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news
Pavement parking in Cambridge vai Google Street View.PNGGovernment launches consultation on pavement parking ban
The Department for Transport (DfT) has this week launched a consultation into pavement parking in England, including giving local authorities increased powers to deal with the problem.
The consultation, which is open until 2359hrs on 22 November 2020 and can be foiund here, was officially launched on Monday by secretary of state for transport Grant Shapps.
“Parking on pavements means wheelchair users, visually impaired people and parents with pushchairs can be forced into the road, which is not only dangerous but discourages people from making journeys,” he said.
“A key part of our green, post-Covid recovery will be encouraging more people to choose active travel, such as walking, so it is vital that we make the nation’s pavements accessible for everyone.
“Pavement parking presents a clear safety risk when parked cars occupy the pavement and force vulnerable pedestrians to move into the road.”
While pavement parking is already banned in London, elsewhere in England rules forbidding it only apply to HGVs.
The DfT said it is exploring three options, as follows:
Improving the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) process, under which local authorities can already prohibit pavement parking.
A legislative change to allow local authorities with civil parking enforcement powers to enforce against ‘unnecessary obstruction of the pavement’.
A legislative change to introduce a London-style pavement parking prohibition throughout England.
Parents with pushchairs, wheelchair users, the elderly and people with visual disabilities are among the groups that encounter the biggest problems due to pavement parking, which often forces them to walk in the road.
Stephen Edwards, director of policy and communications at walking charity Living Streets, said: “We’re regularly contacted by disabled and older people who feel trapped in their homes because there isn’t enough room on the pavement for wheelchairs or mobility scooters.
“This has impacted more people during the pandemic, with blocked pavements affecting everyone’s ability to physically distance.”
Recently, the charity Guide Dogs published a report, Blocked In: The Impact of Pavement Parking, in which it called on the government to bring in a new law on pavement parking, and only allow drivers to park in designated areas approved by local authorities.
The charity’s senior head of policy, public affairs and campaigns, Blanche Shackleton, said: “For many people with sight loss, cars and vans parked on the pavement make our streets stressful and dangerous to navigate. At any time, you might be forced out into the road with traffic that you cannot see.
“When every journey is an ordeal, simply going out independently can become daunting.”
Meanwhile, Justine Roberts, founder and CEO of Mumsnet, said: “Lots of us have occasionally parked a couple of wheels up on the pavement to leave space on the road without really thinking about how it might inconvenience people.
“It’s a topic that comes up regularly on Mumsnet, where wheelchair users and people with buggies share stories about being forced into the road or having to double back long distances.”
The AA, however, compared banning pavement parking with measures undertaken during the coronavirus crisis to encourage active travel and enable social distancing.
Its head of roads policy, Jack Cousens, said: “As we have seen over the past few weeks with road closures and narrowed roads, councils have acted with little consultation and in many cases lost confidence of the communities they serve.
“Local authorities should make a street-by-street assessment and where pavement parking is allowed, markings should show how much pavement can be used.
“While councils have always had the powers to tackle problem parking, it would be typical if the only time they act is when there is fines income to be had from it.”
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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quote from AA
“Local authorities should make a street-by-street assessment and where pavement parking is allowed, markings should show how much pavement can be used.
Agree, and in the absence of assessment and markings thd default should be - not allowed
I'm an ex-Brit, and have lived most of my life in the USA. You know how you all look askance at the States, with our broken healthcare system, gun laws, rampant homelessness, crazy number of road deaths, etc?
Well, that's what pavement parking in the UK looks like from here. It just seems ludicrous that it's ever allowed! Over here, only the police are brazen enough to do it regularly.
I suspect the difference is partly to do with the amount of parking space in the U.S. (or at least the places that I've seen). We did a road trip around Arizona, Nevada and Utah and whenever we walked from our accomodation to a nearby restaurant, we felt that the natives just couldn't believe that we would choose to walk a couple of blocks rather than drive, but maybe that's to do with those areas. We were due to go out to San Francisco (to see Jinjer in concert) but the pandemic put a stop to that, so I wonder if a big city would be very different.
We do have a ludicrous amount of parking, but still people complain they can't find any downtown in my midsize midwestern city. Away from downtown, I've seen people drive from one store to another when the two share a parking lot!
We have a lot of international visitors to the large well-knowm manufacturer of yellow equipment I work for. In the area where they usually stay, there are hotels on one side of the road, and restaurants on the other. The only reasonable way between is to drive, as you'd otherwise be crossing about ten lanes of 50 MPH traffic with no crosswalks or even pavements.
The few times I've had a car in the UK, and been looking for a spot, I've seen pavement parkers and thought, "can I really park there? Isn't that an asshole move?"
100% it is. Pavement parking used to conjur an image of residential parking, two wheels on the pavement outside someone's house. Now it is the whole vehicle beached up on the broad expanses of pavement at high street cross roads.
Ridiculous.
MInd you, I've read about places in the US where (allegedly) anyone walking is assumed to be some sort of ne'er-do-well and reported to the local police.
The question of cars parked on the pavement should not be framed simply in terms of allowing space for wheelchair users and the like. Cars parked on pavements clutter up the built environment, they are an unsightly blot on the landscape. They also obstruct sightlines and obstruct those needing to cross the road. Let them park in a place designed for the purpose.
And a footpath/pavement is not designed to bear the weight of a motor vehicle (just look at the state of footpaths which have been regularly parked on!).
Double yellows would seem the obvious solution.
If expensive. Alternatively, clarify the law so that it's a car on the pavement didn't get there by magic, and prosecute the driver in each case under existing legislation...
Are they? What’s the position when someone parks “inside” the lines? “Even less legal” would be my ideal answer!
Fully support a position that says “kerbstone means kerbstone” with very limited exemptions.
Unfortunately, many drivers interpret existing double yellows as "You may park here so long as you have your hazard warning lights on."
Double yellows are a problem because vehicles park on them anyway. I think the rule is something like you can't wait but you can load or unload.
Not being a motor vehicle driver I don't know the specifics about double yellow lines but I've seen plenty of cars and vans parked on them (and not with indicators on as another respondent mentioned - properly parked, locked up, nobody in or near them).
As far as I can tell from your description, that would be illegal. However, people do it because they can get away with it - there's a complete lack of enforcement (especially in some areas).
Really? a visitor to my town unfamiliar with Uk driving laws would deduce the following rules
Single yellow line = Park with two wheels on the pavement
Double yellow line=Park with all wheels on the pavement.
I replied to the consultation earlier in the week.
I believe Option 3 - ban on pavement parking except where specifically allowed - is the only one that will have a significant impact.
Simply enabling local authorities to prohibit pavement parking in some places won't change anything because councils won't do anything.
I replied with the same. However, I do think "democratic pressure" (i.e. majoritarian NIMBY wittering) would cause councils to immediately mark areas as acceptable for pavement parking rather than face the torrent of whinge.
Derby City Council has banned pavement parking on specific routes in and around the city centre over the last year which has had a dramatic increase in reducing the numbers that regularly parked where they liked.
These days the only drivers who flout the rules are licensed taxi drivers who seem to think waiting in cycle lanes is perfectly normal and that ASL are there for their convenience too.
W**kers!
I seem to remember some fairly positive words coming from the RAC's Roads Policy department in recent weeks (on other news stories), so it's a shame the AA haven't caught up with the times and are still spouting drivel.