King Edward Avenue corner of Hazell Avenue

Over the last few years the problem of parents of school children parking on the pavement in King Edward Avenue has worsened considerably. Vulnerable pedestrians such as children, those using a wheelchair, parents pushing prams and buggies, or those with visual impairments find cars parked on pavements intimidating, especially if they are forced to walk on the road or on the muddy grass verge. Kind Edward Avenue is a very busy pedestrian route for a number of schools including St Joseph’s, St Edward’s, Turnfurlong, The Grange, The Girls’ High and The Boys’ Grammar. The full width of the pavement on both sides of the road is needed to accommodate all the school pupils, parents, prams, buggies and wheelchairs as well as other non-school pedestrian traffic. Pavements are not constructed to carry the weight of cars, and the pavements of King Edward Avenue are becoming cracked and damaged, which may cause people to trip or fall. It also costs Council Tax payers money to repair. Pavement Parking is Illegal · It is an offence to drive on to a pavement, contrary to s.72 of the Highway Act 1835 and s.34 of the Road Traffic Act 1988). · It is an offence to leave a vehicle on a road (including the pavement) in a dangerous position, contrary to s.22 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. · It is an offence to obstruct a pavement with a road vehicle, contrary to Regulation 103 of The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 and the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 s.28. · Rule 145 of the Highway Code states You MUST NOT drive on or over a pavement, footpath or bridleway except to gain lawful access to property, or in the case of an emergency. In summary, it is illegal to drive a road vehicle on any part of the pavement except to enter a driveway where there is a lowered kerb and it is illegal to obstruct any part of the pavement with a road vehicle. Please enforce the law on pavement parking.