How many of you read the letter in NWN last week from the young lady regarding idiot drivers parking on the pavements in Thatcham?

She hit the nail right on the head, and has my full backing.

OK, so she MAY have been assisted by a parent, but to my mind, it adds focus to those affected by such stupidity.
I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I have been personally put out by some selfish car owner who considers either other car drivers or 'their pride and joy' to be a higher priority than pedestrians.

All it would take to resolve is a relatively short period of time of determined effort by the relevent authorities to smack tickets on the offenders vehicles. A fully justified method of raising funds too. The resulting finance could be used to sustain the recovery centre for example.

Yes I agree too. Why don't the council encourage their Wardens to persue these people. After all it is an offence to park on the pavement and unless action is taken then nothing will be done again.
It frustrates me that the authorities persist in turning a blind eye to these offences and ignore the laws that they themselves created.

I quite agree and whilst we are at it I have nearly been mown down by a Cyclist on the pavement a number of times recently. I thought Pavements were for Pedestrians or has the law changed now so that all Pavements are now Cycle lanes?

I know full well that topics go off track eventually, but please, stay with this for a while.

That's not to say your point has no value, but my post is regarding cars, not bikes, we covered that recently.

I park half on the pavement, but there's plenty of room for everyone to get by.

Why do you not park fully on the road?

I agree, people must avoid parking on pavements.

ALSO: I am revolted by the number of antisocial motorists who park on cycle lanes, especially those through Thatcham. Most cycle lanes are also double yellow lined; last thing I knew, this meant no parking..

Probably because of the shape of the road, it kinda exposes the car. I'm not saying it is a good thing, only that I do.

Fair enough - What about those old Victorian Roads such as Kingsbridge Road though where people park on the pavement on both sides of the road all the way down the street. There are not enough Car Parking Spaces for the residents. Are they just supposed to give up their cars? If they parked on the road on both sides then no traffic could get through. Perhaps there should be a cap on the number of cars per household?

My view is, provided pedestrians (with a pushchair) can walk the pavement without having to get out of the way of the car, it isn't really an issue to me, as a pedestrian.

Yes, a sensible and reasonal observation however I think the original issue is about the young lady having to walk out into the road to get around the car parked on the pavement. That is the complaint and also what happens whem prams, pushchairs and worst of all, wheel chairs t are obstructed because the offending motorist has blocked the pavement.
Not sure what the solution is as cars have become more numerous and bigger and older streets just can't accomodate them, the passing traffic and the pedestrians.

Not only do they park on the pavement but also on the cycle lane, when you tell the police they are not interested. A couple of years ago a woman parked half on the pavement/ cycle lane and my son was cycling down and as he got near the car the woman opened her door; he went straight in and badly injured himself. Was badly injured.



Women have to manoeuvre, with pushchairs, to get past cars on pavements. When I have reported it I am told that there are more important crime out there to deal with; I wouldn’t mind but they don’t seem to be doing that either.

Yep here it is - rule 244.

However from a practical point of view I tend to agree with Iommi that parking on part of the pavement is socially OK AS LONG as there is room for prams, wheelchairs etc. to pass easily.

If this young lady has to walk out into the road then this is obviously not the case and a problem that should be dealt with.

But that is always happening. As for rules or law; that doesn't stop anti social behaviour and the police turning a blind eye.

I thought responsibilities for parking offences was handed over to the council?

I looked at the problem as I was coming back tonight from Robin Hood island to Shaw. All left hand side pavement of Shaw Road has parked cars where pushchairs/wheelchairs would be obstructed. Coachmans Court has a car parked on the corner of the pavement blocking pedestrianacces and also sight of the road for other drivers. I understand the green meanies are falling below target, if they picked up this anti social behaviour and issued fines maybe they would pay for themselves. Why would a two car family buy a house with one car parking?

I suppose we'll hear the old chestnut 'I have a right to park outside mny own house' . My old Dad used to be a great one for that. We used to point out that given the age of his house, the only thing he had a right to park was a horse.

It was but broken records tend to get stuck on the same ole rant!!

That is what forums are for. To speak your concerns and have a rant.

Plus can't obstruction be classed as a motoring offence, and therefore a police matter?

I don't know for sure, but I think, only if it impedes the highway.

However...

Civil Parking Enforcement in West Berkshire

At least rant about the correct organisation.

The trouble is the police are on the front line (they are ones the public have contact with, they are supposed to be our guardians). There is no point having a go higher up the organisations as it gets more mysterious and cloaked in absurdity. And of course we know the police read what we say

It doesn't matter what it is classified as or who you should be responsible as nobody does anything anyway.

Ossy didn't say anything about higher up in any organisation. I read it that THE COUNCIL and those oft maligned Green Goblins are what you should be moaning , sorry 'commenting' on as they are responsible now for parking issues. They are both completely seperate entities to the police.

Unless of course it's all one big conspiracy.....!

Why not post pictures of bad parking on here if you see some and have a camera / cameraphone on you?

I may be out of date, but it used to be an anomaly that parking on the pavement unless withing a parking Order area, or involving a large goods vehicle, was not in itself an offence. Driving on the pavement was, as was obstruction. For the latter, and actual, not potential obstruction had to occur and the witness prepared to give evidence.
You can see the problems that caused......

I don't go along with those that decide for themselves they have left enough room. Maybe people just need to be prepared to walk a bit. In some cases even not move into a location where there is (or clearly will be) a problem.

Pics might be an interesting little project......

Yes, I agree, the response from any "authority" that is reponsible for these sort of low level offences is pitifull.
The council has a duty of care and as such is responsible to uphold the laws that it has contracted to administer. Where you find a violation of these laws you should first notify the council and when you do not get any response (and likely you wont) then write to Mr Benyon.

...and in this case the 'correct organisation' is the POLICE.
Unless the cars parking partly on the pavement are ALSO parking on yellow lines (or in limited parking bays) then there is no 'parking offence' for the council traffic wardens to enforce. They only have the powers to ticket vehicles when they are parking on those types of formal parking restrictions.

If a vehicle is parking up on the pavement where parking is unrestricted then that is an 'obstruction offence'. (and I think this is what the original complaint was about... Parking on pavements in residential areas....)

ONLY THE POLICE have the powers under Section 22 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to issue tickets for obstruction. Councils operating Decriminalised Parking DO NOT have this authority.

It's a Fixed Penalty Notice offence with a £30 fine normally. Getting the police to enforce it is the hard part as it has to be 'actual obstruction' not 'potential obstruction'.

...and as ossy seems to have demonstrated..... even the police think it's no longer their responsibility...

What is an obstruction?

If you are correct and the police (ossy) don't know what their responsibilities are regarding this law, then you have to ask what else don't they understand.
What do you think Ossy1?

It is a grey area. There is no offence of parking on a pavement it seems, only if one might be causing an obstruction, but I cannot find what the definition of obstruction is.

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/tpm/tmapor...agementres1744/

"Currently there is no nationwide ban on pavement parking due to the wide range of circumstances and locations where pavement parking occurs. Therefore local authorities outside London may only regulate pavement parking through the implementation of specific Traffic Regulation Orders. In London, pavement parking is banned under the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1974. The police are able to regulate pavement parking, but only when a vehicle is deemed to be causing an obstruction."

As for anyone not knowing everything about their responsibilities, this is also true of everyone, but it's a shame that members have to use this as another opportunity to have a go at members of this site who are allegedly associated with the police, especially when it is a will full attempt to go off topic as well. Talk about respect.

I am asking Ossy1 what her response is to Spartacus's statement that she as a member of the police does not know who is responsible for the enforcement of law regarding obstruction of pavements as previously described.
I am also saying that if she has got it wrong as stated by Spartacus then there may be other areas of law that she and perhaps others in the police force may be mistaken about. This would be pretty serious if they had to stand up in a public court and confess to.
I am not having a "go" at the police , I would expect Ossy1 to know more about it than Spartacus and to clarify the situation. If that is OK with you of course.

Do as you wish, but I reserve the right to post as I see fit. I just thought your post was cheeky.

You know what, so do I.

So in a nutshell. If people have an issue with people blocking pavements with cars, they should take pictures, report it to the police and maybe post the pictures on this website.

I suspect, however, that it would be prudent to smudge the number plates that can be read in the pictures, before posting.

Does anyone know what the definition of obstruction is, in respect of parking on the pavement.

The photographic option has also gone through my mind. If Admin are reading this, where would you stand legally? I assume as long as plates and people are unrecognisable, as on Google for instance, there wouldn't be a problem?

What would be the point in that case.? This forum has a limited audience so I don't see this as a way to discourage the perpertrators.

It would be to demonstrate the problem. The police could maybe be given the unedited version.

A car was parked outside the post office, in the bus pull-in area, today, no Blue Badge or other justification. The officer walked past and totally ignored it. 10 minutes later the driver emerged from Barclays Bank, got in his car and drove off.

I read it that he was talking about the police.

That is a good idea... next time I go out cycling I'll do that.

I agree. And I've did both but they never do anything. However, when I put something up on here and the NWN covered it then they acted.

Anything that is in your path - on the pavement - and you have to go around it.

Are you sure about that? It is just that it sounds a bit vague.

It does, doesn't it; however, that is what I was told by a police officer once. But then I could be wrong.

Take the bus-shelter outside the Post Office in town, it is in my way, but I can easily walk round it. I thought, perhaps, it would be anything that forces you off the pavement to get round.

Yes, but that is different... that is supposed to be there. When you are pushing a pushchair and have problems get pasting, then something should be done. When they put up bus shelters up they think of those things.

Do you ring the enviromental health officer and expect them to resolve an issue with your council tax (assuming you pay it), no thought not.

Do you have any idea how many departments there are within the police service, no you probably don't. You have just made an assumption about what it is I might do as a police officer.

But to be honest this forum does make me laugh one minute people complain the police spend to much time dealing with motorists and other things that make money rather than dealing with serious issues now your complaining that they are not doing exactly what you complain they spend to much time doing!

Let's see now, motorists complaining about cyclists.
Cyclists complaining about motorists.
Pedestrians complaining about cyclists and motorists.
Motorists complaining about the green meanies.
Everybody complaining about the police when they do not react to the complainers personal grudge.
.....feel free to add to the list.