Guide Dogs pushes for pavement parking ban to protect vulnerable pedestrians
Ahead of the Labour Party Conference, which starts on Sunday, the national charity Guide Dogs is urging the Government to introduce a national law to tackle pavement parking, as new research shows councillors across the UK overwhelmingly support tougher action.
New figures from Guide Dogs reveal that in areas where there is not a clear law 74 per cent of councillors support the call to introduce powers to tackle pavement parking, with 84 per cent agreeing that pavement parking creates safety risks for pedestrians in their area.
Its research also found that 45 per cent of councillors think that current methods of tackling pavement parking are too expensive, and half (51%) think they are too impractical to use.
Widespread support from councillors comes as the national sight loss charity showcases its pavement parking campaign on Liverpool’s Penny Lane, just streets away from the Labour Party Conference.
Temporary markings show the space needed for a guide dog owner, a pram user and a wheelchair user to use the pavement safely. The campaign highlights how little room is left when cars block their path.
Vehicles obstructing footpaths and pathways cause huge difficulties for people with a vision impairment, often forcing them into oncoming traffic they cannot see. It’s not just people with sight loss affected – polling reveals that 83 per cent of the public say they had to walk in the road because of vehicles blocking the pavement.
Nearly two thirds of people (63%) want to see pavement parking being made illegal. Guide dog owner, Helen Brewis-Levie, agrees a national law is needed.
Helen Brewis-Levie said: “Pavement parking is not simply a matter of ‘bad parking’. It is a daily danger to blind people across the UK. I’ve been forced into traffic, verbally abused and have even broken my wrist after a fall getting past a car on the pavement.”
The call comes as the Department for Transport still hasn’t published the findings of its 2020 consultation on options to change the law.
Guide Dogs’ research found that in Scotland and London, where pavement parking restrictions exist already, 74 per cent of councillors are confident in their ability to tackle pavement parking.
Helen said her life changed after moving to Scotland, which is in the process of introducing restrictions on pavement parking following successful campaigning by organisations including Guide Dogs.
Helen said: “In Scotland, pavements belong to people again, not vehicles. It’s given me freedom, independence and confidence. Scotland has shown that it works. Now the rest of the UK must follow.”
Eleanor Briggs, Head of Policy, Public Affairs and Campaigns at Guide Dogs said: “Local leaders are clear: pavement parking is unsafe, the current system just isn’t working across most of the country, and a clear law is needed to make sure everyone can travel down their streets safely, particularly people with sight loss.”
In 2024, a report published by the Local Government Association requested that powers to ban pavement parking need to be extended to all areas across England to save lives and make the streets safer.
