Government to launch consultation on tackling anti-social behaviour
Ministers are to launch a consultation on how to tackle pavement parking where inconsiderate drivers block the path for pedestrians.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said:
“Vehicles parked on the pavement can cause very real difficulties for many pedestrians.
“That’s why I am taking action to make pavements safer and I will be launching a consultation to find a long-term solution for this complex issue. This will look at a variety of options – including giving local authorities extended powers to crack down on this behaviour.”
The announcement comes after last September’s Transport Select Committee report on the subject which recommended that in the long term there should be a national ban on pavement parking outside London (where it is already illegal) and that more immediately a new civil offence of obstructive pavement parking is brought in.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said:
“When it comes to the issue of pavement parking it pays to remember that none of us are motorists 24/7 – as drivers we might want the carriageway to be clear, but once we’re out of our cars we need the pavement to be passable too.
“The Foundation supports the conclusions of the Transport Select Committee on pavement parking – first that it is high time the process for the making of traffic regulation orders by local highway authorities was streamlined and brought fully into the digital age; second that there’s much to be said for having a national ban on pavement parking along with sensibly targeted exemptions, so that motorists can be clear where they stand, as is the case in London.
“Many of our streets were created long before the invention of the motor car, and in some places it makes sense for highway authorities to allow pavement parking on one side of the road balancing the convenience of residents, motorists and pedestrians alike.
“Meantime we would echo the advice in the highway code: you should not park partially or wholly on the pavement where by doing so you would obstruct and seriously inconvenience pedestrians, people in wheelchairs or with visual impairments and people with prams or pushchairs – if you can’t leave room for people to get through you really need to look for another parking space elsewhere.”
ENDS
Contact:
Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation
[email protected] | 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN)
Notes to editors:
The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users.
The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available at: www.racfoundation.org