Pavement parking ban 'essential' to child safety

An Oxfordshire MP has said tackling pavement parking is "essential" to improving safety on the school run.

Olly Glover, the Liberal Democrat MP for Didcot & Wantage, called for action during a debate he held in Westminster on encouraging more children to walk and cycle to school.

Pavement parking is illegal in London, but in the rest of England the Highway Code only advises against the practice.

A transport minister said the government intended to publish a formal response to a consultation on pavement parking and would set out "next steps" in "due course".

Mr Glover said figures from the UK National Travel Survey showed that the percentage of children walking or cycling to school had declined from 67% in 1975/76 to 47% in 2023.

He said he wanted active travel on the school run to be "normal" rather than the "eccentric exception" and called for better infrastructure, more cycle training for young people and a ban on pavement parking.

"We can empower young people to walk, wheel or cycle to school by providing them with the confidence to do it, in the form of Bikeability, and putting in measures to keep them safe such as those around pavement parking and infrastructure and street design improvements," he said.

A consultation on banning pavement parking for the whole of England was held by the government in 2020 but no announcement has yet been made.

Lilian Greenwood, the Minister for the Future of Roads, said during the debate the government would be publishing a formal response and next steps in "due course".

She added: "Active Travel England is funding a wide range of support to enable more children to walk, wheel and cycle to school.

"We have announced a further £300m for active travel and will set out plans for future years following the Spending Review."

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