People parking on the pavement

[nesticles]

Sorry if this is long.
I am blind and have a 1 year old ds. I use a guide dog so pull the buggy behind me. Yesterday after picking up ds from dm's who had been looking after him while I had a KIT day I came across something that was both dangerous and made me very angry. My guide dog stopped half way along a busy road and wanted to walk in the main road. I was unsure why she was doing this so gingerly walked infront of her to have a feel, Someone had parked a car on the pavement leaving a small gap not big enough to get the buggy through. I couldn't walk in the main road around the parked car so I had to get a sleeping ds out of the buggy, I then had to put him in the sling that was lucklly under the buggy causing a complete melt down, then I had to take the seat of the buggy carry it to the other side of the car, squeeze back between the car and someone's brick wall fold the buggy and carry it back through side ways in the pooring rain. I then had to put the buggy back together and get ds back in to a wet buggy. I am so angry I had to calm down in order to post this today. Not only is this something dangerous to me who is blind but for many many people, mums with buggies, wheelchair users, parents with older children holding hands. Why is this not illegal? Am I being unreasonable to be this cross? What do you guys feel? Has anyone else come across this? Does anyone actually agree with parking on pavements?
PS sorry for typos ds is trying to help!

[vj32]

I used to live in an area with loads of young families and lots of elderly people in wheelchairs or mobility scooter things of various types. We were on the same small residential road as a primary school, a Drs surgery and two residential homes for the elderly. People parked all over the place including completely blocking pavements and it made me so mad as it was so obviously going to cause a problem.

Not sure what you can do about it though.

[drivenfromdistraction]

YANBU. I think (but am not sure) that parking on the pavement is generally illegal.

Loads of parents do it at our school because they have big cars (the road is perfectly wide enough, there is no need to do it.) I do the school run by foot, with my 3 young DC and find the general standard of driving/parking quite scary at times.

I am on a waiting list for a guide dog by the way.

[ProbablyCaroline]

YANBU it's disgusting! I HATE it. I don't have buggies any more but the amount of times I had to walk in the road...and on Mumsnet people say "Well where do you expect them to park if there's no driveway?"

My answer to that is I DON'T CARE WHERE THEY PARK...just don't park on the paths! It seriously infuriates me. Call your local council weekly about it./...

[ProbablyCaroline]

I just googled and the law is hazy BUT there are some new legislations which will make things a bit better...OP here is a link to the campaign group "Living Streets" which are trying to sort this out...

www.livingstreets.org.uk/

[JollyMarie79]

If it's causing an obstruction you can contact the police who (if they are passing/free) will have a look and deal appropriately whether that be a fixed penalty notice or removal of vehicle. Chances are though by the time the police get there (due to stupid cuts meaning there are not enough of them) the vehicle will probably have moved however the details of the vehicle will remain on file and flag up if another incident is reported involving same vehicle.

[ProbablyCaroline]

clicky link

[manicinsomniac]

I'm on the fence.

Everybody does it in my road (and fully on the pavement right into the hedge almost) because otherwise a car can't fit on the road which we see as more of a problem than a person not fitting on a pavement. But that's a quiet cul de sac in a tiny village where everybody knows everybody and, if a blind person moved in, there may need to be a rethink.

In the situation you describe I think YANBU, it sounds like dangerous parking.

[maillotjaune]

YANBU at all.

It's frustrating enough dealing with pushchairs when cars park on pavements or the bins are put out inconsiderately on collection day even when you can see so I am for you.

Perhaps you could contact local police and ask them if anything can be done?

[MangoBiscuit]

Just yesterday I had someone pull over onto the pavement, in front of me, effectively stopping me in my tracks. The road only had a path on one side, there was a flipping car park not 50 yards behind him (free one, with space, I checked!) and I was pushing a pram one handed, whilst holding onto my 4yo. I just stood there with my mouth open while it sunk in that someone could be so effing selfish.

OP YANBU. :(

[summertimeandthelivingiseasy]

YANBU

This is getting so commonplace, people have even started to do it on my road which is plenty wide enough to park on. They use the dropped kerbs for the houses and drive along with one wheel on the footpath.

From what I understand, it is not illegal to park on the footpath, but it is illegal to drive on the footpath (which you have to do if you are going to park on it ), but in the past the local police have only been interested if they can catch someone who does it at exactly the same time each day so that they can see them driving on the footpath.

However, my DF got a ticket for this in Manchester, for parking on what should have been the footpath, if it had not been demolished, along with the buildings behind it. So it can be done. It was a whole load of people at a concert, so easy for the police to do it en masse.

[BumpyGrindy]

Manic well why don't people park elsewhere?? The pavement is for walking on! Motorists already have the lion's share of the highways...why let them take the WHOLE path?

[muppetthecow]

YADNBU. It's the norm around here, unfortunately, and I frequently have to walk in the road with the buggy and/or a toddler. There's a 90 degree turn into our street, and then another just around the corner towards the main road. People very seldom slow down in spite of the fact that they can't see if anybody (including other traffic!) is around the corner.

We're currently petitioning the council to make it residents only, as at the moment it's mostly people from local businesses who don't want to pay to park in their own car park. I would have no issue with them parking on the street if they did it safely, they have every legal right to do it, but they don't so I do

[rockybalboa]

Where I live the parking bays are actually painted half on the pavement and half on the road. The roads are only wide enough for one car to pass anyway so the cars can't park fully on the road. There is enough space to get a buggy (and presumably a wheelchair) between the cars and the houses though although not on bin day where there are wheelie bins blocking the pavement.

[OddFodd]

You might see it as more of a problem for a car to have to park further away than for a person to have to walk in the road but that's not very convenient for the disabled is it manic?

OP - YANBU at all - I'm really shocked that it isn't illegal to block pavements. I thought it was

[bigbluebus]

Everyone does it around here too and it infuriates me as DD is a wheelchair user and we often end up having to walk down the road instead of the pavement.
I always thought it was illegal, but one of my neighbours, who is a policeman, does it - so I'm not sure.
I was standing on the pavement next to my house one day chatting to a neighbour, when one of the other neighbours from across the road arrived home in her car. She peeped her horn at us to move as she wanted to park where we were standing. I was so gobsmacked, I couldn't say anything

[nesticles]

I think that if they left enough room and it was an expected thing...so I would know for example that so and so road allow parking on pavements in a safe way it would be fine. It's people who don't care, don't look and think it's ok. The police don't seem to be interested but are if they can get money out of it such as on permit holder only bays. The police say it's the council's responsibility whilst the council bat it back to the police. grrrr!

[tinkertitonk]

The priority must be for fire engines to be able to get through. As a very nice fireman pointed out to me when there was a fire on our narrow street. Since then I have always parked on the pavement.

[WooWooOwl]

I don't think parking on a pavement is that terrible, people do it on our road all the time otherwise half the street wouldn't be able to park at all without blocking the road completely.

The problem comes when people don't leave enough space for things like pushchairs and wheelchairs to get past.

Rather than ban pavement parking all together, I'd rather see some sort of public information campaign that will make people aware of the fact that buggies and wheelchairs need to be able to use the pavement, so people shouldn't park so far onto a pavement that they block access and create dangerous situations.

I think many people who do it are trying to be considerate to other road users when they should be being considerate to pedestrians just because that's the position they have come from.

[BumpyGrindy]

Oh yes because fire engines are as common as pushchairs and wheelchairs....what a crock.

[ifyourehoppyandyouknowit]

If there isn't enough room for you to park on the street and let a fire engine through, and parking on the footpath would create an obstruction and force someone in a wheelchair or with a pram/small children into the road, then you need to park elsewhere.

[mousmous]

yanbu

it's even illegal to park without leaving enough space for pedestrians/wheelchair users to pass safely.

can you next time take a photo of the car and report?

[OddFodd]

Well quite Hop.

It's not an either/or situation

[Rockchick1984]

Had a car who used to do this all the time where I used to live - and was right on a bend so dangerous to try and walk on the road around. Myself and a few other mums took to knocking at his house EVERY TIME we wanted to walk past with a pram, claiming to be concerned that we would scratch his car by trying to squeeze past... Took about 3 weeks but he stopped doing it

[BumpyGrindy]

Odd yes it is.

[SaveTheMockingBird]

YANBU at all. This pisses me off too. It's fine if they have left enough room to pass, but a lot of the time the pavements round here are narrow, and a parked car can completely block the pavement, and why should me and my 2 small DCs have to go to the road? And this is in a newish estate where there are drives and secure car parking to each house. Lazy parking, can't be bother to walk a few feet to their car park.