The issue of thoughtless parking on pavements is forcing vulnerable people into busy roads – and it’s not just a problem for wheelchair users and parents with prams
A fuming dad has slammed ‘selfish’ drivers who prevent his disabled daughter from playing outside.
Craig Trevett says his nine-year-old daughter Isabelle, who uses a wheelchair, has “never played out with her friends after school” because she is blocked by parked cars – and is left “stuck in a bedroom” as a result.
It’s a problem that even affects the family at home in Ormskirk, West Lancashire, where they have faced planning rejections from the council to make both the interior and exterior of their home more accessible.
The dad said he wants his daughter’s everyday issues to bring attention to the issue of pavement parking, and the need for dropped kerbs to ensure accessibility for everyone.
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Craig told the the Liverpool Echo: “I push Isabelle around in this wheelchair, and it is electric, so she can do it herself. But it’s just not safe enough. If they’re parking on them [dropped curbs] and then you’ve got to go down the road to get to the next dropped kerb.”
“If you’re on your own, it’s not safe. Especially coming off the kerb and then going onto the road, and then having to get back up the kerb. And there should be more dropped kerbs around, and there should be more crossings..”
They need to do something because one day, someone’s going to get seriously hurt.”
Laura Caunce, from Ormskirk, founder of campaign group Make Our Paths Safer, said: “I cannot go anywhere without being forced into the road. I can’t even turn out of my own driveway.”
She wants motorists to “just take a little bit of extra time when they’re parking and have a look and see if they think they’ve left enough space”.
For wheelchair users, parents with pushchairs and those relying on mobility aids, pavement parking can turn routine journeys into stressful and disruptive ordeals. Visually impaired pedestrians are hit particularly hard, as the obstruction can confuse or distress guide dogs.
“We’re trying to raise awareness about the dangers of forcing people into the road,” Laura added. It comes as data continues to show that consumers are choosing bigger cars, compounding the issue further. More than half of new cars in the UK are now too wide for standard parking spaces, and 30% of vehicles in English cities are SUVs.
Among the vehicles that have expanded in size is the Land Rover Defender, which grew by 20.6 cm and the BMW X5 by 6 cm in just six years.
Richard Hebditch, UK Director for TandE UK, said: “Currently, we allow new cars to be as wide as trucks. This has meant our roads are now home to big SUVs and American-style pick-up trucks that are parking on our footpaths, endangering pedestrians and cyclists and making everyone else on our roads less safe.”
For residents like Laura and Craig, the situation deteriorates during school run times. Craig said: “Some of the parents sit in their car, watching you come down.
They say: ‘What do you want? Do you want me to move? I’ve left a gap’. But you shouldn’t even be parked on the path. That’s a public path, and it’s the only public path we’ve got.”
Despite repeated warnings given by local schools to parents asking them not to block pavements, Craig said it appears to have little effect.
Laura said: “I’ve contacted the council a few times, and they’ve said it’s a police matter, and the police have said it’s a council matter, and neither one will talk to me about it.”
While pavement parking is entirely prohibited in London, with penalties reaching £160, it’s a ‘grey area’ in the rest of the country – with little to no enforcement against selfish motorists.
The Highway Code advises drivers should not park on pavements, but the lack of clarity often leaves people uncertain who bears responsibility for parking issues, or where to seek assistance.
In January 2026, the government released a response to a public consultation on pavement parking, entitled ‘Pavement parking options for change: government response’. Plans would grant greater authority to councils to implement restrictions and make decisions locally, rather than nationally.
Instead of street-by-street regulations, the new legislation could permit broader area prohibitions. Nevertheless, campaigners acknowledge the matter is complicated and multi-layered. “We don’t want to say you can never park on the pavement,” Laura said. “Just do it in a way that is safe for everyone.”
Some proposed solutions include enhanced access to car parking, designated school drop-off and collection zones and improved driveways.
Roughly 35% of British households lack access to private parking, such as driveways. Standard car parking dimensions have changed very little nationally in more than 50 years, with research showing that the average car is 20-30% bigger than it would have been in the 1970s, when parking measurements were first introduced.
