Councils are to be given greater powers to tackle the problem of pavement parking, ministers have announced.
According to the Department for Transport “local leaders will be given new and improved legal powers to make it easier to restrict pavement parking across wider areas, rather than relying on the previous approach, where action is often limited to individual streets and requires lengthy, complex processes.”
Pavement parking will still be allowed where it is deemed acceptable.
New guidance for local authorities will be published later in the year.
The changes follow a public consultation on the issue back in 2020 which received more than 15,000 responses.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said:
“This is good news. The clear and obvious principle is that pavements are for people and the new guidance should mean that anyone who wants to walk safely down a footpath can do so, as long as enforcement is rigorous.
“But it also recognises there are occasional instances where partial parking on paths is not a hinderance to pedestrians and also helps keep roads clear for emergency vehicles. Ultimately this change puts decision making in the hands of those who know local roads and pavements best, the councils who manage and maintain them.”
ENDS
Contact:
Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation
[email protected] | 07711 776448
Notes to editors:
The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation which 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. For more information visit www.racfoundation.org