A consultation on fining motorists £70 for parking on pavements in Wales has been postponed. Plans from the Welsh Government would give local councils the power to fine people for obstructing pavements with their cars.
There is no specific law against pavement parking and across the UK it is only illegal in London. However the new plans would have given councils in Wales the power to deal with the issue directly.
But on Monday (April 3), Climate Change minister Lee Waters MS that the consultation would be delayed until 2024 because he recognised they were "asking a lot of hard-pressed local authorities at what continues to be a difficult time".
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He added that it would enable authorities to focus on the implementation of 20mph limits across Wales by September 2023, and the work to prepare for bus franchising. More details on those projects here.
In a statement Mr Waters said: " 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."
Police can enforce the existing criminal offence of causing 'unnecessary obstruction of any part of the highway’ but this is rarely enforced.
In 2021, an 18 month pilot scheme in Cardiff saw drivers get an automatic fine for parking on the pavement along City Road. Plans to give local councils the powers to do this across Wales are now under consultation.
Parking on pavements can pose a real challenge for those who use disability aids. Visually impaired, those who use wheelchairs as well as people using pushchairs can be forced to use the road to pass a blocked pavement.
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