Lincolnshire councillors have found something they can all agree on – they're fed up of people parking badly on pavements.

Reckless drivers often block wheelchair and pushchair users, councillors said as they unanimously urged people to park better.

There have been 387 complaints about bad parking on pavements this year alone, with 20 of them relating to HGVs.

Labour Councillor Rob Parker raised the issue at the recent full meeting of Lincolnshire County Council.

He said: "Pavement parking is dangerous because pedestrians and families with pushchairs are forced into the road and oncoming traffic."

Nearly every councillor agreed that this is a major problem across the county, but disagreed upon how to solve it.

The motion was seconded by Labour Councillor Kev Clarke, who added: "Many times parents with children or people in wheelchairs feel safer walking down the middle of the road."

Conservative Councillor Jackie Brockway said the council should consult with planning authorities to ensure roads were suitable: "We need to say to people planning new estates: 'Have you thought these roads through? Have you considered how traffic will get through, how families with disabilities or several cars will cope?'"

The full council discussed the issue at last week's meeting.

The portfolio holder for highways, and Conservative Councillor Richard Davies agreed that it was a problem, but said there is no easy answer.

He added: "Banning people from parking on pavements gets very expensive very quickly. By the time you've put up signs and arranged for patrols, you're looking at £10,000 over the course of a year for a 100 metre stretch of pavement." 

Conservative Councillor Colin Matthews highlighted that farmers rely heavily on people parking out of the way: "Their farm vehicles are so massive that when there's vehicles parked on the roads, they can't get through. Neither can they reverse or turn round, and they create regular log jams."

This is particularly relevant in more rural areas of the county, such as Stamford and Sutton-on-Sea, with agricultural vehicles, as well as emergency and public service vehicles too large to pass down streets where inconsiderate parking is taking place.

A motion was passed to work with Lincolnshire Police and enforcement teams to emphasise the importance of parking properly. 

The government considered a pavement parking ban in 2020, but this has only been enacted in London. 

Are you fed up with this 'dangerous' parking in your area?

Get in touch and join the conversation by emailing [email protected].