Pavements are meant for pedestrians and motor vehicles should not be parked on them as they can obstruct the passage for pedestrians, wheel chair users and mobility scooters, sometimes forcing them into the road. Police may issue a Fixed Penalty Notice if pedestrians / wheel chair users are prevented from moving freely.
Pavements are also designed and constructed to take the weight of pedestrians, mobility scooters and wheel chairs. The weight of a car or goods vehicle can cause damage. This is particularly evident in illegal vehicle crossovers where residents gain access to their property by driving over a pavement that hasn't been lowered and re-enforced.
Impact on disabled people
Pavement parking can have a big impact on disabled people in Surrey. Surrey Coalition of Disabled People, Surrey Vision Action Group, and Guide Dogs are working closely the county council to tackle this issue. Guide dogs website are running an anti-parking on pavements campaign with resources to download for local campaigns.
Impact on our Local Transport Plan
- Accessibility: Parking on pavements can cause problems for pedestrians and wheel chair users especially when access to property is obstructed.
- Congestion: Parking on street without suitable provision (i.e. half on pavement half on carriageway) narrows carriageways and can reduce traffic flow especially when vehicles are double parked.
- Environment: Parking on pavements is unsightly as they are intended for pedestrians.
- Road Safety: Parking on pavements can cause problems for pedestrians and can hide other vehicles particularly on bends, narrow roads and at junctions.
- Maintenance: Parking prevention measures such as bollards require maintenance. Parking on pavements causes damage.
Where there are no waiting restrictions (i.e. yellow lines) on the road, enforcement can only be done by Surrey Police; we have no enforcement powers against pavement parking in uncontrolled roads. If there is a situation where pedestrians, pram or wheel chair users are being forced into a busy road as a result of inconsiderate parking, then it should be reported to Surrey Police, on the non-emergency phone number 101.
Councils can prevent parking on pavements by installing concrete or steel bollards. However, costs and the wish to reduce clutter means they will usually only be installed as part of another larger scheme or at sites of major concern.
Yellow lines apply to the entire width of the public highway from the centre of the road to the boundary on the same side of the road. Therefore parking on a pavement next to a road where a waiting restriction applies could result in a driver being issued a parking ticket even though their vehicle is not encroaching onto any waiting restriction road markings. Enforcement of parking restrictions is carried out by our districts and boroughs.