Pavement Parking

Tahir Ali Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd September 2025 Westminster Hall

[Helen Maguire]

I absolutely agree. We need to be encouraging active walking and encouraging people to use local businesses, and they cannot do that if they cannot access them by walking or being in a wheelchair on a pavement.

Parents also face the same challenges, with 87% of parents saying that they have had to walk in the road because of pavement parking. They would be more likely to walk their child to school if there was not pavement parking. They are not simply statistics; I have heard directly from residents about delivery motorcycles on Epsom High Street riding up on to the pavement in front of pedestrians, blocking footways outside fast food outlets and creating a hazardous obstacle course. On one evening earlier this year, a constituent reported 23 mopeds and motorbikes clustered on the pavement, forcing pedestrians into the road and creating congestion as they pulled in and out without warning.

[Tahir Ali (Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley) (Lab)]

I thank the hon. Lady for securing this important debate. A lot of my constituents have written to me to say that we should have one system that does not confuse people, and that applies whether someone is living in London or outside London. More needs to be done to give the councils the power to take tougher action in respect of those that cause the nuisance, obstructions and safety hazards for many vulnerable people.

[Helen Maguire]

I absolutely agree. My constituency is just outside London, so for my constituents, it is even more confusing because many of them will drive in and out of London on a regular basis.

One visually impaired constituent, Russell, told me that when food delivery riders choose to park their vehicles, such as motorbikes, on the pavement it makes the simple task of walking down the street difficult and hazardous.

We also cannot ignore the damage that pavement parking does to the pavements themselves. Driving on to and parking on them cracks and breaks paving slabs, leaving trip hazards long after the vehicle has gone. In England, nearly a million older adults suffer outdoor falls each year, and Living Streets’ “Pedestrian Slips, Trips and Falls” report estimates that the resulting healthcare and personal injury costs could reach £500 million annually. Just the other day, I did a walkabout on Epsom High Street with Russell and Tracey from Swail House, a property in Epsom that is run by the Royal National Institute of Blind People. As we walked, they pointed out many potential hazards on the pavement, including many broken and uneven paving slabs that could easily cause an accident. Poorly maintained pavements also deter walking: 48% of adults over 65 say that they would walk more if pavements were in better condition.