‘Tackle real cause of pavement parking...’
ISSUES’ ARE BEING IGNORED
DRIVERS who block the pavement have been hit with fines – but questions have been raised about the underlying causes of pavement parking.
West Yorkshire Police issued a number of tickets to drivers who blocked the pavement in the Woodhead Road area of Holmfirth. The fine is understood to be £50.
The Force put out a statement following the crackdown on pavement parkers, which said: “On Monday 29 April officers from NPT Team 1 (Neighbourhood Policing Team) were made aware of vehicles causing an obstruction on Woodhead Road, Holmfirth. Tickets were issued to several vehicles that were parked blocking the pavement.”
After Kirklees Rural police shared the news on Facebook, a number of people urged officers to check other streets for pavement parking, including in Golcar, Slaithwaite, Birkby, Shelley and around the John Smith’s Stadium, including Rawthorpe, on match days.
In April there was a similar crackdown in Crosland Moor.
Responding to the police crackdown on pavement parking, local councillor Charles Greaves said more parking spaces were needed – on-street and off – and better solutions for those who live on narrow streets where pavement parking is an everyday fact of life, such as in Honley and Meltham.
And he thinks councils should be granted more powers to sort out the issues facing communities.
Clr Greaves, an independent who represents Holme Valley North, told the Examiner: “Whilst people shouldn’t park on footways or on dropped kerbs, in some locations it is the only place to park. What we need is more parking provision for all of the cars that we do have – both on and off street.
“Anyone who obstructs a footway can be fined for doing so, but they also need to think about the impact on other people even if they don’t get fined. From wheelchairs, to prams, to walking aid users and people carrying large bags – people need the full width of the footway, not a tiny space left between a wall and a car.
“Imagine the reaction from motorists if pedestrians decided they were going to use the road instead of the footway and just strolled in the road, bringing traffic to a standstill.
“That’s why trying to bring parking charges into Honley and Meltham is a mistake. If we had additional offstreet parking in the centres we could keep the central footways clear of cars.
“When it comes to housing estate and residential areas I do think we need to look at how the space is used. At the moment we often have two footways on either side of the road, both of which are parked up making it difficult for pedestrians.
“Much better to have a footway on one side for people and then have the other side for parking - but it would need to be done in an organised way and it would need to be enforced.
“There are dozens of streets where pavement parking is a daily fact – but we keep ignoring the underlying issues and then talk about alternatives to cars that don’t really exist.
“The government needs to give the legal powers to all councils and then councils need to look at how to use these powers to address the issues and to make our streets work for everyone.”