By ROB HULL, MOTORING EDITOR
The Government today announced plans to give councils across England the powers to enforce pavement parking bans across their regions following widespread support for a clampdown on drivers blocking footpaths.
It comes more than five years after the previous Tory Government launched a consultation into tackling pavement parking at a local and national level in which four in five (81 per cent) people - and 96 per cent of organisations and businesses - said motorists parking partially or fully on footpaths was a problem in their area.
Two in five of the 15,000 respondents also said they would leave home more often if pavement parking issues were addressed where they live.
Under current laws, parking on the pavement - even with just two wheels on the kerb - is only illegal in London.
Scotland recently introduced its own Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, which now gives councils powers to enforce pavement parking since December 2023.
Disability groups in particular have been intensely campaigning for a national-level change to rules to benefit those using wheelchairs and mobility scooters as well as those who are partially sighted and reliant on guide dogs.
The Government has announced it will give councils the powers to enforce pavement parking bans across their regions following widespread support for a clampdown on drivers blocking footpaths
The Department for Transport on Thursday said local leaders across England will soon be given powers to introduce pavement parking restrictions across their areas, with motorists set to incur fines.
In the capital, penalty charges for parking on the footway range from £60 to £130, though fines are halved if paid within a fortnight.
To date, councils across England have been able to impose pavement parking bans on individual streets, though this has required a lengthy and prolonged application process with limited enforcement.
Under the new rules, exemptions will be allowed where needed. This includes on narrow residential streets where drivers partially park on the pavement as to not block the highway.
The DfT says the full guidance on the use these new powers will be published later this year.
Changes are due to be introduced more than five years after the public consultation - running between 31 August and 22 November 2020 - closed.
Local transport minister Lilian Greenwood said she 'understands the frustration' among people who have waited half a decade for meaningful action but caveated that a 'problem as complex and widespread as pavement parking' must be handled with care.
Providing councils powers to enforce pavement parking bans on their areas comes more than five years after the close of a consultation that found overwhelming support for the Government to impose greater restrictions on motorists being able to block footpaths
Local transport minister Lilian Greenwood said she 'understands the frustration' among people who have waited half a decade for meaningful action on pavement parking
Pavement parking was banned in Scotland by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, with enforcement by local authorities beginning on 11 December 2023
'We needed to listen to campaigners, to local authorities, to those with lived experience and we needed to ensure that any solution would be fair, effective and enduring. That takes time and I want to thank everyone who has remained engaged and committed throughout this process,' she said.
'Clear pavements are essential for people to move around safely and independently, whether that's a parent with a pushchair, someone using a wheelchair, or a blind or partially sighted person.
'That's why we're giving local authorities the power to crack down on problem pavement parking, allowing more people to travel easily and safely and get to where they need to go.'
Guide Dogs' chief executive Andrew Lennox said: 'After years of campaigning, we welcome the announcement to give councils greater powers to tackle problem pavement parking.
'Cars blocking pavements are a nuisance for everyone, but especially dangerous for people with sight loss, who can be forced into the road with traffic they can't see.
'Pavement parking is also a barrier that shuts people out of everyday life.
'When pavements are blocked, people with sight loss lose confidence, independence and the freedom to travel safely.
'This stops people from accessing work, education and social opportunities.'
Erik Matthies from the Royal National Institute of Blind People says its own studies have highlighted that vehicles parked on the pavement are still the biggest barrier that blind and partially sighted people face when trying to walk alone.
Some 82 per cent of those with sight problems said it was a major issue, while 92 per cent revealed they've had to walk into the road and put themselves in danger as a result.
'This is stressful and highly dangerous for both pedestrians and others,' Matthies said.
But he believes the Government should do more and impose a nation ban.
'RNIB welcomes the proposal to address pavement parking, but it falls short of the consistent, nationwide solution that we recommend,' he explained.
'The proposal suggests a system similar to what’s currently in place in Scotland, which even two years on is being applied inconsistently across different local authorities.
'We’ll press the Department of Transport to go further and learn from the experiences from Scotland.'
In the 2020 consultation, four in five people - and 96% of organisations and businesses - said motorists parking partially or fully on footpaths had become a problem in their area
Under the new rules, exemptions will be allowed where needed. This includes on narrow residential streets where drivers partially park on the pavement as to not block the highway
The RAC also backed the decision, sited its own research showing a 'clear majority' of drivers supporting a ban on pavement parking.
In survey of 1,709 UK drivers conducted in September, it found that 83 per cent wanted new rules implemented.
Two in five (42 per cent) of respondents were supportive of a widespread outright ban across England, while a similar proportion (41 per cent) called for 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'.
Responding to the Government's announcement, RAC policy spokesman Rod Dennis said: 'These proposals should clear the way for councils to prevent pavement parking where it causes problems, but permit drivers to partially park on pavements where doing so helps keep traffic flowing and doesn't inconvenience other people.'
