Alternatives to pavement parking are being sought for a busy Brighton road as councillors agreed to look at other solutions before taking the next step towards a ban.
The move follows a request to Brighton and Hove City Council in June by Elm Grove residents seeking a “traffic regulation order” on the street to end pavement parking.
Similar pavement parking orders already cover Portland Road, Hove, as well as Craven Vale and Carden Avenue, in Brighton.
Green, Labour and Conservative members of the council’s Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee agreed to move forward with a “traffic regulation order” this evening (Tuesday 15 November) once alternative parking solutions had been considered.
At Hove Town Hall, Labour councillor Gary Wilkinson asked the committee to agree alternatives in the area such as angled on-street parking.
Once research into alternatives has been completed, a traffic order would allow civil enforcement officers to ticket vehicles parked on the pavement from Lewes Road to the junction with Tenantry Down Road.
Councillor Wilkinson said that the council had tarmacked over the old grass verges in the 1980s and parking there was “long accepted” with parking up to the “second kerb”.
He said: “As a former resident in the area, I am of the view that local people do not see themselves as parking on the pavements, which are as wide as many in the city, with enough space for pedestrians.
“The parking, in general, is clear of the pavement and on the tarmac verge, which were originally introduced, so local residents had space to park.
“In most places, they work fine for that purpose. Calling these verges pavement is, in my opinion, an unfortunate use of language.”
Conservative councillor Robert Nemeth voted with Labour to push through the request for research into on-street angled or echelon parking bays which could form part of a “controlled parking zone” before bringing in the proposed ban.
Green councillors urged the committee not to go with the Labour proposals.
Green councillor Elaine Hills, who represents Hanover and Elm Grove, said that most residents wanted an end to pavement parking.
She said “Most people who live there have suffered this for years. Cars have to drive along the pavement as there is often no way into a space.
“It’s illegal to drive there. One resident said they had to pull their small child away from a car because it was driving near her house.”
Fellow Green councillor Jamie Lloyd backed Councillor Hills, saying that Labour’s proposals would result in a delay to action that residents had wanted for years.
He said: “It is extremely dangerous and residents want action. They don’t want it kicked along the road. This is a progressive thing to do.”
Green councillor Steve Davis, who co-chairs the committee, said that the scheme was effectively a trial project on banning pavement parking in Brighton and Hove.
The big news from last night’s meeting is that Councillors agreed to ban cars from Gardner St, effectively discriminating against disabled residents of that street. What a complete bunch of dogma driven sickos make up the Green Party! Why did Labour -cllr Wilkinson – abstain?
Bhcc has just descended into the next level of Hell
Utter cowardice from Labour abstaining means the vote was always going through. Never can they claim they will look out for the vulnerable on the city.
Let’s be realistic, the only solution is to reduce the amount of parking needed.
Those “parking spaces” can generally only be reached by driving along the undisputed pavement. I know – I’ve nearly been run over on the pavement when I lived just off Elm Grove. The front wheel of the car brushed the toe of my shoe!
Enforcing driving to the parking which Labour says works fine (even though it clearly doesn’t) can only be enforced by the police, who have plenty of other things to do.
The proposed measures would be a simple way to allow parking attendants to carry out the tasks that the police are too busy to deal with. Now it’ll have to wait indefinitely.
“discriminating against disabled residents” – nothing new for this council. They do not prioritize needs of disabled, elderly, frail. BHCC thinks we are all able-bodied 20 years old’s who can walk miles and ride bikes everywhere…
It’s free parking, and the council won’t like that at all.
Is parking in pavements a particularly English thing that has just become acceptable ? I don’t seem to encounter the same problems round Europe.
I was in Vilnius earlier this year where the Mayor had hired an armoured personnel carrier and drove it over illegally parked cars as a deterrent.
Harsh but fair some might say