A consultation into pavement parking has been launched by the department for transport (DfT) in a bid to solve a problem that brings “inherent dangers for all pedestrians”, particularly those with disabilities.
Current laws prohibit parking on pavements in greater London (Scotland also has laws in the pipeline to outlaw the practice), save for where local authorities grant exemptions (for example on narrow residential roads), but elsewhere in England the practice is legal unless explicitly prohibited.
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A government survey to which 68 local councils responded saw 57 report pavement parking to be a “widespread problem”, with councils highlighting those with visual impairments or who required mobility aids such as guide dogs and wheelchairs, were put at particular risk from vehicles parking on the pavement. people pushing children in prams and buggies were also highlighted as being adversely affected by the practice.
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Some 95 per cent of visually impaired people report encountering problems as a result of vehicles parking on footways, a figure that rose to 98 per cent for wheelchair users, almost half of whom said pavement parking made this less willing to leave the house.
The government is considering increasing local authority powers and current legislation to allow councils to issue £70 fines to owners whose vehicles are found to be “causing an unnecessary obstruction of the pavement”.