Teesside wheelchair user welcomes crackdown on pavement parking
Local councils will soon be able to introduce restrictions in their areas
A Teesside woman who uses a wheelchair is welcoming plans to crack down on careless parking.
Local councils will soon be able to introduce restrictions to keep pavements clear in their areas.
Trish Fisher, from Redcar, said: "It's difficult because if I go out and there's four or five cars parked up on the pavement, if they're parked too far across, I can't get past them without scratching their cars and sometimes you have to point that out to people.
"Unfortunately a lot of drivers do put their entire car up onto the pavement. I have on occasion reversed back up to find a pavement drop and then go out onto the road to go past them and that's frightening obviously because it's quite a busy road.
"It can be a huge risk and they park on the pavement for convenience for themselves or to protect their car. The people that come out of their houses and say 'oh, I'm really sorry. I hadn't thought about it', that's just lack of consideration and that's fine, but the ones who come out and sort of start swearing at me and shouting at me, they're not going to back down ever.
"What they don't understand is if they park on my pavement I have to go out onto the road and that puts me in danger. A few times I've confronted drivers but I don't now because on the few occasions I've had verbal attacks and I've had people sort of say 'I'm going to continue doing it, so I don't do it now. I just find another strategy.
"The worst can be white van men are just dropping off a parcel as they can take a while doing it and I have to sit and wait on the wheelchair. But when I do ask them to move their vans, their first words are always 'but I can't get it on that driveway.' It's almost like they're expecting me to go out onto the road so that I don't inconvenience them.
"I have had where I look along the road and see that there's four or five cars and I'm not just doing to get past them, so I just go home and send somebody else to the shop.
"When you park try and stop and think 'am I blocking wheelchairs? Am I blocking pushchairs and prams?' Things like that and if you are, just move slightly away so that you give us the room we need."
Her carer said: "It does worry me because I've seen her go onto the road when I'm with her and there aren't many speed cameras on this road, so you can't guarantee that everyone's sticking to 30mph. You can't guarantee that she's going to be safe.
"I haven't been verbally attacked the way she has but I hate to say it, there's been a place where I've seen people who will give her a mouthful that won't give me a mouthful. I think that kind of goes to show that there are unfortunately some people out there who think 'that's a wheelchair user what are they going to do to me?'
"I understand that there are a lot of people who say 'well I need to be able to park outside my house' and the answer to that is you need to find a different way of doing it."
Anna Turley, MP for Redcar, said: "Too many people across Redcar & Cleveland have told me the same thing. Pavements blocked by cars make everyday journeys harder, more stressful and sometimes downright unsafe.
"That’s why I really welcome new powers from the government that will give local councils the ability to tackle problem pavement parking where it causes the most harm.
"Blocked pavements aren’t a minor inconvenience. They can force parents with pushchairs, wheelchair users, blind or partially sighted people and older residents into the road, taking away independence and putting people at risk.
"Under these changes from the Department for Transport, councils will be trusted to act where pavement parking is a real problem locally, while keeping flexibility where parking needs to work differently. Local leaders know their streets best, and this puts decisions closer to the communities affected.
"As Lilian Greenwood MP has said, clear pavements are essential so people can move around safely and independently. I couldn’t agree more.
"This is a practical step towards safer, more accessible streets for everyone, and another example of Labour delivering change that makes a real difference to daily life."