Parking Control - General principles and powers
Under Common Law, the public are allowed to pass and repass unhindered over the public highway and Section 137 of the Highways Act 1980 makes it an offence to wilfully obstruct the free passage of movement on the highway.
Unfortunately for pedestrians, obstruction offences tend to be biased in favour of keeping carriageways clear for vehicles rather than footways for pedestrians, which is why footway parking outside of London is often overlooked.
In London, footway parking is banned by the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1974, although within London there are some areas where exemptions are indicated with traffic signs.
Footway parking is also banned in other locations around the country including Exeter and Peterborough. Nationwide, the police are able to take action when a vehicle parked on the footway is deemed to be causing an obstruction or is parked dangerously.
There is currently no national legislation banning the parking of all vehicles on the footway, due to the wide range of circumstances and locations where footway parking occurs.
For example in some narrow residential roads with a lack of off-street parking provision, drivers have little option but to park on the footway to avoid causing traffic hazards.
The Government has no plans at present to introduce new legislation specifically aimed at banning footway parking on a national scale.
However, as with most elements of traffic management, local authorities have the power under the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 to make traffic regulation orders, allowing for specific parking regulations to be implemented in specific areas, according to the demands of local circumstances.
Local authorities can for example introduce a traffic regulation order in a single road banning the parking of vehicles on any part of the footway (these bans must be indicated with traffic signs), whilst a range of other methods can be used to manage footway parking, including the introduction of bollards and heightened kerbs.
