Pavement Parking to be Banned

[whole diary]

[SandTEngineer]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51844446

Nothing mentioned though of the risks of having to walk around such vehicles into the road, and the huge risk of being knocked down by passing (in some cases high speed) vehicles......

Pavement parking could be banned in England
 
Parking on pavements could be banned in England to help pedestrians, the Department for Transport has said.

With the exception of London - where a ban already exists - only lorries are currently prevented from pavement parking.

The government is to open a consultation on whether to give local authorities more parking powers.

The AA, however, has warned a ban could have "unintended consequences" and cause more widespread "parking chaos".

The consultation comes after a committee of MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament) last year called for a nationwide ban on the "blight" of parking on pavements.

Witnesses told the Commons' transport committee that the worst cases of pavement parking were effectively trapping disabled, elderly and vulnerable people, making them "afraid to leave their homes".

The cross-party group said blocked-off walkways were also exacerbating the issue of loneliness in Britain.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: "Vehicles parked on the pavement can cause very real difficulties for many pedestrians."

He said the consultation would look at a variety of options, including giving local authorities extended powers to crack down on this behaviour.

Conservative MP Huw Merriman, who chairs the transport committee, welcomed the consultation, noting that the government had promised in 2015 to look into the issue but consultations and reviews had failed to improve roadside conditions.

"This government has signalled an intent to finally deliver change," he said, adding that detailed timings were needed.

[stuving]

As the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)'s prose doesn't make clear, pavement parking will be part of this consultation. The DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)'s announcement has this bit (no sign of anything more yet):

The 12-week consultation will include options such as allowing local authorities with civil parking enforcement powers to crack down on unnecessary obstruction of the pavement. Currently, outside London, only police have this power.

It will also consider how a nationwide ban on pavement parking enforced by local authorities might work, allowing for any necessary exceptions or designated spots for pavement parking where needed, and how a tailored approach may be required in rural and suburban areas which face very different challenges.

We already find bigger delivery vans avoiding parking at the kerb because they think this blocks the road too much (even when there's almost no traffic), so preferring to pull a foot or so onto a dropped kerb. This of course blocks someone's entrance, but I think it feels less like a pavement since there's no kerb to mount (and has other advantages too). Some chancers will even "borrow" any house's private parking area. Of course this is mostly for loading/unloading where the driver is nearby, and any obstruction won't last long. So I guess we'll see more of that.

[ray951]

I wonder how this would work in places where pavement parking is encouraged?
In parts of Oxford there are parking signs and markings that make it clear that you should park on pavements.

This is a good example https://www.google.com/maps/@51.7437834,-1.2335073,3a,75y,177.19h,80.3t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sWHP_t9hM799JmcmSKx0dOg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DWHP_t9hM799JmcmSKx0dOg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dsearch.revgeo_and_fetch.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D96%26h%3D64%26yaw%3D305.0186%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

[Red Squirrel]

The AA, however, has warned a ban could have "unintended consequences" and cause more widespread "parking chaos".

It is eccentric that we have arrived at a situation where many people, perhaps most, think that they somehow have a right to leave their vehicle somewhere near their destination. I suggest that Para 148 of the Highways Act, 1980 sums things up rather well:

If, without lawful authority or excuse... a person deposits any thing whatsoever on a highway to the interruption of any user of the highway... he is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding £50.

The only questions are: What is a lawful excuse? Why is it only £50?

But the AA are probably right: all those folk who habitually obstruct the footpath will need to find new places to park, or better ways to get about. A bit of planning and thought will be needed.

[didcotdean]

As amended the maximum penalty under the Highways Act 1980 is no longer '£50' but 'level 3 on the standard scale' which at present is £1,000.

[Red Squirrel]

As amended the maximum penalty under the Highways Act 1980 is no longer '£50' but 'level 3 on the standard scale' which at present is £1,000.

Aha! That's more like it!

[TaplowGreen]

Who's going to enforce it, and how?

[stuving]

Who's going to enforce it, and how?

You're going to be consulted on that.

[Marlburian]

Unnecessary parking on the pavement is one of my pet hates. Often the vehicle is left half on the road anyway, so still impedes passing traffic. Some drivers seem to pavement-park as a default action without thinking whether it's necessary.

A few years ago, Reading Borough Council formally banned it in Oak Tree and Westwood Roads in Tilehurst, with tiny little signs on the occasional lamp-post. Even I at my most curmudgeonly cannot blame drivers for not noticing them.

In the adjoining Chepstow Road, all the old-style kerbstones and pavement edges have been squashed down by the practice.

A formal ban could cause problems for residents in some narrow residential streets, such as those off Oxford Road. And its efficacy depends on enforcement. I can't recall the last time I saw what we used to call traffic wardens in Reading.

[Red Squirrel]

A formal ban could cause problems for residents in some narrow residential streets...

Yes - I can think of a few places round our way where there are small terraced houses and narrow streets. Parking can be a real challenge in areas like this.

But we have to change our mind-set. No-one has a right to park on a road, and everyone has a right to use the pavement. If that makes driving less attractive for some people, then that's just an added benefit.

[Robin Summerhill]

Who's going to enforce it, and how?

You're going to be consulted on that.

You can be consulted as much as you like, but parking has generally been decriminalised in many parts of the country and local authorities have been left to do the enforcement. So unless something changes, the police won't be involved ad it will be down to Traffic Wardens (or whatever they are calling them these days) to do it. And certainy in Wiltshire one only sees the occasional "blitz" on parking infrigements.

So on that basis "offenders" could get away with it for weeks at a time.

Having said all that it is worse - far worse - in South Africa. The Cape Town City Council has spent an absolute fortune in recent years completely rebuilding the road between Kalk Bay and Fish Hoek (Streetview link below). They have provided many more parking bays than were there previously.

A couple of weeks ago I was walking along this road and a garden maintenance contractor had driven over the parking bays shown and parked squarely on the pavement completely bocking it - the parking pays were completely empty at the time, as they are in this image:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@-34.1311137,18.4474172,3a,75y,227.36h,80.96t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sVJr9Rf7Ysf-v9PlyUP3Z4A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[stuving]

I wonder how this would work in places where pavement parking is encouraged?
In parts of Oxford there are parking signs and markings that make it clear that you should park on pavements.

I expect we'll see a lot more of those markings. Where pavements are wide enough and parking is currently tolerated though with no markings to say so, councils will have a choice. They can narrow the pavement (unlikely, as it costs money and looks bad), decide it's to be left as illegal (in which case how do they publicise what is officially "no change"?), or they can paint some boxes and put up signs ligitimising parking partly on the pavement.

[Bmblbzzz]

They could publicise "no change" by announcing something along the lines of "pavement parking regulations will be enforced from dmy date". Not saying they will, but it would be possible.

[stuving]

They could publicise "no change" by announcing something along the lines of "pavement parking regulations will be enforced from dmy date". Not saying they will, but it would be possible.

Yes, but who takes any notice of boring council statements like that? Plus, it's only true where it's true, not where one of the other treatments has been chosen. And it annoys people (who park there, and probably live there and have votes). And then there's enforcing it ...

Mid you, given how few staff most councils have in such departments, it will probably be the easy route they choose.

[TaplowGreen]

Who's going to enforce it, and how?

You're going to be consulted on that.

You can be consulted as much as you like, but parking has generally been decriminalised in many parts of the country and local authorities have been left to do the enforcement. So unless something changes, the police won't be involved ad it will be down to Traffic Wardens (or whatever they are calling them these days) to do it. And certainy in Wiltshire one only sees the occasional "blitz" on parking infrigements.

So on that basis "offenders" could get away with it for weeks at a time.

Exactly. People will work out very quickly that it's unenforceable, and that they'd be incredibly unlucky to get caught - it'll be worth the risk for an extremely rare penalty charge once or twice a year.

 It'll be more honoured in the breach than the observance.