Plans to fine drivers who park on the pavement have been shelved by the Welsh government after council chiefs complained of too many new transport laws.
The consultation on the plans has been delayed to 2024 by the country’s Labour administration.
If the law was implemented this year it would have given council officials new powers to clear pavements blocked by drivers who mount their cars onto the kerbs.
The move would have seen officials issue fines of £70.
But on Monday 3 April, Mark Drakeford’s government postponed the measures due to an increase in the amount of transport laws being introduced.
Drivers who parked on pavements would have faced £70 fines under new laws in Wales, giving council officials new powers
Deputy Minister for Climate Change Lee Waters said he had ‘listened to the feedback’
Council chiefs had complained that too many new transport laws were being introduced at the same time.
Later this year, the Welsh Labour is set to introduce a blanket 20mph speed limit for 30mph roads.
As well as this, they will be scrapping all new road building and axing support for bus services.
Outlining the reason for delaying the kerb parking plan, in a letter to ministers, the Welsh Local Government Association said councils were ‘struggling to manage’ the ‘sheer volume of transport-related issues’ being placed on them by the Cardiff Bay administration.
It said: ‘There is a long list of transport-related projects and requirements, all of which are being taken forward simultaneously. The proposal on pavement parking enforcement is just the most recent example.
‘This is placing councils’ highways and transport staff under great pressure with much of it being on top of the ‘day job’, such as maintaining highways and structures, keeping daily bus services running smoothly.’
Deputy Minister for Climate Change Lee Waters said he had ‘listened to the feedback’.
But he said that the consultation on pavement parking plans will now be pushed back until 2024.
Mr Waters continued to say that the delay ‘will enable local authorities to focus on the implementation and introduction of default 20mph speed limits in September 2023 and the work to prepare for bus franchising’.
In a statement, Lee Waters MS said: ‘I recognise that we are asking a lot of hard-pressed local authorities at what continues to be a difficult time. I have listened to the feedback from leaders and decided to delay the consultation on pavement parking until next year.
‘This will enable local authorities to focus on the implementation and introduction of default 20mph speed limits in September 2023 and the work to prepare for bus franchising.
He continued to add: ‘This is an incredibly busy period for local government.
‘Councils across Wales continue to deliver vitally important services, which people rely on every day and we continue to support them to do so. We have worked closely with, and supported local authorities, through the tough times of austerity, through floods, through the pandemic, and through the cost-of- living crisis.’
At the moment, only the police in Wales have the powers to issue parking fines for pavement obstruction. However, forces are too hard-pressed to tackle it.
The parking on pavement fine was set to be introduced this year following an 18 month long pilot scheme in Cardiff in 2021, which saw drivers get an automatic fine for parking on the road along City Road.
The move had been welcomed by disability charities and new parents who hoped would have lead to clearer walkways.
But the delay to the plan is a huge blow to many wheelchair users and parents, who, a few months ago, felt that the new rules needed to be implemented sooner rather than later.
Electric wheelchair user Kat Watkins, of Disability Wales, said blocked paths risk people’s lives and create barriers for disabled people.
She said: ‘For me it’s exhausting, and extremely frustrating because you’ve then got to fight to get to the places you want and that you thought you could get to quite easily.
‘It is so inconsiderate, people have lives as well. Wheelchair users, we have lives also. We need to go places. It’s out of order.’
And new mum Gwenllian Wyn, of Cardiff, said: ‘People are prioritising their cars over pedestrians and that means from time to time I have to go with a pram from the pavement to the main road to get around cars.
‘I’ve always been aware of it but since having a baby it’s become so much more of an issue because I’m pushing a pram and that’s the safety of my child which very much concerns me.’ Parking on pavements is not illegal in Wales and, in the UK, it is only illegal in London whilst Scotland are in the process of banning it.
However, if your vehicle is deemed an obstruction by your local authority, this is an offence and action can be enforced by the police.
