A pavement parking odyssey

[HMS_Dave]

Discretion isn't applied to cyclists often enough. Ask Kristian Gregory, who had to take it all the way to the courts door to beat a bizarre ticket for cycling from a cycleway to a crossing. https://www.cyclinguk.org/news/2015...clist-dropped-justice-michael-quest-continues

Unfortunately, the prejudices of the Police or in the case you link PCSO are likely to cloud judgements in some instances but one can only hope the CPS see sense in such senseless cases...

 

[snorri]

My house with off road parking was no doubt more expensive than a similar property without but I can't be accused of freeloading and should be unaffected if the council decide to impose charges for onroad parking.

 

[Electric_Andy]

Why is a "normal sized vehicle" more important than pedestrians? How come it's not ok to obstruct the road, but its fine to obstruct the path in the name of keeping the road flowing free?

In more than 3 decades no such displacement parking chaos has occurred in London, so there's no reason to believe it would anywhere else.

It's not ok to block pavements.i don't think anyone on here has an issue with that. What I'm saying is, it's better to half park on pavement providing there's ample room for a mobility scooter or a double child buggy, that way it would also leave room for an emergency vehicle to pass on the road. Consider everyone and it works fine. It's those who either totally block pavement or totally block the road who need to stop it.

Your point about London is not applicable to other towns and cities that don't have the Tube. In my city the bus is often slower than driving because no dedicated bus lanes and loads of stops. 2 changes and 1 hour versus 25 mins in the car, is not enough incentive, when you'd need a car for other things anyway, you might as well take it

 

[Deleted member 1258]

No, that's parking illegally, committing the offence of driving on the footway. It's merely that you're not prosecuted because no police officer saw you do it and, ridiculously, the presence of a car on the footway isn't accepted as sufficient proof.

I'm told its only an offence in London at the moment, thats why this new law has been proposed

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I'm told its only an offence in London at the moment, thats why this new law has been proposed

But as usual having the law & then having somebody to implement it are different things, it's also illegal to park on the wrong side of the road with your headlights one but lots of people do it, it's illegal to go over 30mph in a 30mph zone but I see it every day.

 

[Drago]

All the people that make up excuses for parking on the footway are quick to complain if they are inconvenienced for even the slightest moment by a pedestrian in the carriageway.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

All the people that make up excuses for parking on the footway are quick to complain if they are inconvenienced for even the slightest moment by a pedestrian in the carriageway.

Your evidence for this is?

 

[sheddy]

Angry Admiral Hornblower.

 

[Bazzer]

It's not ok to block pavements.i don't think anyone on here has an issue with that. What I'm saying is, it's better to half park on pavement providing there's ample room for a mobility scooter or a double child buggy, that way it would also leave room for an emergency vehicle to pass on the road. Consider everyone and it works fine. It's those who either totally block pavement or totally block the road who need to stop it.

Your point about London is not applicable to other towns and cities that don't have the Tube. In my city the bus is often slower than driving because no dedicated bus lanes and loads of stops. 2 changes and 1 hour versus 25 mins in the car, is not enough incentive, when you'd need a car for other things anyway, you might as well take it

But you are immediately blurring the lines by taking this view. What a driver considers as having given adequate room may not relate to reality. We see it all of the time with close passes.
Unless a council has designated otherwise, there is already a line to park alongside; the kerb.

 

[mjr]

I'm told its only an offence in London at the moment, thats why this new law has been proposed

Whoever told you that doesn't know what they're talking about. Your parking method is illegal everywhere in the UK under the Highways Act 1835 section 72, but the police have to see you do it to punish you. You're exploiting a loophole, just like the drivers who get off speeding tickets by complaining about signs being too low or high.

The difference in London is that simply leaving a vehicle parked on the footway is also illegal under the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1974 section 15, so they don't need to see you driving to ticket you.

 

[icowden]

When cars are all autonomous and park and drive themselves the fun will start- they can't be programmed to reverse up kerbs onto pavements... unless the software gets hacked and no-one would dare to do that in case the car ran over a pedestrian on the pavement.

Actually, the parking should improve once we have level 5 autonomous cars. Without the need to pay a driver, journeys in AI cars can be made cheaper than the cost of owning a car. So car ownership should reduce. AIs don't need to park unless they need to recharge, and that doesn't need to be done in residential streets if you are running a driverless fleet.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Actually, the parking should improve once we have level 5 autonomous cars. Without the need to pay a driver, journeys in AI cars can be made cheaper than the cost of owning a car. So car ownership should reduce. AIs don't need to park unless they need to recharge, and that doesn't need to be done in residential streets if you are running a driverless fleet.

Not see this in my lifetime, which I hope is at least another 20-30 years

 

[lane]

But you are immediately blurring the lines by taking this view. What a driver considers as having given adequate room may not relate to reality. We see it all of the time with close passes.
Unless a council has designated otherwise, there is already a line to park alongside; the kerb.

Yes roads where I live with cars parked on both sides you can literally barely drive a car between the two rows of parked cars let alone get an emergency vehicle through. Then they complain loudly on the local facebook group if they get a wing mirror knocked off. Should not be allowed to park on the pavement and should be a lot stricter on where you can park on roads as well. Of course the issue is it is all terraces with no off road parking. Then a recent thing where people complained they should not change the bus route because the parked cars meant the bus couldn't easily get through. The entitlement of some car owners is quite astonishing.

 

[Archie_tect]

Actually, the parking should improve once we have level 5 autonomous cars. Without the need to pay a driver, journeys in AI cars can be made cheaper than the cost of owning a car. So car ownership should reduce. AIs don't need to park unless they need to recharge, and that doesn't need to be done in residential streets if you are running a driverless fleet.

Good point, but I can't see people giving up their own vehicles for the common good... humans are selfish and don't like sharing.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

The entitlement of some car ownersPeople is quite astonishing.

FTFY