Councils considering £70 fines for drivers who park partially on the pavement
The Local Government Association has called for kerbside parking to be banned across England and to be a punishable offence, as it claims the practice represents a significant danger to pedestrians.
A recent study suggests that 39 per cent of motorists in England park their vehicle partially on the pavement and that if local authorities were to fine every offender to the suggested amount of £70, they would receive at total of £1.2 billion.
Many drivers park halfway onto the pavement to ensure there is enough room on the road itself for vehicles to pass unrestricted. However, the Local Government Association (LGA) said the acting of parking partially on the kerbside is dangerous for pedestrians, particularly those with a disability or those pushing prams.
Pavement parking could be banned and punishable by fine
Pavement parking has been banned in London since the early 1970s, but throughout the rest of England the act has never been controlled or restricted.
The new proposals state that a motorist will be fined £70 if any part of their vehicle is overlapping the kerb. The LGA suggested any funds collected as a result of the proposed regulations should be used by councils towards repairing the country’s pothole epidemic.
Martin Tett, spokesman at LGA, commented: “Local authorities need this power to respond to concerns raised by their communities, for example if a street is becoming dangerously congested or pedestrians are being forced to step out into the street to get round parked vehicles.”
Co-op Insurance carried out a survey of 1,500 drivers of which 39 per cent said they park on pavements. The majority (73 per cent) said they did so to clear the road for fellow drivers, while 12 per cent said they did it to protect their cars from being damaged by close passing vehicles.
The insurance provider also found a general lack of awareness of issue, with only 23 per cent of those surveyed saying that vehicles should not be parked on kerbsides, while five per cent thought it was reasonable to park completely on the pavement if necessary.
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