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Illegal and dangerous parking has become ‘normalised’ in Merseyside
Illegal and dangerous parking has become ‘normalised’ in Merseyside and people have simply had enough.
Yesterday the ECHO published more images taken over the past few days which highlighted further examples of how selfish, obstructive and dangerous parking in Liverpool and across the region is now completely out of control.
Every single day examples are posted on social media of cars and vans blocking pavements, parking on double yellow lines and making it impossible for pedestrians – particularly people in wheelchairs or pushing prams – to get past.
It is a topic that is making people angrier by the day and increasing the calls for authorities to do more to deal with it.
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Reacting to our story yesterday, which focused on parking issues in Liverpool, Stuart Wilks-Heeg, a professor of politics at the University of Liverpool, said the issue is a big one for the whole Merseyside region.
He said: “Illegal and dangerous parking has become completely normalised in Merseyside. Suspect it’s become common elsewhere also but there’s a very evident enforcement gap locally that’s now being systematically exploited.”
Speaking about Liverpool specifically, writer and producer Laura Brown added: “The parking is utterly awful and it’s happening on side streets as well as main ones. The council has never addressed the issue of being a city that predominantly has homes without parking off-road. So the culture becomes one of parking wherever.”
There were examples highlighted from all over the region over the weekend, including dangerous parking by those heading to Crosby and Formby beaches, while Sefton Park was also named as a problem location.
Laura Pilgrim said: “In Sefton Park this weekend people were literally driving onto fields so they can have their music and food out of the boot.”
For Dom Hope-Smith, who runs the Carnival Brewing Company, based in the city centre, it is a wider issue than just parking, it is about the culture of drivers in Liverpool and the surrounding areas.
He said: “It’s not just the parking, the attitude of a lot of drivers is bad. Dangerous manoeuvres, no letting others out of side roads or giving way. Bad attitude towards scooters and bikes.”
Amongst the many shared images and complaints around bar parking, there are increasing calls for a new strategy and new, tougher enforcement from the authorities.
Cllr Alan Gibbons, the leader of the Liverpool Community Independents group, said: “This is not an easy one to resolve, but we definitely need a city-wide strategy to reduce pavement parking.”
Liverpool City Council appears to be hoping to use money it will collect from proposed extended parking charges around the city centre to fund better enforcement of poor parking around the city.
If the change is formally adopted, the city’s controlled parking zone (CPZ) would allow charges to be enforced from 7am to 11pm and increase by 10p per half hour, in a move the council said would raise £1.6m. Currently, 30 minutes parking costs £1.20, this would go up to £1.30. Up to an hour would increase to £2.50 from £2.40.
On Twitter, City Centre Councillor Nick Small said: “The proposed Controlled Parking Zone extension will bring in much-needed extra funding for the council to improve enforcement – and education – against illegal and irresponsible parking in and outside the city centre.”
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