Dear Editor,
Friday 22 November marked four years since the previous government’s consultation on pavement parking in England closed.
Cars parked on, and sometimes hogging the whole pavement, will be a familiar sight to many.
Pavement parking is dangerous especially for families with young children, people with sight loss and disabled people.
A recent poll found that 87 per cent of parents have had to walk in the road because of a vehicle blocking the pavement. It damages pavement surfaces too.
Living Streets has been campaigning on this issue for over 50 years and it’s high time we saw an end to the problem.
Pavement parking has been banned (with exemptions) in London since the 1970s. Scotland adopted a similar approach to London which came into force earlier this year.
The Welsh Government has indicated they will take action on pavement parking – but England is way behind.
We hope your readers will join Living Streets and supporters like me, in urging the new Government to deal with the troubling legacy of pavement parking once and for all.
Everyone will be the better for it.
Yours faithfully,
Edward Leetham
Nantwich
I live in Shavington and it’s probably better for cars to park on the footpath and walk on the roads as the pavements a just a toilet for dogs, why can’t people pick up their dogs mess instead of leaving it for people to tread in.
It’s not just pavement parkers that are the problem, it’s the total neglect of all parking rules (except, ironically, in car parks where poor parking affects nobody, but is another useful income stream, like speeding).
Double-parking not only affects pavements, but also reduces the road to a single track, restricting or preventing access for deliveries, bin collections, fire engines and ambulances. Several neighbours have had to barrow-in deliveries when lorries couldn’t get through.
The police aren’t interested (well, surprise) and pleas to councillors fall on deaf ears. Maybe (not holding out much hope) we could appeal to drivers to park considerately. (Are you listening Hastings Road residents and Leopard customers?)