Pavement Parking

[bruncher]

There has been a discussion in a local forum in my area about pavement parking. Someone has reported that:

"According to our local Highways Department car owners can park on their own curtilage, but aren’t allowed to drive over the pavement to get there (even though there is no other way). Highways Dept says that unless a warden catches them in the act of driving across the pavement they can’t enforce as they can’t prove they drove across the pavement to get there."

I've done a brief search but can't find case law on this. Does anyone have any knowledge?

[scrumpyjack]

This Parliamentary paper sets out the law

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/c ... ng/m01.htm

[bruncher]

This Parliamentary paper sets out the law

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/c ... ng/m01.htm

Thank you. What a mess this country is in!

[Lootman]

"According to our local Highways Department car owners can park on their own curtilage, but aren’t allowed to drive over the pavement to get there (even though there is no other way). Highways Dept says that unless a warden catches them in the act of driving across the pavement they can’t enforce as they can’t prove they drove across the pavement to get there."

It was my understanding that a traffic warden cannot issue parking tickets for vehicles on private land. That would explain why he can only issue a ticket if he witnesses you driving on the pavement. The fact that it can be inferred that you must have done that is legally insufficient.

I have done this thousands of times and it has never been a problem. I was also told that my council bans the parking of vehicles in my front garden but, again, if true it certainly hasn't been enforced. Apparently it is a planning issue rather than a traffic issue. I was supposed to have officially applied to use my garden for parking.

[dubre]

parking on the pavement may not be seen as a problem to many a motorist but if you regularly have to push an old lady in a wheelchair it most certainly is a problem.

[PinkDalek]

parking on the pavement may not be seen as a problem to many a motorist but if you regularly have to push an old lady in a wheelchair it most certainly is a problem.

Indeed but despite the Subject header showing "Pavement Parking", the topic appears to concern parking "on their own curtilage".

I'd be interested in whether or not a council can force someone to apply for a dropped kerb (at a cost) https://www.gov.uk/apply-dropped-kerb

This randomly found Council website https://www.tameside.gov.uk/kerbdropping includes:

Do I need a dropped kerb?

If you intend to drive a vehicle over the footway into your driveway off a highway, then you will need a dropped kerb. If you do not have dropped kerb, you must not drive over the footway. If you do so, you are breaking the law and enforcement action could be taken to prevent such practice. Furthermore:

You may become liable from a collision with a pedestrian
You may become liable for damage to the footway
You may face considerable costs as a result of damage to any utility apparatus under the footway

Which would appear to include the answer.

[Lootman]

parking on the pavement may not be seen as a problem to many a motorist but if you regularly have to push an old lady in a wheelchair it most certainly is a problem.

As PD pointed out, the issue here was driving over the pavement rather than parking on it. In that sense this topic is somewhat misnamed.

That said, many people park on the pavement, of necessity. The way I see it done on countless streets across this land is to park parallel to the road, and with the nearside wheels on the pavement and the offside wheels in the road. In this way enough space can be left for wheelchairs and prams to pass safely on the pavement, and enough room is left in the roadway for moving vehicles to safely pass each other.

It also depends on the width of the pavement, of course. In the suburbs, in particular, they can be wide enough to park a car and still a wheelchair can pass.