MP`s want a ban on cars parking on pavements.

MP`s want a ban on cars parking on pavements.

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Pan Pan Pan

Original Poster:

9,777 posts

110 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
quotequote all
I put this note up on the bad parking thread but wondered if it should not have a thread of its own.
On the face of it stopping cars from parking on pavements is a good thing, but as usual it is not as simple an issue as politicians seem to think it is.
Too many estates are designed to the minimum standards as developers try to squeeze the maximum number of hutches onto the smallest space, and this includes 1. the access roads, and 2. the provision of visitors parking areas.
When they design these estates do they not consider, that at some points in time other people than, the people living in the hutches will have relatives, and friends visiting them, not forgetting delivery vehicles, fire engines and ambulances etc that require some level of access to the hutches.
Many estate roads are so narrow, and have no provision for visitor parking, where can visiting people park?
I say this because as posted elsewhere when visiting my brother I had the choice of parking with two wheels on the pavement, or parking fully on the road, which would leave little if no room for even cars, let alone delivery vehicles of heaven forbid emergency vehicles to get through.
A pedestrian walking by said I should not be doing that, and I had to agree with him, but when I asked him where the visitor parking areas were, he looked at me like I had just come down from another planet
A survey need to be carried out to determine how the maximum value from the available space can be achieved. Some pavements seem to have very little foot traffic, so if foot traffic in that area is not great the ration between pavement width and road width could be adjusted accordingly, in order to bias the available space to those who use it the most.
If pedestrian traffic exceeds vehicle traffic , then it is the pavement width. which must be increased
I am sure that an efficient ratio could be achieved, but what would the cost of implementing the findings of such a survey be to the economy?

Edited by Pan Pan Pan on Wednesday 11th September 10:49


Edited by Pan Pan Pan on Wednesday 11th September 10:50

Hol

8,359 posts

199 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
quotequote all
I am sure I have read on here before (and it could have been 8th hand information), that the government planners have stipulated that the parking spaces and road width for new developments are limited on purpose, to force people into only have one vehicle per household. People got creative instead and use the pavements.

If true, this new rule suggests an attempt to force people into complying with that flawed initial assumption that a lack of spaces would stop people buying extra cars.


sjg

7,444 posts

264 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
quotequote all
In Japan you have to prove you have off-street parking (either at your house or rented close by) in order to buy a car in the first place. No overnight street parking.

If you have to park on the pavement to allow enough space for emergency vehicles, then don't park there. Go further away and walk.

anonymous-user

53 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
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Where would all the Range Rovers park if they weren't allowed to park on the pavement? An off-roader is designed to be "off road".

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

189 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
quotequote all
I'm guessing the council in this town won't be supporting any such plans...


parabolica

6,703 posts

183 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
quotequote all
rockin said:
Where would all the Range Rovers park if they weren't allowed to park on the pavement?
On the road, blocking traffic. People won't change.

Dave Hedgehog

14,541 posts

203 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
quotequote all
Pan Pan Pan said:
Too many estates are designed to the minimum standards as developers try to squeeze the maximum number of hutches onto the smallest space, and this includes 1. the access roads, and 2. the provision of visitors parking areas.
When they design these estates do they not consider, that at some points in time other people than, the people living in the hutches will have relatives, and friends visiting them, not forgetting delivery vehicles, fire engines and ambulances etc that require some level of access to the hutches.
a lot of councils put restrictions on the number of car spaces to discourage car use to save the polar bears

when we rebuilt our office we had 40 spaces, council refused to give planning until we reduced it to 20... fortunately a smart bit of design with a long wide access road a few 'HGV' spots gave us 20 more spaces lol


Europa1

10,923 posts

187 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
quotequote all
300bhp/ton said:
I'm guessing the council in this town won't be supporting any such plans...

Cambridge has a lot of streets like that. To ban parking partly on the pavement would be interesting, to say the least.

phil4

1,203 posts

237 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
quotequote all
Dave Hedgehog said:
a lot of councils put restrictions on the number of car spaces to discourage car use to save the polar bears

when we rebuilt our office we had 40 spaces, council refused to give planning until we reduced it to 20... fortunately a smart bit of design with a long wide access road a few 'HGV' spots gave us 20 more spaces lol
Same here... offices have room for 20-30 people easily, but only permitted to have 10 spaces.

As mentioned earlier, it's the council trying to persuade everyone to use public transport. They're the one actually creating the problem.

Sheepshanks

32,528 posts

118 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
quotequote all
Europa1 said:
Cambridge has a lot of streets like that. To ban parking partly on the pavement would be interesting, to say the least.
I imagine pretty well every town and city does.

KTF

9,788 posts

149 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
quotequote all
300bhp/ton said:
I'm guessing the council in this town won't be supporting any such plans...

I'll see that and raise you this:


pmanson

13,374 posts

252 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
quotequote all
300bhp/ton said:
I'm guessing the council in this town won't be supporting any such plans...

I was thinking that looked local!

Pica-Pica

13,621 posts

83 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
quotequote all
300bhp/ton said:
I'm guessing the council in this town won't be supporting any such plans...

That is a conscious decision, probably gone before the council, much discussion on repairs and obstruction, and voted through.

witko999

629 posts

207 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
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I agree that pavement parking and indeed parking on the street at all is annoying. Most of my local residential roads are reduced to one lane wide because of the parked car chicanery.

The most annoying thing is that a lot of the houses have long driveways with enough space for 3 or 4 cars, but their lazy owners can't be bothered and leave the driveway empty and just dump their car on the street. At my ex girlfriends house, I often couldn't get into the driveway because cars were lining both sides of the street and there wasn't enough room to swing in. Yet every house on her street has a long driveway down the side of the house sat empty.

I actually park one of my cars on the street half on the pavement (my driveway is full of other vehicles). If I left it fully on the road large vehicles wouldnt get past.

Ultimately it doesn't matter what councils do to try and get people into public transport. The bottom line is it's st, slow, dirty, inconvenient and expensive. But I wouldn't be against some kind of incentive to get people to park in their empty driveways.

Pica-Pica

13,621 posts

83 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
quotequote all
witko999 said:

Ultimately it doesn't matter what councils do to try and get people into public transport. The bottom line is it's st, slow, dirty, inconvenient and expensive...
Local buses are timely, quick, clean and absolutely free for me...chauffeur driven, and no parking problems. Ten miles to a town in either direction. I use my car for long distance and off-the-beaten-track excursions.

ChasW

2,135 posts

201 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
quotequote all
The main issue is that there are simply too many cars. Another issue is that people who have garages don't use them because they have too much stuff. My neighbour had his garage doors replaced the other day so that they could accommodate their new SUV. Can't think why a retired couple need a SUV but that's another topic. Anyway the door fitter told me that an increasing number of new housing developments have car ports instead of garages to deter occupiers from storing stuff in them and to encourage using them for their intended purpose. This doesn't get around the problem of modern high density developments but I also think people need to plan their lives accordingly in the sense of deciding whether multiple car ownership is really necessary. Cars parked at the roadside for days/weeks without moving, I just don't get it.

Pupbelly

1,413 posts

128 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
quotequote all
Poorly designed new estates which only allow for a few properties to have a drive or parking. If they do have parking it's usually one per household - because this is the 1970's where the lady of the house stays at home whilst the master goes and earns so she doesn't need a car.

Houses that do have "garages" on these new estates are built for an Austin A35 not a modern Ford Fiesta which despite being a "small" car has no chance of fitting in said garage.

Basically the system is broken!!

Also why do folk think it is acceptable to park literally on a junction these days because it is near their home???

Baldchap

7,507 posts

91 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
quotequote all
Highway code 244:

You MUST NOT park partially or wholly on the pavement in London, and should not do so elsewhere unless signs permit it.

SamR380

725 posts

119 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
quotequote all
witko999 said:
Ultimately it doesn't matter what councils do to try and get people into public transport. The bottom line is it's st, slow, dirty, inconvenient and expensive.
They could always try making public transport good and not expensive (at point of delivery).

Pupbelly

1,413 posts

128 months

Wednesday 11th September 2019
quotequote all
Baldchap said:
Highway code 244:

You MUST NOT park partially or wholly on the pavement in London, and should not do so elsewhere unless signs permit it.
and this counts for f*ck all unfortunately as there are so many folk do it. I think it is just the norm now, plus the police don't give fook either and so it continues