A DELIVERY driver has been hit with 35 parking fines just for doing his job and a proposed council ban will only make the situation worse.
Swindon Council is currently looking at bringing in restrictions on pavement parking in the Wiltshire town.
Members of the council’s Building A Better Swindon Committee are keen to move quickly with the first trial area possibly being set up in October which would last for no more than 18 months.
But many motorists are unhappy with the proposal, saying there is already a lack of parking spaces.
Van driver Steve, 43, told The Sun he dreads making deliveries in Swindon because of a lack of parking spaces.
But he said he would never park on a pavement because it is “too dangerous“.
He added: “I regularly deliver to London and the advice people give you there is to leave your door open when you’re delivering because that way you’re technically not parking so they can’t give you a ticket.
“I tried that once here and all the shelving and flooring I was delivering to a premise got stolen, so now I only use car parks.
“I’m sure I could park on the pavements here, but I just don’t want to risk it. I’ve already had 35 parking tickets in the last couple of years.
“It seems to me that the solution is more parking spaces and more free car parks, but I don’t suppose that will ever happen.“
But many pedestrians say they are being driven round the bend by “selfish” motorists parking on the pavements.
Local residents and shoppers we spoke to in the town’s Commercial Road want action now.
One, a busy mother of five and full-time nurse, Sonjay, 41, said: “It’s crazy that cars and vans are allowed to park like this. I’ve never seen it happen anywhere else.
“It is completely selfish and downright dangerous for pedestrians.
“You regularly see mothers with their babies trying to weave around the vehicles safely, but sometimes they’ll move off without even looking if there’s a pedestrian walking down the pavement.
“I think banning people from parking on the pavements here is a great idea and it can’t happen soon enough.”
It seems to me that the solution is more parking spaces and more free car parks, but I don’t suppose that will ever happen
Van driver Steve
A traffic warden we spoke to said even he was powerless to do anything about it.
Civil enforcement officer Antonio, 42, who has pounded the streets of Swindon for more than two years as a traffic warden said he is not allowed to slap tickets on the pavement parkers.
He said: “Before I came here I worked as a traffic warden in London for 16 years and this would never have been tolerated in the capital.
“But for some reason there’s nothing we can do about it in Swindon.
“Ironically, as long as they park close to the buildings, rather than on the curb side of the pavement, it is deemed legitimate parking and I’m unable to ticket them.
“Usually, it’s owners of the business parking near their front door, but that’s no excuse.
“It is downright dangerous because pedestrians have to navigate their way round the vehicles and make sure they don’t fall into the road.
“I’m amazed no one has been killed yet.”
I think banning people from parking on the pavements here is a great idea and it can’t happen soon enough
Mum Sonjay
Retired forklift truck driver, Maurizio, 71, said: “Look at all these cars parked on the pavements that we are trying to walk along.
“It is so dangerous and not respectful.
“We cannot walk along here without risking our lives.
“They park on the pavements whenever they want and people cannot easily, use the pavements anymore.
“One of them nearly hit me the other day when he reversed along the pavement. It was terrifying.“
Publican Gary, 50 said: “It’s a b***dy nuisance. Why can’t these people find a car park like the rest of us have to? It is very selfish.
“It’s also incredibly dangerous and if the council is going to ban it, I hope it happens very soon before someone gets killed.
“I get that people have to park but some common sense is needed.”
Restaurant owner Lenismar, 45, could park up on the pavement outside his eaterie but prefers to use the space to set out extra outdoor seating for his customers, even though that means diners are surrounded by other cars parked up on the pavement at neighbouring premises.
“I don’t really mind if people park there because like me I know they’ve got businesses to run,” he said. “But I do admit it doesn’t look very nice.”
Gloria, in her early 70s, moved to the UK from her native Canada several years ago and said she was “shocked“ when she saw vehicles parked on the pavements in the town.
It’s also incredibly dangerous and if the council is going to ban it, I hope it happens very soon before someone gets killed
Publican Gary
She said: “A lot of people seem to think it’s ok to park on the pavements here and I really don’t understand it because it looks like quite a dangerous situation to me.
“I guess it’s pressure on space. In Canada we had lots of it so there was no need for people to park badly, but here they just isn’t enough room, is there?”
Councillor Gary Sumner, who sits on the committee, previously said: “I’d like to see it done swiftly and I think aiming for October for the first trial would be reasonable.
“I look out onto Commercial Road at work.
“In a lot of areas, pavement parking is not too bad – it’s not a problem in my ward, in Old Town it’s mostly okay – but it’s the Wild West in Commercial Road.
“When I try and pull my car out, I cannot see what’s coming because there is a van permanently parked, there are motorbikes, there are cars as well.
“It’s shockingly unsafe.”
That view was backed up by the committee chairman, Councillor Junab Ali who said he wanted the committee to continue to look to prevent pavement parking in Commercial Road.
The Sun Online has contacted Swindon Council for comment.
