A battle to ban vehicles from parking on pavements has been launched by a blind mobility chair user who has labelled drivers “selfish and inconsiderate” for blocking the public walkway.
The campaign had previously been in the form of a petition and received over 29,000 signatures from the public who acknowledged that pavement parking affects everyone.
Julie Pilsworth, who launched the campaign was registered blind after she was diagnosed with glaucoma, and, due to a catalogue of health problems, she also uses a mobility chair.
She is also the main carer for her 25-year-old son, who is disabled and spoke of the difficulty of getting around when people park their cars on the pavement.
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Having received more than 10,000 signatures, the Government responded to the petition
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Pilsworth has had her guide dog, Maeve, for four years, who helps her navigate while she’s out and in her mobility chair. However, despite receiving support and guidance, pavement parking is a daily battle for Pilsworth.
When drivers park across the pavement, she explained how it affects her ability to fit her mobility chair through the gap left between the parked car and the wall.
Maeve is also specially trained to stop if she does not believe the chair can fit through the space.
On one occasion, when the mobility chair couldn’t fit past a narrow gap on the pavement, prior to working with Maeve, Pilsworth knocked her head on an outstanding wing mirror, leaving her injured.
She commented: 'I should have the right to use the pavement like anyone else'
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An additional barrier is when cars park across dropped curbs, as these allow Pilsworth to leave the pavement safely or she risks tipping herself out of the chair by falling off the raised lip.
The petition called for national restrictions on pavement parking to ensure that everyone can use pavements safely. Having received more than 10,000 signatures, the Government responded to the petition.
The Department for Transport said it wants to take the right steps for communities and ensure that local authorities have appropriate and effective tools at their disposal.
It replied: “We are working through the options and how they can be delivered. Once this is concluded we will publish our formal response to the consultation.
“In the meantime, local authorities have the powers to restrict pavement parking wherever there is a need, by introducing Traffic Regulation Orders.”
For Pilsworth, experiencing pavement parking is additional obstacle she should never had to face.
She commented: “I should have the right to use the pavement like anyone else.
“I am not able to step into the road like other guide dog owners. It would be too dangerous because the chair would tip.
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Pilsworth said pavement parking was a daily battle for her
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“I have to turn back and find a drop kerb to get into the road, but then there’s the additional challenge of finding a drop kerb to get back up on the pavement once I have got around the pavement parking.
“Sometimes I have to turn back and go twenty minutes the other way before I find somewhere suitable to exit the pavement. Due to my health problems, it is a really big issue if I’m struggling for time as I have conditions like bladder incontinence.”
The petition closed on March 5 but Pilsworth is still pushing for the Government to change the laws around pavement parking and is calling for wider community awareness of the issue.