11 December 2023 , 13:01
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Drivers in Scotland face a fine of £100 for parking on pavements under new legislation introduced today.
Under the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, councils now have the power to issue penalty charge notices worth £100 to motorists caught parking on pavements, double parking, and parking at dropped kerbs by known crossing spots. The £100 fine reduces to £50 if paid within 14 days and exemptions are in place to allow for emergency services operations, certain deliveries and collections, and road works.
The crackdown aims to tackle the dangers that illegal parking poses to pavement users, in particular disabled people and parents with young children. Research by YouGov on behalf of Living Streets, the UK charity for "everyday walking and wheeling", found that obstructed pavements forced 87% of parents onto the road and prevented a quarter of over 65s from leaving their homes.
The ban seeks to make pavements safer for disabled people, the elderly, and those with young children (In Pictures via Getty Images)The changes were welcomed by Michael Tornow, who is blind and has a hearing impairment. He said: "Pavement parking makes me frustrated. It's just very tiring trying to navigate around parked cars. And not just for me, but for others – people in wheelchairs, people pushing buggies. It's just not very considerate. As someone who is completely blind, that's meant stepping out into the road. That's obviously quite dangerous, sometimes not being able to hear because of traffic noise. I hope the new enforcement will make people understand that pavement parking is both unsafe and unfair. Without cars on the pavement it will be easier for me to get around."
"This is about fairness and it is about making our pavements more accessible to people", Scotland's Minister for Transport Fiona Hyslop told ITV's Good Morning Britain. Meanwhile, Living Streets Scotland is campaigning to ensure proper enforcement of the ban. Stuart Hay, Director of Living Streets Scotland, said: “Parking on the footway is inconvenient for us all and incredibly dangerous for older and disabled people, who are forced into the road and oncoming traffic. Scotland is leading the way by becoming the first UK nation to say enough is enough and introduce an explicit ban, now we need to make sure we get it right.
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“Mass exemptions seriously undermine the ban and will put people at risk if they aren’t introduced following rigorous assessments and consultation. Ongoing promotion of the ban and engagement with communities is also vital to ensure the implementation is effective. Without sufficient enforcement capacity many groups including disabled people will feel badly let down. We want to see targeted and proactive action in known hotspots where pavements need [to be] cleared of obstructing cars."
A Living Streets Freedom of Information request in 2018 revealed that 93% of local authorities in England have received complaints from the public about pavement parking. The Department for Transport consulted on an England-wide ban in 2020 but the results are yet to be released, despite petitioning by Living Streets.