To think pavement parking should be banned

[HoustonBess]

There's a government inquiry into pavement parking, you can submit comments here

www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/transport-committee/inquiries/parliament-2017/pavement-parking-17-19/

I absolutely hate pavement parking - it's someone thinking their car not being scratched is more important than me and DD's lives. I live in an area of terraced streets and especially on bin days, you basically can't go out with a pram because it's so bad.

Anyone else want to comment for the inquiry? Maybe mumsnet could submit something on behalf of lots of people?

I our area the pavements are unbelievably wide imho.
One side of the road parks half rod/half pavement and second side parks on a pavement. It's not busy road so even if there is a need to cross, there are rarely cars.
Even on the side where people park fully on pavement to allow others to drive through, you can still very comfortably fit a buggy. Should you need more space, the other side of the road is there.

Though if council offered to homeowners to buy a tile or 2 of the pavement, everyone would have a double drive and no cars on pavement...

Nationwide ban wouldn't work. I do agree with it in areas where pavement is not large enough to accommodate car and a person.

I got slated on here a few months ago for saying that in some areas you have to park on the pavement!

I live in a town where the majority of roads are too narrow to have cars parked fully on the road on either side. So the agreement is one side parks on the road, the other slightly on the pavement to allow the bin lorries and emergency services to get through.

This isn't a problem at all and everyone is quite happy with the arrangement but I did get told I should park further away and walk. When I said the nearest place with free street parking (that doesn't have residents limits) is the next town over (about four miles away on a rural A-road) I was told I should park there and walk home

pavement parking is already illegal in London and everyone seems to cope including those people that live in narrow streets of terraced houses

Right, but London isn't the rest of the country, is it?

What about in rural towns where there is literally nowhere else to go. There isn't a wider street a few streets away like there is in London - here, if you don't park partially on the pavement the next option is to park in the next town across - four miles away!

I think it really needs to be a on a street by street basis. One rule really doesn’t fit all.

I scratched several cars on my street when I had a buggy. It was on a main road so very busy, but very wide. Cars still parked up on the pavement so that if a buggy went past, the buggy would end up scratching the car, but you couldn't walk around the cars in the road as it was a 40mph road and just too busy. So I just went down with the pram and scratched the cars.

I do think I wouldnt get away with it today because so many people have CCTV on their houses so I'd probably end up in a lot of trouble! But I don't feel any guilt for having done it back then.

This is the problem with a lot of places built when there weren't cars at all.
You can't just make a blanket ban as, as others have pointed out there would be nowhere for many drivers to park.
I have no idea what the answer is.

It depends on the road.

In my road it would be fine to ban pavement parking. In my mum's road there aren't garages and driveways. There is a wide area of tarmac between the road and the actual pavement. People park part on the tarmac and part on the road without causing an obstruction for pedestrians. The road is narrow and everyone parking on the road would create an obstruction to drivers.

A lot of older estates are built in blocks. As long as there is a road in and road out then make them one way streets and cars will just need to drive round the whole block to reach their houses or leave the block. Then one side of the road is for parking and one side is for driving.

Then one side of the road is for parking and one side is for driving.

One side can't fit cars owned by both sides.

@InspectorClouseauMNdivision

So people in wheelchairs and people with buggies just need to put up and shut up?

If houses only had one car each, then you could fit cars from both sides. But people with multiple cars buy houses with no parking and that's their problem. Give them one parking space on one side of the road, and let them figure out what to do with their other car but tow it away if they park on the pavement or in someone else's spot.

@TheInvestigator I didn't say people in wheelchairs should just put up with it and shut up

As I already said, ban should be on road to road bases. Even though that we park fully on a pavement standard wheelchair fits by. That tells you how big the pavement is.

And if you throw few estate cars, often used by tradesmen for their job in and make everyone park only on one side, someone will not fit.
Basically it sounds like people who need 2 cars, eg. work car and a family car, should just somehow make themselves rich enough to buy a house with double driveway?

The pavement is not an acceptable place to park. It doesn't matter how many cars someone needs or what their house budget is; the pavement is not for parking on.
Partner owning a car is ensuring you have somewhere to park it. That somewhere does not include a pavement. If you have multiple cars then you should not be buying a house on a street with no off road parking and thin pavements. If you buy that house anyway, then why should pedestrians suffer?
Paying on pavements, especially thin ones, is not acceptable.

So if you live in a small house with no driveway and have one car ok but say you then get hitched and your partner has to drive to their work while you drive in a different direction for yours, or maybe they have a van for their job. What then?
Peoples circumstances change.
And if everyone else is parking on the pavement? Should you make a lone principled stand?
It's not really that black and white is it.

It's already illegal in London and I hope the proposal goes through to make it illegal everywhere. It's a nightmare for pedestrians generally and especially people with kids, elderly, people with disabilities who use any kind of aid such as walking frame or wheelchair, people with assistance dogs and dog walkers. I'd also get cyclists fined for using the pavement. I appreciate that in many residential areas it's very hard to park on the road and so half on half off seems easiest but unless the LA have specifically encouraged this with signage, I don't think cars should be on a pavement.

So people on wheelchairs and buggies should just accept that their needs come after tour desire to own cars?

It should be made law. Do not park on the pavement. People in wheelchairs need that pavement. People with buggies need that pavement. What you're saying is that your need for an extra car which you don't have space for is more important that them and they can just wheel themselves up the road and risk being knocked down because you think parking on the pavement is your right.

Places with double sizes pavements... sure, go for it. But standard streets and older estates. No way. The pavement is not for you to park on.

@Drookit

It is that black and white. If your parking on the pavement will prevent or make it even a little bit difficult for any pedestrian to use the pavement then you should be towed and fined for parking on it.

Things that work in London with its 24h a day reliable public transport don't work in other places where it is much harder to live without a car.

Putting yellow lines down and having parking on one side only means in many cases halving the number of cars that can be owned and our systems are just not set up for that. Even now I often see planning for 20 flats with 10 parking spaces, unless new builds have more off road parkingit's a worsening problem.

Put in better pubic transport, fund schemes that encourage trip based or daily car hire then you can start restricting parking.

there is no issue with the concept of parking on pavements - there is everything wrong with parking inconsiderately...

sadly, our legislators now legislate for the symptoms, not the root causes and create a totalitarian regime where nothing is permissible if it upsets one person in totally different circumstances somewhere else... madness

The pavement is for pedestrians not cars selfish car owners that park on them with no thought as to how pedestrians are going to pass deserve to have their cars towed and be fined. Double yellows lines do not mean it's ok to park on the pavement instead 😡

Even now I often see planning for 20 flats with 10 parking spaces, unless new builds have more off road parkingit's a worsening problem.

That's crazy - sounds like planning regs need changing.

The ultimate solution is that we'll have self-driving cars which trundle off to the local recharging station when not in use, ready to be summoned back when needed.

Where I live pavement parking is illegal except where white parking bays have been painted on the edge of the pavement.
I think if parking was allowed only on one side of narrow roads, with double yellows on the other side, that would help to keep traffic flowing and pavements clear.
Part of the problem round here is the enormous number of new build blocks of flats with no parking. IMO all new builds should have underground of ground level parking under the residential units.
Until public transport improves, people won't get rid of their cars.

YANBU. It should be banned outright.

It isn't parking on a pavement it is parking on a footway and there is a clue in the name. I am involved with designing roads and footpaths aren't designed for the vehicle loadings and the widths are designed based on non-vehicle movements. Everyone else has to pay for the footway repairs because it's more convenient for those who chose to park on them.

Too many people are happy to put other peoples safety are risk for their own convenience. Street is too narrow to park on it because it was designed decades ago? Tough, you have no god given right to park anywhere you want.

I'm with akkakk. I don't drive but I can see both sides. I live in a town with narrow roads and many cars park slightly onto the pavement. It means they can park and usually leaves room for wheelchairs, prams and pedestrians.
It's those who park too far over or try and park vans that are inconsiderate.

It should be a case of its fine if it’s wide enough for a wheelchair to pass otherwise they Should be ticketed

This. An outright ban isn't realistic in many areas.

It's more about people not being total cunts when parking.