Council promises 'balance' on pavement parking fines

Nottingham City Council has said it will not introduce a blanket ban on pavement parking when it is granted new enforcement powers - but it will clamp down on "unnecessary" obstructions.

The government passed legislation in April, which gives councils power to issue fines to people who cause an obstruction by parking on the pavement.

Linda Woodings, who was the council's transport lead until mid-May, acknowledged parking on the pavement can cause problems for blind people, parents with pushchairs and those in wheelchairs.

But she added the council would adopt a balanced approach on enforcement and only fine drivers who were parked unreasonably.

She said: "We know there are parts of the city where people park across the pavement completely unnecessarily.

"But we recognise that there are Victorian streets in Nottingham where if you forced everyone on to the road, people wouldn't be able to get past.

"So we don't want a blanket ban across the city. That's not the way we want to interpret it. We won't be penalising whole swathes of housing estates.

"We will try to apply it in a pragmatic and practical way. We do need to find a balance."

Pavement parking is currently banned outright in London and Scotland, but in most parts of the UK, only police have had the power to take action against motorists who park on pavements and cause an obstruction.

Councils outside London and Scotland that want to clamp down on cars causing an obstruction by parking on a pavement need to introduce restrictions on specific streets.

But the government is now set to change the rules from this autumn through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act, which will grant all councils the power to issue fines for "unnecessary obstruction of the pavement".

Liz Silver, who who lost her sight when she was 23 and uses a cane to walk, is a representative on the council's Disability Involvement Group.

She said she had previously hit her head on a wing mirror after a van was parked on the pavement near her home in Sneinton.

She would like to help the authority shape the plans for enforcement and has suggested the council paints lines along pavements, which show motorists how much of the pavement they can park on without causing an obstruction.

"I don't think you could do a total ban because there obviously need to be some exemptions or flexibility on a road like mine where cars do need to park partly on the pavement," she said.

"It can be a bit of a nightmare when there are other things on the pavement like wheelie bins and overhanging bushes.

"One time I was walking down a wide pavement and I suddenly came across a car that was literally in the middle. I was really cross about it.

"In one case there was a van and the wing mirror was sticking out on to the pavement and I caught the side of my head on it."

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