Pavement parking: five years on the kerb  

Aideen, a disability trainer and guest speaker from Great Barr, Birmingham, uses an electric wheelchair to get around. Pavement parking is a persistent issue in her area and regularly impacts her ability to travel safely with her two children.

In February 2024, while on the school run, Aideen toppled out of her wheelchair trying to get past a car parked on the pavement. Although she suffered only minor injuries, the incident left a lasting mark.

“I was just trying to take my child to school and get on with my day. The car shouldn’t have been there — I was so shaken and angry.”

Sadly, this wasn’t an isolated incident. Pavement parking continues to block Aideen’s routes and put her family in danger.

“Many times, I’ve been out with the boys and been forced into the road because I can’t get past a car. I don’t understand why drivers think they can block pavements — they’re for pedestrians.”

While heavily pregnant, Aideen almost missed a medical appointment because of another car parked across the pavement.

“It was right next to a supermarket car park and a busy junction. There were no dropped kerbs, so I simply couldn’t get past. I had to turn back and find another route — it was so frustrating.”

These experiences have made Aideen determined to support Living Streets’ campaign for an end to pavement parking.

One thing on the agenda of the previous UK Government was pavement parking, and on 31 August 2020 the Department for Transport (DfT) launched a consultation: ‘Managing Pavement Parking’, which ran for three months closing on 22 November 2020. The Consultation asked whether a change of existing pavement parking legislation should occur.

At the time, we were delighted by opportunity of the consultation. Vehicles parked on the pavement can cause an obstruction and inhibit the independence of many vulnerable people, especially older or disabled people with visual or mobility impairments.

YouGov polling commissioned by Living Streets found that 62% of adults aged over 65 in England were worried about obstructions on the pavement and a Living Streets FOI request from 2018 found that 93% of local authorities in England have received complaints from members of the public about pavement parking.

Living Streets, alongside other charities and thousands of members of the public responded to the Consultation, calling for clear laws and sharing evidence from their supporters about the issues pavement parking causes. Since then, 1,826 days have passed with no response.

For those interested, that’s 261 Sunday lunches, four different Prime Ministers and the Moon has orbited Earth 67 times since then.

MPs, local authorities and the public are desperate to see the deadlock broken on pavement parking. A recent survey even found over two-thirds of motorists would support nationwide prohibition of pavement parking.

The Minister for Local Transport, Lilian Greenwood MP, has promised an ‘imminent’ response to the DfT’s consultation, and we welcome that. But there’s no time to lose, and we’re tired of waiting. It's time to kick pavement parking to – and off – the kerb.