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Glasgow Times
20-07-2025
- Glasgow Times
Stepps residents blast pavement parking law failure
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.' READ NEXT: Theft from Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital sparks probe 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 parking@
Scotsman
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- Scotsman
Scottish councils, including Edinburgh and Glasgow, to be given full powers to introduce road charging
A new strategy cover car use charges has been announced after the Scottish Government ditched an ambitious traffic reduction target. Sign up for the latest news and analysis about Scottish transport Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Ministers are to provide councils with the powers needed to charge drivers for using roads as part of a new strategy to cut car use. The move on Thursday came after the City of Edinburgh Council's transport leader said last month charging should be considered, but the relevant legislation remained incomplete. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A cheating Chesterfield mechanic who registered a customer's campervan in his own name before selling it on has since been pummelled with '160' congestion charges 'from Bradford to London', a court heard. | Archive The pledge forms part of a new Scottish Government strategy after Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop admitted in April that its long-standing, but highly ambitious target of reducing traffic by 20 per cent by 2030 was 'unachievable'. Cars contribute nearly 13 per cent of Scotland's total emissions with traffic levels rising sharply since the Covid pandemic. Transport Scotland said it would make a 'regulatory check' of the 2001 Transport (Scotland) Act 'to allow local authorities and/or regional transport partnerships (RTPs) the option to implement' local road user charging schemes. The organisation said: 'While a number of the necessary technical regulations to give effect to this power were made, initial scoping identified that further regulations must be put in place to enable local authorities and RTPs to enforce schemes. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Given the passage of time since the existing regulations were brought into statute, the Scottish Government will take the opportunity to check whether these remain fit for purpose. Once the necessary regulations and guidance are in place, it will be a decision for local authorities or RTPs whether and how to implement schemes.' Transport Scotland said it would also 'revise' its car use reduction objective 'to develop a new, longer-term target, which will support our 2045 net zero target'. Ms Hyslop said: 'The renewed policy statement reiterates our commitment to reducing car use in Scotland. It recognises the high level of car dependency in many parts of Scotland, particularly mainland rural and island areas, and that car use will remain a transport need for many people.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop will step down from Holyrood next year | NationalWorld City of Edinburgh Council transport convener Stephen Jenkinson said in May that road charging 'should be on the table for discussion' despite being overwhelmingly defeated in a local referendum 20 years ago. He admitted it would be 'challenging' and would be best introduced across a wider area than the capital. 'Potentially divisive' Deborah Paton, the city council official in charge of transport, said the Scottish Government should take the lead on such schemes and provide local authorities with the powers needed. She said: "The legislation is not complete and Transport Scotland are charged with doing a regulatory review, so we really have to wait for that. It would be more equitable if Transport Scotland looked at this on a national basis. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "Leaving it to local authorities to do it on a local level is a real struggle and potentially a little bit divisive." Scottish Conservatives transport spokesperson Sue Webber said: 'This looks like the SNP have upped the ante in their war on motorists. 'Show some common sense' 'Reducing car usage depends on providing efficient and affordable public transport alternatives. READ MORE: Drivers face 43 miles of roadworks as huge road upgrade ramps up Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Yet under SNP control, ScotRail is deterring passengers by cutting services and packing commuters like sardines into carriages. The result is, despite being left with pothole-scarred roads and taxes to drive into the city, Scots still need to use their car. 'SNP ministers need to show some common sense and focus on incentives, rather than penalties, to encourage Scots to leave their cars at home.' The Scottish Greens said the Government's car reduction plan lacked vision, with transport spokesperson Mark Ruskell arguing the ambitions did not go far enough to revolutionise the country's transport. Mr Ruskell said: 'We are in a congestion crisis in our major cities. Air quality is suffering and communities are being cut off by the lack of affordable and accessible public transport. It's dragging our economy down and damaging our health. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'The decision to walk away from the 20 per cent reduction target was a huge step backwards that undermined years of work to decarbonise transport. The plans laid out today give no indication of a new target and no plans on how to deliver better public transport.
