A major authority has revealed it will introduce new driving laws next week, which will see offenders fined for breaking the rules.
Renfrewshire Council announced that it will introduce new pavement parking bans from next Monday, March 17, with drivers facing hefty penalties.
The restrictions will make it illegal to double park as well as park at a dropped kerb pedestrian crossing, and have been designed to create safer and more accessible streets for residents.
Under the rules, motorists who fail to adhere to the traffic measures will be fined £100, although this can be reduced to £50 if paid early.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing[email protected]
The parking enforcements will begin on March 17 with drivers being issued with warnings for the first two weeks
GETTY
But to help drivers get used to the new restrictions, the council said it will be handing out notices for the first two weeks, with official penalties coming in on April 1.
Councillor Eddie Devine explained that the council “needed to do something” to crack down on the poor parking across the region but “should also be sympathetic to conditions in certain areas”.
He added: “I’m on board with the concept but there needs to be a common sense approach in how it’s enforced because of the layout of some streets.”
The parking measures were agreed on by the infrastructure, land and environment policy board, who approved the move in January.
Meanwhile, Councillor Will Myletshared: “Obviously, they’ve said there’s going to be a soft approach initially but I’d like to have seen immediate enforcement for dropped kerbs.
“It’s totally inconsiderate to park over those, particularly if people with prams or wheelchairs are trying to get past. The sooner we enforce that, the sooner drivers will learn that they shouldn’t do it. But hopefully the rules as a whole will allow people with disabilities to travel more freely and feel more empowered.”
While the restrictions will apply to all motor vehicles, there are certain exemptions which can be granted on specific streets.
These will be allowed in places where there is not enough space for emergency vehicles to travel through the road without vehicles parking on the pavement or where there is at least 1.5 metres for pedestrians when a vehicle is parked on the pavement.
Councillor John Shaw added: “Council officers have been in touch to confirm that enforcement on the new Pavement Parking ban will begin on April 1.
“The focus of implementing and enforcing the ban will be on known hot spot areas, main arterial routes and reports of dangerous/irresponsible parking from the public.”
The upcoming parking changes have been met with mixed views from residents in the area, with one person warning it will be “chaos” on social media.
They added: “Our roads aren’t built to withstand the heavy traffic volume. People didn’t have two cars per household.
“Driveways and garages or gardens weren’t designed to hold a car, never mind two. No consideration to the modern day life when roads are designed and the older estates just can’t cope with the number of cars per household.”
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
- British drivers abandon petrol and diesel with electric cars to ‘make up over 35 per cent of sales’ in March
- Rachel Reeves’s April car tax changes could see diesel drivers pay up to £15,000 more every year
- Elderly driver banned for life after hitting three-year old with car – ‘Simply should not be on the road’
Drivers can be fined £100 if caught parking on the pavement under the new rules
GETTY
Another concerned resident shared: “Let’s face facts, the Renfrew roads were not built for all this traffic. Also, no new car parks or spaces have been made in the town centre for donkeys’ years. But you continue to let companies build houses on every piece of land that’s left in the town. And with most homes now having at least two cars.
“So explain to me how the council are going to try and rectify the parking problems. We all pay plenty road tax and council tax.”