How much discretion will local authorities have when considering enforcement action against pavement parking under the Welsh Government’s proposed traffic legislation?
A Task Force Group to tackle the problem of parking on pavements in Wales was previously set up. They investigated several options and concluded that the most efficient and quickest solution, was to introduce subordinate legislation, which would add the offence of obstruction in respect of the pavement to the list of parking contraventions in the Traffic Management Act 2004. These new powers local authorities will have are not to enforce a blanket ban, but will allow them to deal with dangerous situations where vehicles parked on the pavement force pedestrians into the road.
A working group involving all stakeholders is currently drafting enforcement guidance for local authorities before the legislation comes into force in the summer of 2022, to help ensure a consistent approach is taken across Wales.