Streetlife

I totally agree Tony an absolute pain this is, i am partially sighted and it really gets up my nose when i walk into cars that i do not expect on a pavement what were pavements even invented for if we have to take our chances every time we walk anywhere. like you say police are totally indifferent. perhaps you should do a streetlife petition don't they have to take note if you get so many signatures?

totally agree about bad parking. surely there is a part in the highway code that says you should park responsibly? if not..........there should be. also would like to see clamp down on vehicles that park on cycle lanes, think this is against the law/highway code as well.  perhaps if the authorities were to have a campaign on driving offences for a week including mobile phone whilst driving it would be good for all.  good luck in moving a petition

Talking about indifferences, I contacted the police regarding parking on the zig zag lines outside a school, their reply to me was to ask me if it was raining.at the time. I guess their concern was a parent getting wet if they had to walk another few yards if they had parked responsibly a little further down the road. I wonder what the outcome would have been if a child had been injured crossing the road between cars parked on these lines.

I agree about bad parking.  I also think bicycles  should be made to carry bells, to ring when approaching pedestrians,considering so many of them ride on the pavements.  I have more than once,  been surprised ,being overtaken by a bike which I have not heard. If I had moved even slightly from my path, I would have been knocked flying!!

Funnily enough my neighbours current squeeze doesn't know how to park, sorry if that sounds a little sexist, but she is female and has parked leaving only 2 foot of pavement to walk on.. Yet the rest of us all park with a little respect to pedestrians..

Hi Marion i actually think it is law now that bycycles are supposed to have bells on them...

Bikes may have to be sold with bells on, it's not a legal requirement to keep it on though.

Agree with comments above, when i asked a local "PCSO" the other week as to why this was being allowed to happen she told me it wasn't against the law in Suffolk, but if vehicles were making it inconvenient for passers by to get by, especially invalid wheelchairs etc., then i should contact the local police who would then do something about it. as yet, i am still waiting.

A few years I parked on a pavement and someone from a partially sighted pressure group put a paper sticker on my windscreen asking me not to park on he pavement.   It was difficult to get off and taught me a lesson.    I find it extraordinary that we have many laws to stop cars parking where  they would obstruct other vehicles, yet it appears in Suffolk that cars can obstruct footways with impunity.   Time for a campaign ?

I'm tempted to bolt a rough piece of metallic material to my littleuns buggy and squeeze through the gap as I go past, this might make some people think twice..

And probably get me arrested...

Is it really not illegal to park on a pavement?  I always thought it was & that people who did it were risking a ticket or towing. 

And I do have real issues with the people who consistently park on the double yellow lines & zig-zags outside the school, which makes crossing with children dangerous as visibility is restricted & other drivers are forced to pull onto the other side of the road to get through.

I just have to say that tthis practice makes it impossible for wheelchair users and is also discriminatory and a breach of the Equality Act 2010.

I was very pleased to have so many replies to my comment on pavement parking. Not sure as to what I can do now. I am writing this e mail and hoping ti goes out to all of you. This coming Wed. 9th. Jan. there is meeting at 14.30 or half past two whichever you prefer at the Fisher Theater, Broad Street in Bungay of the Safer Neighbourhoods Organisation. The issue of pavement parking was raised at the last meeting (and first) I went to, sadly the Police where in support of parking on the pavement and two gentlemen I think were Councillors I felt they wanted Pedestrians banned! Luckily there was a Councillor from the Green Party and a person that spoke out strongly against the large lorries that drive through Beccles. The Chair lady was supportive of Pedestrian safety. Anyway I will be attending this meeting in Bungay and will mention the number of Citizens that are concerned at our pavements being used as some form of off road parking. Any one else can come that would be good but I understand not everyone is retired as I am. We have nothing to lose but our pavements. thanks for reading my e mail.

Hi Tony K.

Unfortunately I have a NCODP (Norfolk Coalition of Disabled People) Board meeting at that time, but I have asked for your comment to be circulated in NCODP and have copied it to the organisation 'Disabled Motoring' as pavement parking restricts disabled access and clearly contravenes the Equality Act 2010. Police should NOT be supporting this activity and it should be reported to their Equality Officer at Wymondham headquarters. I'd be grateful if you could keep me updated on this issue.

Just a comment about parking a few year a go I delivered around Norfolk and Suffolk lots of times if the road was narrow the police would tell me to get on the path then the next time i went there they would say get on the road you are blocking the path lots of times i said to them can you please make up your mind where you want me to be , After 40 years H.G.V. deliveries I never did find out !!

The basic problem is that the roads are too narrow in many places to allow safe parking. The answer is to widen all the roads to allow safe parking and to allow the construction of pedestrian and cycle paths. The trouble is that the roads were built for a historically different form of traffic( horses and carts) in many places and it is impracticable to widen them. Therefore there has to be "give and take" and understanding  among all road and path users.

Oh dear there are a few differing opinions here. I have been driving for 46 years and cannot remember ever parking on the pavement. The large service company I worked for had a strict policy about not parking on pavements. I say if the road is not wide enough to park safely, move to a car park or to a side street and walk. Pedestrians need to have a safe walk space without having to walk around a car onto a road. I have seen many parents attempting to take their pram off the kerb to pass a car blocking the pavement nearly being trimmed out by a lorry coming the other way.

Its no good expecting a removal van(for example) to park elsewhere. However, I agree, that common sense and a sense of "roadmanship" should  prevail. Where I live, if everyone parked on the road with no wheels on the pavement the buses couldn't get past.
A lot of roads are too narrow to satisfy all users needs.