Inconsiderate Pavement Parking – Options Paper

Overview

Inconsiderate Pavement Parking – Options Paper – Views Sought

The Department for Infrastructure is seeking the public’s views on how to address the difficulties caused by pavement parking.

Many of our streets were not designed to accommodate today’s volumes of traffic and vehicle numbers, and at some locations, due to narrow roads and the absence of driveways, some people choose to park on the pavement(footway) rather than obstructing the carriageway (road). However pavements are not designed to be used for this purpose, they are for use by people, not for the parking of vehicles.

While parking on the pavement may appear to help address one problem by helping to keep vehicular traffic moving, it can often create other issues, and at some locations pedestrians are being forced onto the carriageway and into the flow of traffic.  This is an issue for all people but especially for those who are blind or partially sighted, for those with mobility difficulties, and also those using prams or buggies.

Footways are also not designed to support the weight of a vehicle and pavement parking can result in damage to the surface, with repairs costs placing an additional financial burden on the public purse.  The resulting damage to the pavement can also lead to a trip hazard which can result in personal injury, with compensation paid out on any associated claims further impacting the public purse.

The Department has undertaken some exploratory work with a view to seeking a resolution to address the difficulties caused by pavement parking.  This work is presented in the document Inconsiderate Pavement Parking – Options paper, which can be accessed here.  The paper provides background on the issue, looks at the position elsewhere, and sets out some considerations before setting out what the Department considers would be the most practical options for dealing with the issue.

The following three options are suggested:

Option 1 - introduce individual bans using the Department’s existing powers.

Option 2 – introduce an outright ban on pavement parking, possibly with some exceptions.

Option 3 – introduce powers that would allow the Department’s Traffic Attendants to enforce against vehicles found to be parked on the pavement and causing an obstruction.

The paper also suggests that the Department explore ways of dealing with vehicles parked inconsiderately across kerbs that have been specifically lowered or ‘dropped’ to help people cross the road.

The Department would welcome your views on the subject of pavement parking and on the three options suggested above.