New ban may pave the way to end parking war
THE government has announced proposals to tackle inconsiderate pavement parking - and it seems they can’t come soon enough for Macclesfield.
Police - particularly PCSOs - frequently patrol hotspots across the town where cars are left blocking access or too close to junctions.
Warning notes and fixed penalty fines have been handed out and the issue has, at times, caused people’s tempers to rise.
The school run is a particular problem time and there has even been heated exchanges between parents.
A member of the Bollington neighbourhood police team who was on parking patrol said on social media: “Your local PCSO is at Dean Valley Primary School again following reports of parking offences and arguments some parents.
“Not really the best example to set young children. Parking offences can incur a fixed penalty notice you have been warned.”
On another morning, in conjunction with Cheshire East Council
between parking enforcement, five fixed penalties were handed out around Prestbury Primary.
Recent examples of bad or inconsiderate parking have been photographed and put on Facebook, with one showing an offending car being towed away.
But the issue in not just limited to the school run and there are hotspots across Macclesfield.
These include Sandgate Road, in Hurdsfield, Beeston Brow and Kingsway, in Bollington, and Brampton Avenue, in Upton Priory.
So what has been announced this week by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps in the hope of alleviating this sort of thing?
Well he says there will be a 12-week consultation this summer in order to consider how a nationwide ban on pavement parking enforced by local authorities might work.
It would allow for ‘necessary exceptions’ and look at a tailored approach that may differ in rural and urban area.
One option would be to allow local authorities, such as Cheshire East, to have enforcement powers over obstruction of the pavement.
Currently,
London, only have this power.
In response to the news Stephen Edwards, from campaign group Living Streets, said: “Pavement parking forces people with wheelchairs, buggies and those living with sight loss into the road and into oncoming traffic.
“The most vulnerable pedestrians continue to be put at risk of injury and isolation every day that this dangerous act continues.
“We need a nationwide default ban, with outside
police the option to allow pavement parking in certain circumstances.”
Locally, Macclesfield residents have also reacted to the news.
Janice Carter said: “I definitely Would like to see pavement parking banned, pavements are supposed to be a safe place for pedestrians to walk .
”I live in Henbury and going up to Broken Cross especially towards the chapel one has to walk on the road if you’re pushing a pram or trolley, so so dangerous.”
Andrew Ridgway said: “Don’t even bother using the footpath most of the time when I walk to work along Hatton Street as people block the path most of the time.
”Kathleen Brocklehurst said: “Don’t know why they are called footpaths anymore, they should be called car paths.
“You can’t walk along a path anymore without cars parked across them.”