Portsmouth South MP Flick Drummond has thrown her support behind a Parliamentary Bill to try and stop cars parking on pavements.
The increasing problem across the country means that vehicles have become dangerous obstacles for blind and partially sighted people, plus parents with prams, the elderly and cyclists, who often have to move into the road from cycle lanes because of the inconsiderate parking.
The Pavement Parking Bill will give local authorities the ability to enforce against problem pavement parking and will be similar to legislation that has been in place in Greater London since 1974 by making it a civil rather than a criminal offence.
“This is a real problem in Portsmouth and I know that many people, including schoolchildren, are fed up with this inconsiderate and, at times, dangerous parking by motorists,” said Flick.
“One group of pupils from St Edmund's School told me all about their experience of the problem when they recently came to visit me in Parliament. They told me that when cars are parked on pavements they often obstruct the cycle lanes they use to travel to school, forcing them to swerve into traffic.
“So this bill makes perfect sense to me because it will make everyone safer and it will bring the rest of the country in line with London.”
The private member’s bill, which has the support of charities for the visually impaired, is scheduled for its second reading in the House of Commons on 4 December and Flick is hoping the Government will sponsor it, so that it has a chance of becoming law.