CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure

Responsible Parking (Scotland) Bill - consultation

(5 posts)
  • Started 11 years ago by crowriver
  • Latest reply from crowriver

  1. crowriver
    Member

    (From Peter Hawkins, CTC Scotland)

    The consultation for a Bill to stop pavement parking is now in progress and I urge all of you to respond to it - see link below. The Bill will also stop parking across dropped kerbs, and thirdly, double parking. Cyclists (as well as many other groups - blind, disabled, mums/dads with buggies etc) will benefit from this piece of legislation, so it's really important that it's supported by all of us.

    The link below includes an explanation about the Bill.

    http://e-activist.com/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1719&ea.campaign.id=14558

    Here is the MSP's own document explaining the need for the bill.

    Write to your MSP and ask them to support it!

    http://joefitzpatrick.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ParkingBillLong.pdf

    Posted 11 years ago #
  2. Definitely needed, however, in practice... This from Morningsider on an old thread:

    "I totally agree with the Living Streets campaign to prevent pavement parking and parking in front of dropped kerbs. However, the Scottish Parliament doesn't really have the powers to ban this. Any legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament would require local authorities to promote traffic regulation orders banning parking, waiting etc. at each and every dropped kerb - which they cannot afford to do. I'm not quite sure how they could legally ban pavement parking in Scotland.

    However, the UK Parliament could ban these with a very short Bill, simply making it an offence to park on the pavement or in front of a dropped kerb.

    You only have to see the problems local authorities are having in implementing the Disabled Persons' Parking Places Act to see that any Scottish legislation on this issue is a non-starter."

    And

    "almost all road traffic law is a matter for the UK Parliament and not the Scottish Parliament. Any law passed by the Scottish Parliament relating to parking or traffic enforcement can only require the police or local authorities to take an action they already have the legal power to do. This is why I mentioned the Disabled Persons Parking Places (Scotland) Act 2009. This worthy Act aims to ensure that non-blue badge holders can be ticketed for parking in a disabled persons' parking space. This Act requires local authorities to make every on-road disabled persons' parking place "enforceable" and to enter into negotiations with private landlords to allow the authority to take over responsibility for enforcing disabled persons' spaces in their car parks.

    The trouble with this is that making spaces enforceable is a lengthy and time consuming process, which means the Act is proving to be something of a failure as locala uthorities just don't have the resources to make spaces enforceable. The best solution would have been for the UK Government to promote a Bill that would have made it an offence to park in in any legitimately marked disabled persons' parking place.

    Any dropped kerb/pavement parking Bill passed by the Scottish Parliament will face the same problems. However, the vast number of dropped kerbs would make it impossible to implement in practice.

    I'm not trying to be obtuse - as someone who has covered very many pavement miles with a buggy I detest pavement parking and people who block dropped kerbs. This is just the nature of the current constitutionl settlement in the UK. The best course of action is to try and convince the UK Government of the merits of UK wide legislation to ban pavement parking etc."

    Posted 11 years ago #
  3. chdot
    Admin

    "However, the Scottish Parliament doesn't really have the powers to ban this."

    Possibly, possibly this is covered by the recent devolution of speed limits and drink driving(?)

    Posted 11 years ago #
  4. Morningsider
    Member

    anth - thanks for finding all that. It all still stands - this proposed Bill is not within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament. Please don't waste your time responding to the consultation, this isn't going anywhere.

    Posted 11 years ago #
  5. crowriver
    Member

    Has anyone bothered to inform Joe Fitzpatrick MSP of this? His approach is different to previous bills in that it aims to make the whole of Scotland an enforecable zone, thereby allowing councils with parking enforcement powers to tow cars, charge fixed penalties, etc. He's taken the 1974 act covering London as a model.

    Posted 11 years ago #

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