Action on pavement parking ‘long overdue’ – Living Streets

10.57 | 6 December 2021 | | 2 comments

Image: Living Streets

Living Streets has urged the Government to issue its response to a consultation on pavement parking in England, which closed more than a year ago.

Launched in September 2020, the consultation sought views on proposals to ban ‘antisocial’ pavement parking.

This included improving the traffic regulation order process to make it easier for councils to prohibit pavement parking, giving councils powers to fine drivers who park on paths, and a London-style nationwide ban on pavement parking.

In a letter to the transport secretary Grant Shapps, Living Streets says the Government ‘has an opportunity now to achieve progress on this long standing problem’ and that ‘doing nothing is not an option’.

The charity has also published the findings of a new survey, which suggests 87% of parents with children aged 4-11 years have had to step into the road because of vehicles parked on the pavement. 

The survey also found that 80% of parents surveyed agreed they would feel safer to let their child walk to school if vehicles weren’t parked on the pavement.

Stephen Edwards, interim CEO of Living Streets, said: “Vehicles parked on the pavement are forcing a huge majority of people into the road, leaving them in the path of oncoming traffic and in danger. Action is long overdue.

“As well as causing an obstruction for disabled people, families with young children and those with visual or mobility impairments, our research shows that pavement parking is also preventing people from making healthier and cleaner travel choices. 

“If we can tackle pavement parking, more families will be able to enjoy the health and social benefits of walking to school.”

Living Streets’ position on pavement parking is supported by the Walking and Cycling Alliance (WACA), comprising Bicycle Association, British Cycling, Cycling UK, Ramblers and Sustrans. Other signatories to the letter sent to Grant Shapps include Dame Sarah Storey, Guide Dogs and Transport for All. 

Dame Sarah Storey, active travel commissioner at the South Yorkshire Combined Authority, said: “Although most people who park on footways or cycle tracks think that it will do little harm, it places everyone not using another vehicle in danger and disproportionately affects those who use a mobility aid or have a visual impairment. 

“Some disabled and older people are now unable to go out for exercise as it is so difficult to navigate blocked footways & more children are driven to school and activities by parents who feel unable to take them safely on foot. 

“The average person has their car parked for over 90% of the time, and in some local neighbourhoods parking disrupts emergency access and prevents walking or cycling.”


 

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    Elderly people need to remain mobile. The NHS crisis is partly due to mobility issue with elderly patients, it’s fair to say that issues like pavement parking are damaging ‘our’ NHS.
    Government should progress the matter as a priority.


    Phil Button, Bedfordshire
    Agree (0) | Disagree (0)
    0

    Some people claim that narrow roads would be blocked if drivers did not park on the pavement (it never occurs to them that they should not park there at all). The Select Committee proposed exemptions for such streets to allow for controlled pavement parking. I live on a wide road where everyone has a driveway. Some of my neighbours park on the pavement, often across the entrance to their unused driveway. It’s just a bad habit. A lot of motorists don’t think they’ve parked unless they put two wheels on the pavement.
    In the (relatively narrow) street where I used to live motorists park on both pavements, so both are obstructed and often there is scarcely enough room on the road between parked vehicles for a small car to pass (a fire engine would not get through). Pavement parking can be detrimental to all – drivers as well as pedestrians.


    Vincent Edwards, Swansea
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    +5

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