Rutherglen MSP Clare Haughey has called on South Lanarkshire Council to provide local residents with more clarity around the implementation and enforcement of recent changes to pavement parking legislation.
As previously reported in the Rutherglen Reformer, pavement parking, double parking, and parking across dropped kerbs can now result in a Fixed Penalty Notice.
Under the new legislation, local authorities have the flexibility to decide if some streets should be exempt from restrictions – for example if they are too narrow to allow emergency service vehicles to pass if cars are fully parked on the roadway.
Other local authorities have information readily available on the exemption status of certain streets, with neighbouring Glasgow City Council for example hosting an interactive map on their website.
By contrast, although a report to South Lanarkshire councillors last November stated that an initial exercise to review all roads has been completed, this information is not available to view.
Glasgow City Council also provides a simple-to-use webform, which residents can use to submit a request for a pavement parking exemption if they have particular concerns.
Commenting, Clare Haughey said: “The new restrictions on pavement parking will improve accessibility – so that pedestrians and those with wheelchairs, buggies and prams can use pavements and dropped kerbs safely.
“Because of the geography of our communities, which includes housing built before cars were commonplace, it’s always been an important part of the legislation that councils have the flexibility to account for local circumstances.
“Local residents are telling me that it would be extremely helpful if they could view the assessment results for their street, and have a process where they can directly raise any concerns with the council.
“Implementing this legislation successfully is all about getting the balance right. While this might take time, it is disappointing that South Lanarkshire are not offering the same level of transparency and communication for residents as other local authorities , and I would urge them to improve this.”
South Lanarkshire Council said that in advance of legislation coming into force an external consultant was appointed by the local authority to undertake an assessment of streets across South Lanarkshire with respect to potential exemptions.
Colin Park, Head of Roads, Transportation and Fleet Services, said: “As per the advice of Transport Scotland to local authorities, we will now couple this data with evidence gathered as the implementation of the legislation moves forward to determine whether any exemption orders should be considered.
“This is an extensive process which will ultimately require the promotion of a Traffic Regulation Order before any formal exemptions can take effect. In the meantime, there is a dedicated ‘parking on pavements’ page on our website, which includes a link to an enquiry form where any concerns, questions or issues can be raised.”
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