1. Rigorously enforce existing parking restrictions on Mill Road Cambridge to discourage dangerous parking on “no waiting or loading / unloading” areas near side road junctions and pedestrian crossings.

2. Implement physical measures (e.g. cycle stands, planters at the edge of the pavement) where appropriate to help prevent pavement parking on Mill Road

3. Secure the necessary powers to allow penalties for pavement parking to be imposed on Mill Road Cambridge and, once they are in place, rigorously enforce them

Context

Mill Road is notoriously dangerous, recording the highest number of collisions of any street in Cambridgeshire. These incidents involve pedestrians and cyclists as well as motor vehicles.  School children walking and biking to schools like Coleridge, Parkside, St Matthews and St Philips use some or all of Mill Road as part of their route.

Existing parking restrictions are routinely ignored - there is rarely any enforcement on the road.  Parking on the pavement is a frequent occurrence. This at best thoughtless behaviour can easily result in significantly increased danger to other road users, for example illegal parking near to the side roads of Mill Road reduces visibility of road and pavement users turning into or out of these junctions.  Pavement parking regularly blocks the pavement to the extent that some pavement users e.g. carers with buggies and wheelchair users are forced into the road.

There are many other improvements that could be made to Mill Road once the level of motor traffic has been reduced.  For example better short term parking and loading / unloading spaces could be provided.  Mill Road 4 People talk about all those ideas on their website https://millroad4people.org. But this petition concentrates on actions which the County Council can implement *now*.

Enforcement Powers - Existing

The County Council currently have the power to prevent illegal parking but for reasons that are unclear do not do so. Our understanding is that, while the level of parking fines has to be reasonable, the authority imposing the fine can both use the income to pay for the costs of enforcement and make a small surplus to contribute to the Highways budget.

Physical Measures - Pavement Parking Prevention

Other councils in England (e.g. Wandsworth in London) have implemented cycle stands at the edge of the pavement as an effective means of preventing pavement parking. There are stretches of Mill Road which would appear to be ideal candidates for such a strategy - e.g. the south side of Mill Road between Covent Garden and Mortimer Road.

Enforcement Powers - Pavement Parking

London is the only place in England with existing statutory powers to fine pavement parking. Whilst it is illegal to drive on(to) the pavement in all parts of England, bizarrely it is not illegal to park on it. The County Council can apply for powers to fine pavement parking on a specific stretch of road using a TRO. While we appreciate that the process of obtaining a TRO is not straightforward, the extent of the problem on Mill Road is now such that the effort must be justifiable.