A Harrogate guide dog owner is calling for tougher action on pavement parking, as new research from Guide Dogs reveals councillors across the UK, including Yorkshire, overwhelmingly support stronger powers to tackle the problem.
Kim, 66, is vision impaired. She first got a guide dog while living in Ireland and later returned to the UK to live in Harrogate.
Kim said:
Life with a guide dog has been life-changing — but moving back to Yorkshire has brought some unexpected challenges, especially around pavement parking.
On most of the routes I use with my guide dog Jango, we regularly encounter cars parked on the pavement.
More often than not, there’s not enough room to pass safely, and we’re forced to step into the road. These aren’t quiet side streets either — sometimes we’re talking about busy roads with fast-moving traffic.
Kim says the stress of having to make constant safety judgments while navigating with no vision can be exhausting.
Kim said:
My guide dog will stop when there’s an obstruction, but because I have no vision, I have to feel around to understand what’s in the way.
When I realise it’s a car, I then have to decide whether it’s safe to step out into the road or try to squeeze past. That constant decision-making is mentally draining.
She added that while local police ran a small awareness campaign around six months ago, there has been no enforcement or follow-up.
Kim said:
They put warning notes on windscreens telling drivers not to park on the pavement, but beyond that it seems there’s been no action or consequences.
Kim has so far avoided any close calls or injuries, which she credits to the training and skill of her guide dog — but she is hoping to soon be matched with a new dog and worries about the risks.
Kim said:
As I begin that new partnership, I know I’ll feel less confident while we build trust and learn to work together,” she said.
Her plea comes as new figures from Guide Dogs reveal that in areas of the UK where there is not a clear law:
- 74% of councillors support the call to introduce powers to tackle pavement parking
- 81% of councillors agree that pavement parking creates safety risks for pedestrians in their area
- 43% think that current methods of tackling pavement parking are too expensive, and nearly half (48%) think they are too impractical to use
Vehicles obstructing pavements cause huge difficulties for people with a vision impairment, often forcing them into oncoming traffic they cannot see. It’s not just people with sight loss who are affected – polling nationally reveals that 83% of the public say they have had to walk in the road because of vehicles blocking the pavement. Nearly two-thirds of people (63%) want to see pavement parking made illegal.
The call from Kim and other campaigners comes as the Department for Transport still hasn’t published the findings of its 2020 consultation on options to change the law.
Eleanor Briggs, Head of Policy, Public Affairs and Campaigns at Guide Dogs, said:
Local leaders are clear: pavement parking is unsafe, the current system just isn’t working across most of the country, and a clear law is needed to make sure everyone can travel down their streets safely, particularly people with sight loss.
To find out more about Guide Dogs’ pavement parking campaign, visit guidedogs.org.uk/pavementparking
