By ROB HULL, MOTORING EDITOR
Parking on the pavement is one of the mostly hotly debated topics among local communities and is often a subject that splits opinion.
While illegal in London and Scotland, there are no rules outlawing drivers from mounting the kerb across the rest of the UK.
However, Labour has promised to take action on pavement parking in England after years of heel dragging by the previous regime. But before it does, the RAC has run its own straw poll to see how drivers would vote on a proposed policy change.
It found that four in five want ministers to crackdown on motorists who park on the footpath.
In contrast, just one in ten per cent polled said they do not think pavement parking should be outlawed.
But what's your opinion? Let us know in our poll below...
The RAC has polled over 1,700 UK drivers and found that more than four in five want pavement parking banned across England, as Labour has promised to consider a change in policy
The survey of 1,709 UK drivers commissioned by the RAC found that 83 per cent want new rules to be implemented for pavement parking.
Some 42 per cent of respondents are supportive of an outright ban in England, while 41 per cent want councils to be given tougher powers to easily prohibit the practice on specific roads.
Only 13 per cent said the current rules should be retained to allow for parking on footpaths.
Two-thirds (66 per cent) of licence holders polled said they see vehicles either partially or fully parked on pavements near where they live.
Of those, 44 per cent say they often see pedestrians having to walk into the road as a result, with the same proportion claiming to have witnessed this 'occasionally'.
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While 83% of licence-holding respondents told the RAC they would support a nationwide ban on pavement parking, only 13% were against the idea
The study comes as Labour ministers have vowed to tackle pavement parking after the Tory government failed to take action during its tenure.
In 2020, the Conservatives consulted on proposals to give councils in the rest of England the power to prohibit pavement parking, but no policy change happened.
The Labour Government said in July it would announce 'the next steps' in relation to the issue 'as soon as possible'.
Towards the end of last year, minsters set the wheels in motion to allow for a nationwide pavement ban as part of its move toward devolution.
In its English Devolution White Paper published in December, pavement parking was given as an example of 'an action to address at a national level'.
As part of the 'biggest transfer of power out of Westminster to England's regions this century' the Government 'will expect Strategic Authorities to play a leading role in developing a consistent approach to enforcement across their area, using available powers as appropriate'.
However, the motoring organisation says that implementing separate Traffic Regulation Orders to ban pavement parking will be a costly and time-consuming process.
Pavement parking was banned in Scotland by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, with enforcement by local authorities beginning on 11 December 2023
RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said pavement parking is 'a serious problem in some communities that needs tackling'.
He went on: 'No pavement user should be forced into walking or wheeling into the road because of someone parking inconsiderately.
'A clear majority of drivers agree and want to see an end to needless pavement parking that causes accessibility problems, but when it comes to the solution, the jury is out.
'Any future Government policy therefore needs to strike the right balance between stamping out pavement parking that causes a danger to people walking or wheeling, and ensuring some of England's streets don't end up being inadvertently blocked by parked vehicles.'
Rachel Toms, connected neighbourhoods director at walking, wheeling and cycling charity Sustrans, said: 'The obvious next step is for the Government to legislate to give councils in England the same power to enforce pavement parking restrictions as those in Scotland and London.
'This issue is having a huge impact on some of the most vulnerable people in society and it's time for action to address the problem.'
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: 'Our priority is to make it as easy and as accessible as possible for everyone to get around, and we recognise the problems pavement parking can cause for people across the country.
'The Government continues to review the issue of pavement parking nationwide and will update in due course.'
The Labour Government said in July it would announce 'the next steps' in relation to the issue 'as soon as possible'
The LGA last year said councils should be given powers to fine drivers who block footpaths, describing motorists who park on the pavement as a 'scourge' on wheelchair users, the blind and parents with pushchairs
Last year, the Local Government Association (LGA) called on the Government to ban pavement parking.
The LGA - which represents councils in England and Wales - said councils should be given powers to fine drivers who block footpaths, describing motorists who park on the pavement as a 'scourge' on wheelchair users, the blind and parents with pushchairs.
In 2023 a Guide Dogs' campaign called for national restrictions on pavement parking, saying a 'clear law is needed where pavement parking is the exception, not the norm, to ensure that everyone can walk their streets safely'.
Research conducted on its behalf of the charity by YouGov in September 2023 found 85 per cent of people know that pavement parking impacts the safety of pedestrians with a vision impairment.
And 72 per cent said pavement parking is common where they live.
It also polled local councillors and found 95 per cent believe it creates a safety risk for pedestrians with a vision impairment, with 70 per cent admitting pavement parking is a problem in their areas.
Julie Pilsworth, 46, from Grimsby, pictured with her guide dog, Maeve, explains the impact of pavement parking on her daily life
Julie Pilsworth, 46, from Grimsby is blind and - due to a catalogue of health problems - also restricted to a mobility chair.
She is the main carer for her 26-year-old son, Ash, who is also disabled.
Julie is reliant on her guide dog, Maeve, to help navigate the streets, allowing her to independently visit places like the doctors, shops or the chemist to collect Ash's medication.
But she says pavement parking has created a 'daily battle' for her.
When drivers park across the pavement, she often cannot fit her mobility chair though the gap left between the parked car and the wall.
Maeve is also specially trained to stop if she does not believe the chair can fit through the space.
One occasion, when Julie tried to squeeze past using her white cane, prior to working with Maeve, she knocked her head on an outstanding wing mirror, leaving her with a huge lump.
An added layer of difficulty is when cars park across dropped kerbs, where the pavement dips to meet the road. These are the only way Julie, as a mobility chair user, can safely leave the pavement, or risk tipping herself out of the chair by falling off the raised lip.
She said: 'I am not able to step into the road like other guide dog owners. It would be too dangerous because the chair would tip. I have to turn back and find a drop kerb to get into the road, but then there's the additional challenge of finding a drop kerb to get back up on the pavement once I have got around the pavement parking.
'Sometimes I have to turn back and go twenty minutes the other way before I find somewhere suitable to exit the pavement. Due to my health problems, it is a really big issue if I'm struggling for time as I have conditions like bladder incontinence.'
Maeve is specially trained to stop if she does not believe Julie's chair can fit passed a car parked on the pavement
Julie says pavement parking sometimes forces her to go back in the opposite direction for up to 20 minutes before she can find a suitable dropped kerb to cross the road and avoid vehicles blocking the footpath
The difficulties pavement parking poses to Julie takes her back to a time before Maeve and the difficulties she faced without Maeve's assistance.
'I felt like my life was nearly over because getting out and about was so difficult,' she says.
'I used to drive and then my sight deteriorated so I had to stop, which was really upsetting. I got really down, and because getting out and about was becoming increasingly difficult, I felt like my life was nearly over. One day I just found it in me to think: "I've got to find a way round this."'
But since Julie was partnered with Maeve, life has totally changed.
Julie says: 'The independence and confidence I've gained since having Maeve is huge. But pavement parking takes me right back - I just feel like giving up.'
She even recounts occasions where she has been taunted by drivers who are blocking her right of way.
'I've experienced verbal abuse a number of times for simply telling a driver I cannot get past and asking them to move off the pavement,' Julie says.
'I've been brought to tears by some of the abuse I have experienced.
'I was so scared because obviously I couldn't see enough to know what was going on. And when you can't see what's going on around you, it is really frightening. You don't know if they're going to attack you.
'One person I spoke to ended up driving off at such speed in such an aggressive way that he almost hit an elderly man and a woman with a pram a few metres down the road…I was so scared.'
For Julie, experiencing pavement parking is dehumanising and is exacerbated by the lack of community awareness.
She says: 'Sometimes you think what's the point in even bothering to ask for help, you feel like a nuisance. You don't expect to be shouted at by people just because you've politely asked them if they can move their vehicles so you can get past. I should have the right to use the pavement like anyone else.'
Julie has event recounted some instances where drivers have verbally abused her when she's asked them to move their car from the pavement so she can pass in her chair
Julie says every day is a struggle as a result of drivers using the pavement to park
Julie wants more to be done and works hard to raise awareness of the issue, including launching her own Facebook page to educate others on the barriers pavement parking causes for partially sighted people and mobility chair users such as herself.
She says: 'The problem doesn't just stop with pavement parking. When you are in the road it doesn't seem like people slow down when going past - they are too busy with their own journeys.
'It's terrifying being in the road with oncoming traffic, and I always say it's only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured.'
She adds: 'Every day is a struggle as it is, just getting by, but then when you're faced with pavement parkers that are extremely abusive and are shouting at you… I would say it's existing, really, rather than living.
'Pavement parking is so selfish, inconsiderate and dangerous. The government can do more, but it's just not happening. It should not have to take so many incidents for people to realise how bad an issue this is.'
Julie's case study has been submitted by The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association