Edinburgh Pavement Parking Ban Comes Into Force
Edinburgh’s pavement parking ban comes into force this week. Drivers who insist on parking on the pavement can be fined £100, reports the BBC.
Pavements are for people to walk on, not for drivers to park their cars on, and this is therefore the right thing to do. Any consequential problems that arise from the ban need to be dealt with while respecting pedestrians’ space.
Bin Lorries
Some Edinburgh residents have been telling the BBC that the pavement parking ban will cause problems for bin lorries. They say that people will continue to park their cars on both sides of the road, and leave a gap that is too narrow for refuse vehicles to get through.
The solution is quite simple, though it may not be convenient for all car-owners: don’t park cars on both sides of the street if they block larger vehicles.
Victoria Watson, who supports parking vehicles on pavements, spoke to the BBC about the ban.
‘It is very heavy-handed, ill-thought-out and very irresponsible’.
victoria watson
I suggest that it is irresponsible to block pavements, forcing those with wheelchairs, pushchairs and guide dogs to walk on the road.
BBC Breakfast
Motorists in Edinburgh face a £100 fine for parking on pavements, as the city becomes the first in Scotland to implement the ban.
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) January 29, 2024
Jon had more details on #BBCBreakfast https://t.co/2yf722hJyY pic.twitter.com/c2hPHp641w
BBC Breakfast’s informative short feature on the pavement parking ban in Edinburgh showed Elaine Mackenzie, who is blind, walking with her guide dog Jessie.
Jessie often has to lead her mistress out into the road because there is no space on the pavement.
‘I’ve ended up on really busy roads, and you’re putting yourself and the dog at risk.
It’s scary for me, I don’t know what it’s like for her – I think it must be as bad for her’.
elaine mackenzie
Cllr Scott Arthur
Cllr Scott Arthur, who is Edinburgh’s Transport and Environment Convener, said that every driver is responsible for parking their vehicle considerately and where it will not cause an obstruction to the road.
‘If a driver can’t park with all four wheels on the road without blocking traffic, we would encourage them to park elsewhere. Neither parking on the footpath nor blocking the road is safe or acceptable’.
cllr scott arthur
As well as pavement parking, Edinburgh is banning parking at dropped kerbs and double-parking.
Pavement Parking in England
A consultation on banning pavement parking in England closed in 2020.
In January 2023, then Transport Minister Jesse Norman told the All Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking that the government did not want to publish the results of the consultation until “we have a clear route forward legislatively”.
It is very odd to refuse to publish consultation results for 4 years on the basis of such a specious argument.
The only conclusion that can be drawn from the UK government’s conduct is that it does not have the courage to do what is right and get cars off pavements.