Stepps residents blast pavement parking law failure

Glasgow Times

20-07-2025

People in wheelchairs, parents with prams and the elderly are being forced to walk out near traffic at the junction of Whitehall Avenue and Cumbernauld Road in Stepps due to drivers flaunting the restrictions around leaving vehicles on pavements.
Locals claim that they have raised the issue with North Lanarkshire Council, but say no action has been taken to tackle the problem.
Members of Stepps Community Council say they were told the local authority needs to hire more staff to be able to properly enforce the controversial law.
One source told the Glasgow Times: 'Since this came into force earlier this year, at least 40 cars are parking daily on the pavements, making it impossible to get past without veering out on to what is a busy road. It's only a matter of time before someone is badly injured because selfish drivers are choosing to dump their vehicles as they know nothing will be done.
'The parking is so bad on both sides of the street that a fire engine recently struggled to get past. The council also had to bring in a smaller bin lorry for collections because it's too tight for a normal vehicle to navigate a way through. There is plenty of parking at the rear of the properties, but folk instead chose to block the pavements, making it impossible for the elderly and disabled to get past.'
(Image: GordonTerris/Herald&Times) Since the end of March, drivers across the local authority face a £100 fine if one or more of their vehicle wheels are found mounting the kerbside. Enforcement action can also be taken against vehicles that are double parked or parked next to dropped kerbs.
The source added: 'The culprits know that wardens don't routinely patrol here, so they can get away with leaving their cars wherever they want. If this was Glasgow city centre, they would be slapped with a fine. I don't see the point of bringing in these new rules if they are not going to be enforced properly, across all of the council's roads.'
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At the time the ban came into force, council bosses said it was being introduced to protect pedestrians, especially people in wheelchairs and those pushing buggies, who could be forced onto a road by vehicles in their path.
Existing pavement parking rules only include exceptions for emergency service or waste collection vehicles, postal vans and for the delivery of urgent medical assistance.
Those assisting an accident or breakdown, or delivering or collecting goods, are also exempt for up to 20 minutes.
The local said: 'It is time the council took on the proper number of wardens it needs to enforce this new law, otherwise introducing it in the first place was utterly pointless.'
A spokesperson for North Lanarkshire Council said they are taking steps to address illegal parking on Whitehall Avenue.
They added: 'To address footway parking and various other transportation issues, the Scottish Parliament passed the Transport (Scotland) Act. This Act, amongst other things, makes it illegal to park on any footway (although loading and unloading may be permitted in certain circumstances), except on streets where the council makes an Exemption Order to allow such parking.
'The enforcement of pavement parking within North Lanarkshire commenced in March 2025.
We are currently receiving a large volume of enquiries with regards to pavement parking enforcement, and, given our small team of parking attendants, it is necessary to prioritise areas with a high volume of through traffic and pedestrian activity, such as town centres and around schools/hospitals.'
They continued: 'Enforcement action in this regard has taken place on Cumbernauld Road in Stepps and previous requests for enforcement on Whitehill Avenue have been recorded and will be considered as part of our future enforcement planning and resource allocation.
'Any additional instances of pavement parking can be reported directly to our parking enforcement team at [e-mail]'