Calderdale Council to find ways to counteract drivers parking on the pavement

A Local Government Association (LGA) study this week included argues councils do not have the powers they need to tackle the “scourge” of pavement parking and so these should be extended to make roads safer.

The government says it has consulted with councils on how to take action.

Calderdale Council’s Place Scrutiny Board debated the issue.

Coun Dot Foster (Lab, Sowerby Bridge) said there were “hot spots” where drivers frequently parked cars on pavements and asked if steps such as penalty notices could be brought in to curb it.

“It’s particularly difficult if you use a wheelchair or have a child in a buggy or anything along those lines.

“You are shoved out into the middle of the road.

“If you can’t squeeze between the vehicle and the wall it’s parked next to, then good luck to you.

“Is there anything we can do?” she said.

Board Chair Coun Regan Dickenson (Con, Rastrick) said it sometimes happened because of circumstances, for example, ensuring enough room for an emergency vehicle like a fire engine to get through.

The council’s Assistant Director for Strategic Infrastructure, Adrian Gill, said it was a huge issue but enforcement was difficult and solutions had to be given careful thought.

The council did not have the powers to issue parking tickets for pavement parking but there were things being considered.

“The solution to that is to double yellow line the road and remove parking altogether.

“We will be looking to do that in a number of key locations.

“But clearly there are very strong feelings on both sides of the argument when we are looking at those sort of measures,” he said.

Mr Gill said the council had to make sure it was not displacing an issue from one location to another by doing this.

“All these issues have to be looked at very carefully – bit in principle, I agree, people should not be parking on the pavement,” he went on to say.