A VETERAN road safety campaigner has welcomed new steps to ban cars from parking on pavements.

Councillor Jim MacLeod has been lobbying on the matter for more than 10 years as a member of Inverclyde Council on Disability (ICOD).

He raised the issue of drivers parking over dropped pavements several times and at least twice at the Scottish Parliament.

Mr MacLeod says he is delighted that the first stage of the Pavement Parking Bill has now been passed.

He said: “At the moment drivers who park on dipped kerbs are preventing people on wheelchairs, scooters or even people who are visually impaired or blind or mums with prams from walking safely along the pavement.

“It might also be forcing young children to step off the pavement onto the road.”

Councillor MacLeod says he has experienced these difficulties himself.

He said: “There’s been times over the years I’ve pushed myself along a pavement and found it difficult to get around a car or to get on and off of the pavement. Many wheelchair users used to face this problem in Greenock town centre. 

“A lot of hard work going back 14 years has taken place with many folk out on freezing cold mornings out campaigning to highlight the issue and many giving support in a variety of ways over many years.” 

Cllr MacLeod added: “At ICOD we started the campaign on drivers parking over dipped pavements just after we moved into the then-new office at Clyde Square in 2002 when our new Shopmobility scooters users couldn’t get on or off dipped pavements.

“I remember writing to then-transport minister complaining about the lack of dipped pavements there were and how drivers parked over them too often.

“From there on we campaigned over many years highlighting the problem through the Tele, our LinkAbility newsletter and a couple of times on the TV news. We also took a petition to the Scottish Parliament’s Petition Committee in 2005 and then again a couple of years later.”

The Footway Parking and Double Parking (Scotland) Bill would ban parking on pavements, double parking and parking next to a drop kerb.

The Bill is designed to prevent obstructions for disabled and blind people and other pedestrians such as parents with prams.

Jim said: “I am sure this will get the necessary cross party support to get over the final hurdle.”