Parking on pedestrian pavements and footpaths

[Raglafart]

Can I ask all to read the attached link and support it please as I'm fed up with having to push a buggy out into roads because inconsiderate parking!!! Wheelchair users have the same problem!!!
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/222152

I refuse to click on your link but consider this:
it's more important for fire engines to be able to get through
than it is for you to wheel your buggy on the pavement.

It shouldn’t be an either or - just park considerately and then fire engines and wheelchair users can get through!

Meanwhile in England and Wales ask a fireman.
I did and was told to park on the pavement.

(It can be either/or Sirzy, some streets are narrow.)

I won't be signing it as I live in London where it is legal to park on the pavement if the relevant council has designated it so.

If people have a problem with how vehicles are parked, like one road I can think off that had an issue, they can lobby the relevant council so parking happens on one side only which means parked motorists, emergency services, large vehicles and wheelchair users all have a workable compromise.

The petition doesn't actually seem to be calling for anything, so it's pretty pointless.

If they leave considerate room then why should it be banned?
People who fully block pavements where you can't get a wheelchair through or a buggy should be fined for example but why should we stop people parking on the pavement if there's enough space for people to pass? Especially on places with narrow roads etc

It's about to be outlawed in Scotland. Chances are if it is successful then the rest of the UK will follow suit.

I've signed. I spent years walking my boys to school and frequently had to walk onto busy town centre roads because of footpaths being blocked by selfish drivers and the problem is getting worse.

parking on pavement should still allow space for pedestrian access - or do drivers expect people to walk on road? Have heard of police measuring gap somewhere in UK & prosecuting car drivers/parkers who don't leave gap. Personally I have always wanted to have wheels on buggy with Ben Hur type spikes on wheels :) or perhaps have slight accident with my keys (no haven't done it but it really bugs me when you get vehicles parked on totally on pavement because of double yellow lines) grr

I'm not a great fan of cars as it happens. But I'm not signing for a blanket ban on street parking while I, like many, live on a road and in an estate where most of the houses have no garages and there are no other parking facilities: and while this country refuses to invest in public transport that is actually usable (i.e. goes everywhere) and is cheap, cheap to use as a family. Unless I'm missing something very obvious I can't think why anyone would consider such a petition reasonable and fair.

'live on a road'...and where the residential streets are narrow, so that everyone around here parks half on pavements to allow access. Forgot that crucial bit.

Vehicles parking on pavements, verges or footpaths invariably place pedestrians at risk by forcing them onto the road.

This is just untrue. Parking on pavements, verges or footpaths sometimes, perhaps even often puts pedestrians at risk. But invariably? There are lots of roads where the verges are wide enough that they can be parked on without impeding the pavement at all.

I won't sign it as it would mean that I wouldn't be able to park anywhere near my house. We have no drive and ours is a very narrow street, as are all the other streets on this estate. We cut the bush/hedge in fronting our house so it's not taking over the pavement and we park so that 3/4 of the car's width is still in the road.

it's more important for fire engines to be able to get through
than it is for you to wheel your buggy on the pavement. If being able to get a fire engine through requires cars to block the pavement then another solution needs to be found. Pedestrians walking along a narrow street between lines of parked cars are at risk. And pedestrians who can't take rapid evasive action (pushing a buggy, in a wheelchair, visually impaired) are much more at risk.

It's not just a matter of stepping off the pavement to go around a parked car - wheelchair users may not be able to get off the kerb and back on again, they may need to to the next dropped kerb - which they may not be able to access because there's another car in the way.

As I understand it parking that obstructs the road, pavement, or both is already unlawful. Police in my area have been cracking down on it.

A blanket ban would be detrimental to the many roads where parking partly on the pavement - still leaving more than enough space for wheelchairs and pushchairs - is the only way to have enough parking for residents and still keep the road clear.

We have been asked to park two wheels on the pavement to ensure that the bus route through the village remains clear. There are double yellows opposite, and the combination keeps the traffic flowing and allows room for pedestrians. I used a buggy for 10 years and I think had to go out in the road twice.

No choice but to park with 2 wheels on the pavement in my narrow street. Pushchairs can still get past but wheelchair users would struggle due to the telegraph poles which stick out in the middle of the pavements. Seeing as there are no wheelchair users in my street, and unlikely to be due to all the houses being terraced, with small, twisty hallways, accessed up steps and not in a through route to town, it seems a bit pointless to leave access when none is required.

We would be far more selfish to block the road, which off-pavement parking would, than leave space when adequate room is already left for those that need it.

If 46 households are prevented from parking in one street, our local council is going to find a huge parking problem in other areas of town as we'll just have to dump our vehicles wherever we can. In a semi-rural like ours, with little public transport, it's also going to cause an unfortunate rise in unemployment when we can't get to work.