Pavement Parking

[papa smurf]

Originally Posted by JPAC

"Pavement parking in the UK to become illegal". Best news ever. Maybe then I can get my dad's mobility scooter and my bike outside. Hope there are massive fines or confiscations for offenders!

Something also needs doing about wheelie bins permanently blocking the pavement.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by papa smurf

Something also needs doing about wheelie bins permanently blocking the pavement.

That is another bugbear as wheelie bins should only be put out on the day of collection and yet at least half of our streets residents have them out the night before.

[papa smurf]

Originally Posted by denphone

That is another bugbear as wheelie bins should only be put out on the day of collection and yet at least half of our streets residents have them out the night before.

I put mine out at 5 pm the night before and take it in just before 8am as soon as it's emptied,some in my street never take them in

[JPAC]

Originally Posted by Taf

Pavement parking in the UK to become illegal (at last)

256. Parking on the pavement is likely to cause a grave danger to pedestrians. In particular, it creates hazards for people with disabilities and visual impairments, older people, and those with prams or pushchairs.[211] It is also unsightly and reduces the tight management of the streets which is a key to preserving a high quality street environment.

257. In London it is an offence to park on a pavement unless signs indicate that it is specifically permitted. Throughout the rest of the country there is no national law that bans parking by cars and small vehicles on the pavement.[212] A council wishing to ban pavement parking in a specific area can use Traffic Regulation Orders to this effect.

258. 'Living Streets' pointed out that vehicles parked on the pavements are a particular obstacle to achieving an accessible transport system:

We have got the Disability Discrimination Act in this country, which means that public transport is becoming more accessible, which means that buildings are becoming more accessible, but it is no good if the pavements themselves in between those two are not accessible and what we are finding is that it is not just people in wheelchairs, it is parents with buggies and people with shopping having to go into the road to get past parked cars and there is absolutely no reason for it.[213]

259. The Department for Transport recognises that pavement parking may cause damage to the kerb, the pavement, or the services underneath.[214] Repairing such damage can be costly and local authorities may face claims for compensation for injuries received resulting from damaged or defective pavements.

260. A ban on pavement parking would benefit many people, including people with disabilities, yet the Department has shied away from recommending enforcement because of the scale of the problem. Mr Mike Talbot of the Department for Transport told us that the Department had "looked at this from time to time and the problem has always been that if you define no parking on the footway or the verge in all other circumstances except where signed, it would not be enforced."[215]

261. We accept that the problem of vehicles obstructing footpaths country-wide is a large one and a major effort would be required to enforce the law. But the 'do- nothing' response of the Department is no longer a credible option. To periodically examine what is widely accepted as a problem and then fail to take any positive measures is not the quality of response that the general public has a right to expect from the Department. Those local authorities that have adopted civil enforcement powers would be required to enforce a ban on pavement parking as they carried out their other enforcement duties. The police too should be involved in enforcement of this aspect of street management. With clear signage and after a period of intense enforcement, we expect that a pavement parking ban would become self-enforcing as the public become familiar with, and accept, the new rules.

262. The Government must grip the problem of pavement parking once and for all and ensure that it is outlawed throughout the country, and not just in London. Councils should have the option of an 'opt-out' of a national pavement parking ban where this is vital, rather than relying on the use of individual Traffic Regulation Orders on specific streets and local Acts to impose a ban. That such an initiative will initially require additional resources to enforce is no excuse for allowing some pavements to continue to be swamped by cars and made inaccessible to large numbers of pedestrians.

https://publications.parliament.uk/….../748/74815.htm

Now all it needs is a change to The Transport Management Act 2004

Why post this now, has something changed?

[Taf]

Originally Posted by JPAC

Why post this now, has something changed?

I posted an older review in error. Seeking out info that a journalist used for a recent story has not been as easy as it looked.

[joglynne]

Originally Posted by papa smurf

I put mine out at 5 pm the night before and take it in just before 8am as soon as it's emptied,some in my street never take them in

Our bins can be emptied any time between 7-30am and mid-day depending on which route the crews decide to take. We all put our bins the end of our drives but the bin men just leave the bins from several houses in a jumble scattered across the pavement nearest to where they decide to halt the lorry. Most of my neighbours work and my husband and I try to return the bins to the right homes so that the pavements are unobstructed but playing hunt the bin every week is a pain.

The pavements on our road are 7/8 foot wide but bin men don't even try to leave a clear path for anyone using the footpath.

Originally Posted by Maggy

Sorry Paul I can't agree.. there are idiots in my road who always park so that NO ONE can get by on the pavement..and this road is by an Infants and Junior school. They also block the accessibility drop down kerbs and this means that the numerous handicapped citizens have to put them selves out to gain access across the road with their mobility aids and mobility scooters just so they can use the opposite pavement.Motorists can't be king of the roads AND the pavements.

Tell that to the people whose house burns down becasue the fire engine can no longer get down the street to it.

Its simple physics, many roads in towns, cities, and villages, are simply not wide enough.

There are always the odd idiots, but most people park (partly) on pavements simply becasue they need to, to let other traffic get by.

[JPAC]

Originally Posted by Paul

Tell that to the people whose house burns down becasue the fire engine can no longer get down the street to it.

Its simple physics, many roads in towns, cities, and villages, are simply not wide enough.

There are always the odd idiots, but most people park (partly) on pavements simply becasue they need to, to let other traffic get by.

Or do like they do in Japan. You're not allowed to park on the street and unless you have a space to park, you're not allowed a big car.

In my town, some parts allow parking on the footpath, but in others it's illegal and £150 fine.

I feel cars park on the footpath because they don't want their precious cars scratched.

Originally Posted by JPAC

Or do like they do in Japan. You're not allowed to park on the street and unless you have a space to park, you're not allowed a big car.

Not really practical.

Originally Posted by JPAC

I feel cars park on the footpath because they don't want their precious cars scratched.

I doubt it, but cars are expensive, so why should people not protect them.

Originally Posted by Paul

Tell that to the people whose house burns down becasue the fire engine can no longer get down the street to it.

Its simple physics, many roads in towns, cities, and villages, are simply not wide enough.

There are always the odd idiots, but most people park (partly) on pavements simply becasue they need to, to let other traffic get by.

So us pedestrians can just take our mobility scooters on the road then? I can see drivers loving that.

[mrmistoffelees]

Originally Posted by Paul

Tell that to the people whose house burns down becasue the fire engine can no longer get down the street to it.

Its simple physics, many roads in towns, cities, and villages, are simply not wide enough.

There are always the odd idiots, but most people park (partly) on pavements simply becasue they need to, to let other traffic get by.

This, the vast majority of estates the roads are not wide enough for people to park on. It's even worse if you go into a residential area in the centre of a town.

It's not something that can be simply fixed.

---------- Post added at 09:51 ---------- Previous post was at 09:51 ----------

Originally Posted by Maggy

So us pedestrians can just take our mobility scooters on the road then? I can see drivers loving that.

That already happens

[denphone]

Originally Posted by mrmistoffelees

That already happens

And we all know accidents happen there sadly.

I’m seeing younger and younger people use and drive their mobility scooter, park it on double yellow lines, get out and start to walk, bit of an effort, as they’re overweight, but the only reason I see the kind of folk having a scooter, is they’re too lazy to walk. So I’ve nicknamed such scooters, obesicles.

Originally Posted by Mick

I’m seeing younger and younger people use and drive their mobility scooter, park it on double yellow lines, get out and start to walk, bit of an effort, as they’re overweight, but the only reason I see the kind of folk having a scooter, is they’re too lazy to walk. So I’ve nicknamed such scooters, obesicles.

Wow! All I can say that doesn't happen around here in a retirement hot spot full of sheltered housing. Plus what about young mothers with pushchairs having to navigate around selfish drivers? Don't they have rights to the pavements. Aren't the pavements provided for pedestrians? When did they become part of the highway?

Selfish? I think it's drivers who have become selfish.By the way I'm a driver and the only time I park on the double yellow lines in my road is when I'm unloading my shopping and there is no space to park legitimately. I don't park on the pavement and 5 minutes later I've moved. However this is not the case for several of my neighbours across the road which drives me insane because they ALL have rear access to their homes or they have a drive way which I don't.

[jonbxx]

Greater Manchester Police take a dim view of blocking the pavement - https://twitter.com/gmptraffic/statu...69017819230209