Parking review precedes planned Scottish Government bill

Delivering a consistent approach to managing and enforcing parking on public roads is the subject of a Scottish Government consultation now running, ahead of a planned bill to be introduced in the present parliamentary session.

Individual MSPs have previously attempted to bring in members' bills to ban parking on pavements, but questions arose over the scope of devolved powers. These were extended by the Scotland Act 2016, but due to the complex nature of the issues and the concerns raised by interest groups, ministers want to develop wider legislation to regulate parking.

Disability and pedestrian organisations have particularly campaigned against pavement parking, but other issues arise such as a lack of clarity over when a vehicle is causing an obstruction, the misuse of disabled parking, double parking and parking at dropped kerbs.

Among other questions, the current consultation also asks whether, if a new law is required, it should cover all roads with footways, including private roads that are not adopted by local authorities and trunk roads; whether any exemptions should apply, for example, to HGVs, vans, taxis, or motorbikes; and whether exemptions should apply to allow pavement parking where there are local concerns about access for vehicles and lack of alternative parking provision.

The purpose of the consultation is "to invite views from stakeholders on providing clarity and delivering a consistent approach to managing and enforcing parking on different types of public roads, including trunk roads, and thereby improving accessibility for all", the introduction states. 

Click here to access the consultation. Responses are due by 30 June 2017.