Renfrewshire Council will begin a period of awareness raising to inform the public of new rules on pavement parking.
The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 prohibits pavement parking, double parking, and parking across dropped kerbs.
The law aims to improve the safety of pedestrians particularly those with mobility issues and parents or carers with pushchairs as well as tackle inconsiderate parking in Renfrewshire.
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Local authorities have the power to enforce this law and issue fines through Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) of £100, reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days.
Enforcement action will begin in Renfrewshire from April and will be focussed on hot spot areas and main arterial routes that cause problems for residents in addition to reports from the public of dangerous parking.
Ahead of enforcement commencing a period of awareness raising is now underway in Renfrewshire to inform the public of the new rules with advisory notices being issued on cars parked inappropriately.
Transport Scotland allows councils to exempt streets from the pavement parking ban in certain circumstances.
Councils can grant exemptions at specific streets:
where there’s not enough space for emergency vehicles to get access without vehicles parking on the pavement
where there is still at least 1.5metres for pedestrians when a vehicle is parked on the pavement.
The Council’s transport team can be contacted about future requests to consider a location for exemption by emailing ei@renfrewshire.gov.uk or writing to Director of Environment, Housing and Infrastructure, Renfrewshire Council, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley, PA1 1BR. All feedback will be considered against the Transport Scotland Guidance.
Convener of Renfrewshire’s Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board, Councillor Michelle Campbell said: “We are committed to improving road safety for everyone in Renfrewshire. Parking on pavements and double parking stops people from being able to walk safely down streets by forcing them onto busy roads and is even more dangerous for people with mobility issues, visual impairments or those pushing prams.
“By highlighting the new rules to residents over the next two weeks we hope to encourage drivers to park in line with the law to avoid the need for fines to be issued in the first place.”
Members of the public will also be able to report instances of dangerous or inconsiderate parking through My Account. Residents will need to have an account in order to submit a report. This will then be considered by officers.
