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Man urges action to stop illegal pavement parking

Cameron Weldon
BBC News, South West
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James Johnson wants CCTV, clear signage and regular visits from a traffic enforcement officer to address the problem

A man has called on a council to take action against cars parked "illegally" on a pavement in a Devon town.

James Johnson wants better enforcement in Ivybridge after he said his 85-year-old mum tripped on a dropped "camouflaged kerb" after she was forced to walk on the road due to cars blocking the pavement.

Mr Johnson said his mum, Jill, suffered "terrible injuries" to her knees and elbow and wanted the council to address the issue for the safety of pedestrians in the future.

Devon County Council said the town was patrolled weekly, but it had not received any complaints about pavement parking in the past six months.

A street with five parked cars on the pavement. There are two silver cars and one van with two further vehicles in the background. The number plates have all been blurred. There is a big tree and some buildings in the background and a tarmac road at the centre of the image.
Mr Johnson said the parked cars not only impacted the elderly but also people with wheelchairs and pushchairs

Mr Johnson said cars were regularly parked on double yellow lines, blocking the pavement towards the end of Fore Street, with pedestrians forced to step on to the road into the face of oncoming traffic.

"People shouldn't be parking on pavements... because the result is that elderly people like my mum have falls and [it] has drastically impacted her health."

Mr Johnson said his mother was still in pain after the fall on 24 April and had not been the same since.

"She says herself that she feels she's aged," he said.

Mr Johnson has requested the council puts CCTV cameras up, provide clear signage, paint the dropped kerbs to make them more visible and ensure a traffic enforcement officer visits on a regular basis.

Mr Johnson urged people to think before they parked.

"I know it's very convenient just to pull over and park in those areas, but there is an impact on pedestrians and my mum is living proof of that."

Devon County Council said: "We're sorry to hear of Mrs Johnson's accident, and we hope she wasn't too badly hurt and she makes a full and speedy recovery.

"Our parking enforcement officers patrol Ivybridge on a weekly basis and we haven't received any complaints about pavement parking in Fore Street over the past six months.

"However, we know that pavement parking can cause real problems for pedestrians, particularly for wheelchair users, people with visual impairments and for those with prams or buggies, and when it does take place on yellow lines we will enforce it."

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