Town council invites residents to have their say on pavement parking

Parking on pavements divides opinion and has caused many an argument between pedestrians who say it obstructs the passage of people walking, particularly those with prams or in wheelchairs, and motorists who say they have to put their vehicles on the paths so that they don’t obstruct the road.

The laws surrounding parking on pavements seems to be unclear as it varies in different areas, but it has become a major problem in recent years, particularly in roads with no off street parking where many residents, particularly those with families, have two cars, and also outside schools durin drop off and pick up times.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has now launched a nationwide consultation to gather opinions on the future of pavement parking legislation.

Sevenoaks Town Council recognises this is an important discussion for the community and will be considering in length a response to this consultation at the upcoming Planning Meeting on Monday 2 November 2020.

The three options proposed by the DfT in this consultation are as follows:

1. Improving the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) process, under which local authorities can already prohibit pavement parking.

2. A legislative change to allow local authorities with civil parking enforcement powers to enforce against ‘unnecessary obstruction of the pavement’.

3. A legislative change to introduce a London-style pavement parking prohibition throughout England.

Town councillors say they welcome members of the public to view the discussion via the live stream on YouTube and to submit any views to the Council in advance of the meeting.

The meeting will begin at 7pm, on 2 November 2020 and if you need more information you can contact Imogen Parkin by email at: planning@sevenoasktown.gov.uk

The consultation can also be responded to individually, if you would like to do so the form can be found online at:

www.gov.uk/government/consultations/managing-pavement-parking

The consultation will close at 11:59pm on 22nNovember 2020.