I AM concerned and frustrated about the selfish parents who park outside Willaston Primary School, South Wirral.

It's always the same irresponsible parents!

One day last week my child and others were forced to walk between cars, as a gentleman had parked his large transit van on the yellow zig zags nose on' across the public footpath on the side of Neston Road. This also blocked the view of oncoming vehicles for small children coming out of school.

What an idiot! You have children - think what you are doing and what a dangerous hazard you are creating.

Every day the children are being forced to walk between or behind cars, sometimes even stepping out onto busy Neston Road.

This is supposed to be a bus stop, not a car park. Are you blind!

Park somewhere else, like we all do. Arrive a few minutes earlier to find a safe place to park. Use a pram, like others, to carry your small children. Walk a little further to reach the school. All common sense things!

Think, before there is an accident and you have to have to face the consequences.

I have spoken with other parents and grandparents, who have also looked on in alarm and dismay. Please join me in showing your anger and frustration.

Hopefully, these parents will read my letter and act upon it - if not, my camera will have to come out!

If anyone in Ellesmere Port & Neston Borough Council reads this, please come along one morning or afternoon and witness this for yourself and see if there is anything you can do to help.
Angry and Frustrated Parent, Willaston Primary School (name and address supplied)

The situation is so bad now, I often think twice about going out at all.

I write in support of some recent letters condemning the irresponsible and inconsiderate practice adopted by some drivers of parking on pavements.

When taking my mother out in her wheelchair, I get fed up having to divert into the road to get past vehicles parked on pavements.

There appear to be many drivers that think it is preferable to obstruct a pavement rather than obstruct the road.

To wheelchair users, blind people, parents with prams, young children and senior citizens, such parking can result in life threatening situations if they have to walk in the road instead of on the pavement.

As well as the concerns about safety, there is also the cost to Council Tax payers by way of the thousands of pounds it costs each year to repair the damage to our pavements and grass verges.

Let's face it, normal use of pavements by pedestrians does not cause cracked and broken flagstones or rutted tarmac.

Why is no action taken by the police or traffic wardens to stop this increasing anti-social problem?

At a time when the council is trying to curtail speeding in residential areas, an easy and cheap answer is to prohibit vehicles parking on pavements.

Weaving one's way around and between vehicles parked on the road would automatically cut down speed in many areas.

I am a driver, but when I park I always try to do so with consideration to other road users and I would ask that all other drivers do the same.

T.R.
Irby

As a wheelchair user, my mobility has been gradually restricted over recent years by car / van drivers parking partially (2 wheels) or all 4 wheels on pavements. This is illegal but is allowed to continue. Not only does it limit the movements of wheelchair users and visually impaired people, but poses danger to parents with prams. It can also damage pavements and limit emergency services access to houses.

Enforcement of road traffic law is an operational matter for individual chief officers of police. They are best placed to decide on the level of priority given to traffic offences in the light of their perceived seriousness, conflicting demands on police time and resources and local circumstances.

However, the Government understands your concerns and appreciates the inconvenience and hazards that pavement parking can cause pedestrians, especially disabled and elderly people, the visually impaired and parents with pushchairs. The Highway Code makes it clear that drivers should not park, partially or wholly, on the pavement unless signs permit it.

There was an attempt to introduce legislation on pavement parking. Section 7 of the Road Traffic Act 1974 provided for a national ban on pavement parking. This was not brought into force because the majority of local authorities and the police reported that they did not have the resources to enforce it. The police could not guarantee an adequate enforcement presence and the local authorities were concerned about the administration that might be entailed in considering exemptions from a national ban. Without adequate enforcement a national ban would have been ineffective. These views were confirmed when a consultation exercise on pavement parking was conducted in 1987. As a result the relevant provision was repealed in 1991.

The Government believe that pavement parking is best tackled at local level. A local authority can use powers under section 1 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to make traffic regulation orders to prohibit pavement parking on a designated length of highway or over a wider area. This means the Council can target problem areas. A pavement parking ban would need to be appropriately signed so that drivers are aware that the restriction is in operation. Sign 637.1 of the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002 covers a continuous prohibition on waiting on the verge or footway. Enforcement of a ban would be a matter for the police unless the local authority has taken on decriminalised parking enforcement (DPE) powers.

Under DPE, a parked vehicle which contravenes a traffic regulation order is a civil matter and the local authority employs parking attendants who can issue penalty Charge Notices of up to £60. Income from the penalty charges is retained by the authorities in order to finance the enforcement operation. The authority is able to target enforcement effort to support their local traffic management policies and an increased level of enforcement can help reduce parking problems and improve safety.

Local authorities also use various physical measures to control parking on footways and verges which are largely self enforcing. The needs of disabled people must be taken into account by local authorities. Careful planning of physical measures is required to ensure that people with disabilities can get about safely and independently. The Institution of Highway and Transportation's publication "Reducing Mobility Handicaps: Towards a Barrier Free Environment" (www.dft.gov.uk/transportforyou/access/tipws/inclusivemobility?page=15) provides comprehensive advice on this subject. You may also wish to contact your local council on this issue for further information.

My mom was seriously ill and for a while had to use a wheelchair. Ive lost count of the number of times that we had to wheel her into the road just to bypass cars blocking our way.

I live near to an exceptionally good fish & chip shop, and every time I want to go out I have to negotiate the cars parked on the pavement. I ... often have to risk life and limb by walking round them in the road.