Pavement parking crackdown begins in Edinburgh

Motorists in Edinburgh now face a £100 fine for parking on pavements, as the city council becomes the first in Scotland to implement the ban.

The rules are designed to protect pedestrians, especially people in wheelchairs and those pushing buggies.

But BBC Scotland News has also spoken to people worried it could lead to problems for bin lorries and emergency service vehicles on narrow streets.

The council said pavement parking was a "persistent issue" on 500 streets.

Victoria Watson, 50, who has lived in Regent Street for 17 years with her three children, said she agreed pavements should be clear of vehicles.

But she added: "The council has left us with no solution as to how emergency service vehicles and bin lorries get down the street when cars are parked on both sides of this narrow street.

"They have not consulted us or come up with signs or double yellow lines on one side of the road.

"They have just slapped this ban on without giving us any suggestions and left us in a bun fight. It is very heavy-handed, ill-thought-out and very irresponsible."

Scott Arthur, City of Edinburgh Council's transport and environment convener, said he had faith in motorists realising when they were blocking a road.

"Every driver is responsible for parking their vehicles considerately, and where this would not cause an obstruction to the road," he added.

"If a driver can't park with all four wheels on the road without blocking traffic, we would encourage them to park elsewhere. Neither parking on the footpath nor blocking the road is safe or acceptable."

However, he added that officials would be monitoring streets to check if the changes were having a knock-on impact, including traffic displacement or access issues.

"If this is the case we could intervene, using available powers, to restrict inconsiderate parking," he said.

City of Edinburgh Council is the first in Scotland to implement new powers given to it by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, which came into effect last month.

It begins enforcing the ban on pavement parking on Monday.

Parking at dropped kerbs and double parking will also be banned, with an exemption for delivery drivers.

No additional parking staff are being recruited to enforce the rules. Instead, current parking attendants will patrol the problem areas.

Linda Gariock, 73, said it was not fair for motorists to park on the pavement.

"They have to park on the pavement because otherwise no traffic can go down the narrow streets here but I'm very much against it," she said.

"There should only be parking on one side of the street.

"People with buggies and wheelchairs can't get past and they are having to go on the road where they could get knocked down. It is selfish and absolutely ridiculous."

Janis Penman, 74, who travels by mobility scooter, said she felt sorry for motorists and thought more parking areas should be created.

"I would not even attempt to go down a street with cars parked on the pavement," she added.

"I am very careful and look far ahead to make sure I can fit my scooter through.

"I find it very difficult to reverse in this as I've never driven a car in my life so I don't want to get stuck.

"If I come across a street like Regent Street then I would go along to the next street."

Adam Ramsay, 38, said he has to walk down Regent Street to reach his home in Windsor Place with his young daughters.

"My father-in-law lives here and he has days where he can't leave the house because of the vehicles on the pavement as he is in a wheelchair.

"It frustrating and not fair on him.

"Cars take up a huge amount of the city already and now even take up pedestrian space.

"I'm glad they are doing this as it will be much easier for us to get down the street with our children."

Transport convener Scott Arthur said they had already started to see improvements after sending out letters to some of the worst affected streets ahead of the ban.

Bruce McRoberts, 67, who lives in Rankin Road, said his neighbourhood had rallied together to find a solution.

"The problem has been terrible here for years but since we received the letters we have a WhatsApp group and only have parking on one side of the street now," he said.

"It is completely clear now and you wouldn't think there had ever been a terrible problem here.

"I used to see people with buggies on the road, it was very dangerous, but not now. All it's taken is a bit of leadership in the street and us all pulling together.

"You can still see where the cars were parked on the pavement though because the ground is all worn away and needs to be fixed."

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