BROMSGROVE’S MP is supporting a national campaign from Guide Dogs to push for safer and more accessible streets.
At an event for the campaign in parliament Bradley Thomas MP spoke with people with sight loss about the challenges anti-social pavement parking can cause.
Cars parked on pavements are a problem for everyone, but are particularly dangerous for people with sight loss, who can be forced to walk in the road with traffic they cannot see.
Pavement parking is already against the law in London, and similar rules are coming into force in Scotland. The law in the rest of the country is complex and patchy.
Guide Dogs is calling for a clear law across the rest of the country, to ensure that everyone can walk their streets safely. Three quarters (74 per cent) of councillors also support Guide Dogs’ call for a new law.
Mr Thomas said: “Cars blocking pavements are a nuisance for everyone, but they can be dangerous for people forced into the road, especially wheelchair users, people with pushchairs and people with sight loss.
“This is why I support Guide Dogs in their call for a clear law that would empower local councils to tackle this problem.”
Three quarters (74 per cent) of councillors support Guide Dogs’ call for a new law. Councillor figures are from YouGov completed online interviews with a sample of 662 English Councillors between August 29 and September 6, 2023.
Eleanor Briggs, Head of Policy, Public Affairs and Campaigns at Guide Dogs, said: “Cars blocking pavements are a nuisance for everyone but can be dangerous for people forced into the road, especially wheelchair users, people with pushchairs and people with sight loss.
“We know cars blocking the way undermines people with a vision impairments’ confidence to get out and about independently.
“This is why we’re calling for a clear law that would empower local councils to tackle this problem.”
