's very good.