After 5 years, the government has finally published a response to the pavement parking consultation which ran in 2020. It asked for input on options to deal with pavement parking in England, citing the impacts on people with mobility needs, impaired vision, and parents with young children who use prams / buggies. After an extremely long period of multiple governments kicking the can down the road, a press release was published today (linked in post).
There will be more detail published later in the year, but I’m quite concerned that the direction outlined is going to be too watered down to make much difference. Seems likely that they’re going for “option 2” which stops short of a full ban, and instead relies on the slightly nebulous idea of enforcing against “obstruction”. My concern is that this is still too wooly and therefore will be too burdensome for councils to actually act on. If councils are not confident about being able to enforce in an effective and affordable way (particularly if they’re worried about every single parking ticket being contested) then they just won’t use these new powers.
The press release goes to great lengths to emphasise this won’t be a top-down process (the word “local” or variants are used 19 times) but the thing is, even with “option 3” there would’ve been a lot of wiggle room for local authorities to still allow pavement parking where they deem it appropriate. You can see this in places where such a ban is supposedly in operation (London, Glasgow, Edinburgh). They can either mark bays partially on the pavement, or just decide to make whole streets exempt.
FlaviousTiberius on
It’ll depend on how sensibly it gets applied. For a lot of areas where most people don’t have drive ways having your car at least partially on the pavement is basically a necessity if you don’t want you car to end up blocking the road while parked.
TTNNBB2023 on
Now can they do something about people driving e-bikes on the pavement please.
wkavinsky on
Just ban pavement parking outright.
Streets are for people, not fucking cars – and doubly so for the pavements.
liquindian on
A weak, spineless fudge, passing the buck so they’re not the ones who get any blowback from fixing this problem. If clear pavements are essential, as the minister says, just ban pavement parking.
> These new powers do not go far enough to protect pedestrians. Disabled people, parents with buggies and older residents shouldn’t have to depend on individual local authorities’ appetite and capacity to enforce.
Hopeful-Climate-3848 on
Pretty much all guidance that is supposed to protect pedestrians is ignored at the demands of local lobby groups.
This won’t be any different.
TheWorldIsGoingMad on
On our road almost every house has a car, and many two cars.
If they all parked fully on the road, and both sides would be needed, even cars wouldn’t fit through the gap, much less ambulances or fire engines.
This is just a fact.
What do people who think all pavement parking should be banned want people to do ? Only people with the money for off road parking should be allowed a car ?
Personally I think parking partly on the pavement is OK *so long as enough room is left for a pram to get through*.
8 commenti
After 5 years, the government has finally published a response to the pavement parking consultation which ran in 2020. It asked for input on options to deal with pavement parking in England, citing the impacts on people with mobility needs, impaired vision, and parents with young children who use prams / buggies. After an extremely long period of multiple governments kicking the can down the road, a press release was published today (linked in post).
There will be more detail published later in the year, but I’m quite concerned that the direction outlined is going to be too watered down to make much difference. Seems likely that they’re going for “option 2” which stops short of a full ban, and instead relies on the slightly nebulous idea of enforcing against “obstruction”. My concern is that this is still too wooly and therefore will be too burdensome for councils to actually act on. If councils are not confident about being able to enforce in an effective and affordable way (particularly if they’re worried about every single parking ticket being contested) then they just won’t use these new powers.
The press release goes to great lengths to emphasise this won’t be a top-down process (the word “local” or variants are used 19 times) but the thing is, even with “option 3” there would’ve been a lot of wiggle room for local authorities to still allow pavement parking where they deem it appropriate. You can see this in places where such a ban is supposedly in operation (London, Glasgow, Edinburgh). They can either mark bays partially on the pavement, or just decide to make whole streets exempt.
It’ll depend on how sensibly it gets applied. For a lot of areas where most people don’t have drive ways having your car at least partially on the pavement is basically a necessity if you don’t want you car to end up blocking the road while parked.
Now can they do something about people driving e-bikes on the pavement please.
Just ban pavement parking outright.
Streets are for people, not fucking cars – and doubly so for the pavements.
A weak, spineless fudge, passing the buck so they’re not the ones who get any blowback from fixing this problem. If clear pavements are essential, as the minister says, just ban pavement parking.
Response from the charity Living Streets here:
https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/press-media/these-new-powers-do-not-go-far-enough-to-protect-pedestrians/
A choice quote:
> These new powers do not go far enough to protect pedestrians. Disabled people, parents with buggies and older residents shouldn’t have to depend on individual local authorities’ appetite and capacity to enforce.
Pretty much all guidance that is supposed to protect pedestrians is ignored at the demands of local lobby groups.
This won’t be any different.
On our road almost every house has a car, and many two cars.
If they all parked fully on the road, and both sides would be needed, even cars wouldn’t fit through the gap, much less ambulances or fire engines.
This is just a fact.
What do people who think all pavement parking should be banned want people to do ? Only people with the money for off road parking should be allowed a car ?
Personally I think parking partly on the pavement is OK *so long as enough room is left for a pram to get through*.