[NMNeil]

Keeping an eye on the news from back home, as I do, they are now enforcing the pavement parking ban in Scotland, and due to labour winning the election it seems that it's going to happen all over the UK in the foreseeable future.
So, is it a good idea, a bad idea or completely unworkable?
Just asking for opinions.

[Drivingforfun]

I think the ability to park on the pavement is one of those things that is beneficial at times, but too many people abused / overused it so their solution is just to take it away completely

Treating us like a class of schoolchildren and pandering to the lowest common denominator etc. but then maybe people shouldn't have behaved like children in the first place

[TC1474]

Originally Posted by NMNeil

Keeping an eye on the news from back home, as I do, they are now enforcing the pavement parking ban in Scotland, and due to labour winning the election it seems that it's going to happen all over the UK in the foreseeable future.
So, is it a good idea, a bad idea or completely unworkable?
Just asking for opinions.

It has always been illegal with the commission of 2 offences
1 - Obstruction
2 - Driving elsewhere than on a road

But it is only recently that it has been classified into a more specific offence when the authority to have vehicles removed has always been there if deemed appropriate.

So the reality is that no further legislation is really needed, but regardless, you cannot get the Police to deal with more serious matters at the moment so they sure as hell are not going to be bothered by vehicles parking on the pavement even with a specific offence in place

[Rolebama]

Our wonderful Borough decided to let residents, in some areas, decide whether to allow pavement parking. when they offered it to us, as a vote, we said no, pointing out that there were already laws in place against it. However there are a number of roads in the Borough where they went for it, and those roads are pretty much no-go driving areas in the evenings and weekends because there is not enough usable road width for cars to pass as they allow it on both sides of the road.

[Mark07]

As a pedestrian, I've seen cars sprawled over the pavement to the extent that I've had to take a pushchair into the road to pass them.

Equally, with the width of cars ever increasing, it can get awfully tight driving down some roads where off road parking isn't available and cars line the streets on both sides.

[NMNeil]

Originally Posted by Drivingforfun

I think the ability to park on the pavement is one of those things that is beneficial at times, but too many people abused / overused it so their solution is just to take it away completely

Beneficial to the motorist, but to the detriment of the pedestrians who want to use the pavement for it's intended purpose, which is not as a car park.

[NMNeil]

Originally Posted by Mark07

As a pedestrian, I've seen cars sprawled over the pavement to the extent that I've had to take a pushchair into the road to pass them.

Equally, with the width of cars ever increasing, it can get awfully tight driving down some roads where off road parking isn't available and cars line the streets on both sides.

Easily fixed with 2 lines of red paint on one side of the road

[NMNeil]

Originally Posted by TC1474

It has always been illegal with the commission of 2 offences
1 - Obstruction
2 - Driving elsewhere than on a road

But it is only recently that it has been classified into a more specific offence when the authority to have vehicles removed has always been there if deemed appropriate.

So the reality is that no further legislation is really needed, but regardless, you cannot get the Police to deal with more serious matters at the moment so they sure as hell are not going to be bothered by vehicles parking on the pavement even with a specific offence in place

I'm sure enforcement of the ban will be a lovely new cash cow for local councils.
And pavement parking in its entirety has been illegal in London since 1974
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/1974/24/section/15

[NMNeil]

And from the RAC of all people.

Nicholas Lyes from the RAC acknowledged widespread concerns among drivers about other road users blocking pavements.
"In a number of cases, drivers may be forced to park up a kerb so they are not restricting or blocking traffic flow on narrower road", he said.
"If the Government does look into this, it should be clear that pavement parking is only acceptable where drivers need to do it so as not to block traffic flow on the road nor pavement access for vulnerable users and pedestrians. This is all about getting the right balance."
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/19...t-driving-cars

[Rolebama]

During 'normal office hours', the Borough Parking Wardens are responsible for parking offences. From 6am until 10pm, outside of 'normal office hours', a private company is responsible. So from 10pm until 6am, noone is responsible.
Trying to get a definition of 'normal office hours', or the name or contact for the private company is like trying to get blood out of a stone. It would seem the Borough encourages pavement parking in the residential areas. Maybe it is not financially viable to pursue.
Since the introduction of Residents Parking, we have regular Parking Patrols at relevant times, and we can see the Penalty Notices on errant cars. Definitely financially viable.

[NMNeil]

When I lived in LA and Vegas neither city did much in the way of issuing parking tickets, because people would simply tear them up or have fake plates on their cars. The answer was simply to tow them to the impound yard.
Now that was a money maker with the towing companies bidding for the contracts, and now the car owners couldn't ignore the tickets.
The plus side was that to get your car out of impound, and pay the towing fee, parking fine etc., you had to show the title to prove the car was yours plus you had to show you have valid insurance and a valid drives license.
And if you did'nt pay within a certain time it's off to the weekly police auctions