Holyrood committee calls for views on bill to make parking on footways illegal

The bill aims to make it illegal to park on footways (pavements) and make pavements safer by stopping pedestrians – especially those with mobility or visual impairments, or with pushchairs –being forced onto the road to avoid parked cars.

New offences of parking beside a dropped kerb and double parking will also be created by the bill.

Committee convener, Kevin Stewart MSP said: “Parking on pavements or double parking is a nuisance and a hazard for all pedestrians.

“But for some of the most vulnerable in our society, including older people and those with visual or mobility impairments, the impact can be even greater.

“This bill wants to prohibit this type of parking and we want to find out what difference this would make.

“Does the Bill go far enough and will the proposals really stop parking on pavements?”

The committee is now asking for people’s experience of this sort of parking in their community. Are members of the public regularly forced off the pavement or blocked from using dropped kerbs by parked cars?

Are there any circumstances in which the Bill should allow this sort of parking in certain situations or areas of the community?

The bill seeks to restrict the obstruction of footways by parked or waiting vehicles and the double parking of vehicles on carriageways.

Under current legislation, it is an offence to drive on the footway but the position is less clear with regards to casual or occasional parking.

Specifically, the bill seeks to prohibit parking on any footway, dropped footway or double parking (where no part of the vehicle is within 50 cm of the edge of the carriageway) on all public roads in built up areas in Scotland.

As well as asking for written submissions, the committee has published a survey asking for experiences of the problems caused by parking on pavements. The survey can be accessed via the following link:

http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/FootwayDoubleParkingBill/

Submissions should be limited to no more than four pages of A4.

Responses should be sent, wherever possible, electronically and in MS Word format to the following email address: lgr.committee@scottish.parliament.uk.

The closing date for receipt of submissions is 5pm on Friday 30 October 2015.