Cycle UK's briefing
Parking in a Cycle Lane Amendment to the Transport (Scotland) Bill
Summary
Please vote for amendment 160 ‘Parking in a Cycle Lane’ in the name of Colin Smyth MSP, during Stage 3 of the Transport (Scotland) Bill. If passed, would reinstate a ban on vehicles (other than pedal cycles) being parked – as well as driven or ridden – in all mandatory cycle lanes during their hours of operation. The amendment would assist and strengthen enforcement and align the law to the Highway Code. It would also increase the safety of cyclists using cycle lanes.
Amendment 160 ‘Parking in a Cycle Lane’
Cycling UK in Scotland welcomes and supports amendment number 160 to the Transport (Scotland) Bill, ‘Parking in a Cycle Lane’ in the name of Colin Smyth MSP. It would amend Regulation 9 of The Traffic Signs Amendment (Scotland) Regulations and General Directions 2018 amendment regulations , so that it in turn amends The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 (TSRGD) Schedule 9 Part 7 Regulation 12, to include the word “parked” as well as “driven, or ridden”.
Rationale for this amendment
The Highway Code
Rule 140 of the Highway Code Highway Code states:
Cycle lanes. These are shown by road markings and signs. You MUST NOT drive or park in a cycle lane marked by a solid white line during its times of operation.
The Highway Code is very clear and the term MUST NOT is supposed to reflect laws which prohibit it. In other words, it’s a ‘MUST NOT’ in the Code because it’s an offence if you do. Rule 140 refers to Mandatory Cycle Lanes (MCL) which are marked by a solid white line. MCLs are different to Advisory Cycle Lanes (ACL), marked by a broken white line, for which parking is usually governed by yellow lines.
Previous law changes regarding Mandatory Cycle Lanes
MCLs are defined by The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions (TSRGD) which is UK legislation updated in 2016 (‘TSRGD’ is the set of rules governing the design, use and legal meaning of road traffic signs and markings). MCLs and ACLs and are part of the road and are covered by this legislation. This is different to legislation dealing with ‘cycle tracks’ which have a different legal definition.
The update to the TSRGD in 2016 did 2 things which had implications for MCLs and parking enforcement:
1. Creation of MCLs without need for a TRO. TSRGD 2016 removed the need for a traffic order for mandatory with-flow cycle lanes and stopping restrictions on school entrance markings.
2. Omitted ban on ‘parking’ from MCL rules. For reasons we do not know, the wording from TSRGD 2002 referring to an MCL, “it may not be used by vehicles other than pedal cycles” was updated in TSRGD 2016 and changed to “the marking conveys the requirement that a vehicle, other than a pedal cycle, must not be driven, or ridden, in the cycle lane during the cycle lane’s hours of operation (which may be all the time)” . This causes a number of problems:
a. Parking restrictions in MCLs have been weakened. The practical effect of this is that finding a vehicle parked in an MCL apparently does not prove that it was illegally ‘driven’ there - any more than it does when a vehicle is found parked on the pavement. There is a particular problem for vehicles parked in part-time MCLs, as these could genuinely have been ‘driven’ there at a time when this was legal (although part-time MCLs are uncommon).
b. Enforcement is practically impossible without an additional TRO. There are now two types of MCLs: those created before TSRGD 2016 under local TROs (which will have prohibited parking), and those created post-2016 (where parking is not prohibited unless they have a separate TRO for this, along with the accompanying yellow lining). This difference in rules according to date makes it almost impossible for practical enforcement - even for older MCLs.
c. Clash with the Highway Code. The legal meaning of post-2016 MCLs is now at odds with rule 140 of the Highway Code, as outlined above.
d. Safety compromised. As the ban on parking in MCLs cannot or is difficult to enforce it means more people will park in them, see it as permissible, and risk the safety of cyclists who have to move out of an MCL to avoid the parked car.
Conclusion
Amendment 160 reinstates the word ‘parking’ into the TSRGD legislation thereby banning parking from all MCLs in Scotland (only) and restoring the situation which existed throughout the UK prior to 2016. It will ensure that the law once again matches the Highway Code and is made clearer for those enforcing it. Most importantly, this simple amendment will help to make cycling safer for people riding bikes in cycle lanes.
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