Motorists off pavements
Cotswold District Council (CDC), Gloucestershire County Council, and the Police have joined forces with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) in a bid to prevent motorists parking on pavements or blocking access to tactile (dimpled) paving and dropped kerbs in Cirencester.
This type of illegal parking creates severe problems for the blind or partially sighted, other disabled people, those pushing baby buggies, and emergency vehicles trying to gain access. In many cases, they have to make extensive detours or sometimes even turn back to avoid the obstructions. This has led to a number of unnecessary falls and other accidents across the County, and Oliver Stevenson, 28, from Cirencester - who is partially sighted - has been the driving force in getting a campaign off the ground to counter this problem.
Bruised and hurt
Oliver commented: "Does a blind or partially sighted person have to be seriously injured before drivers start to be more considerate about where they park their cars? On countless occasions I've been bruised and hurt by bumping into vehicles parked on pavements. Having a guide dog has helped me to get out and about but he cannot always negotiate these obstacles."
Oliver is particularly concerned about vehicles which park outside schools at drop-off and pick-up times, causing an obstruction to pedestrians.
Enforcement Officers
To help him and many others, Maria Wheatley, the Parking Manager at CDC, has ordered the Council's Civil Enforcement Officers (parking attendants) to flag up illegal parking on pavements - and in front of tactile paving and dropped kerbs - by issuing leaflets to offenders. The eye-catching leaflets, which were designed by the RNIB and feature Oliver and his guide dog, will be graded amber and red to indicate the severity of the incident, and the CEOs may also report severe cases to the police for further action.
Maria explained: "Our CEOs are out and about all the time, and often see examples of illegal parking which make life difficult for pedestrians, especially those with disabilities. For this reason, we have proposed helping the local Police to try and make things safer for everyone using the pavements. The CEOs will pop the leaflets into the penalty wallets associated with parking offences and place them on windscreens - we think this will hammer home that inconsiderate parking is not acceptable."
Information leaflets
She continues: "We have also produced green information leaflets explaining the problem, which we will distribute around the town. Hopefully, this should get the public behind this campaign and encourage them to report any infringements to either ourselves or the Police.
Sergeant Richard Smith of the Police Safer Community Team in the South Cotswolds, added: "We welcome the opportunity to work closely with the Council and we hope that we can stamp out this bad practice. Cirencester has ample provision for legal parking, and there is absolutely no reason why motorists should imperil pedestrians in this way."
The initiative will be launched in early September to coincide with the start of the new school year.
Anyone who sees a parked car which is creating an unnecessary obstacle for pedestrians in Cirencester, should contact either CDC on 01285 623000 or the Police on 0845 090 1234.
NOTE
For more details of RNIB's Cars off Pavements campaign visit www.rnib.org.uk/getinvolved/campaign
ENDS.
Media contact: Bob McNally, Press and Media Liaison Officer, 01285 623120
For more information on RNIB contact Emma Mercer, Senior Media Relations Officer, on 020 7391 2085 or email emma.mercer@rnib.org.uk.