Two more Scottish councils have begun enforcing a ban on pavement parking, designed to improve safety for drivers and pedestrians.

Dumbarton High Street is currently a disgrace with cars parked not just one wheel up on the pavement but the whole vehicle blocking the footpaths.

Glasgow Road, Bonhill Road and Roundriding road are three streets where pavement parking has been an ongoing hazard for blind people, mothers with children in prams and disabled people, especially people in wheelchairs. 

Perth and Kinross and South Lanarkshire Councils are just two of the councils who have are now enforcing  the Scottish Government’s national pavement parking ban.

It has been designed to try and improve road safety – particularly for pedestrians with disabilities and those pushing prams and buggies.

Jon Attenborough, 35, lives in Perth with his guide dog, Sam. He hopes enforcement can raise awareness of the issues it can cause for visually-impaired people.

Bobby Simpson, who ran the Rockvale Rebound radio station for blind people in Dumbarton, campaigned against pavement parking 20 years ago or more.

John said: “It’s a particular problem when me and Sam are out and about in places we’re not so familiar with.

“I don’t think people do it on purpose, I think it’s just that they’re maybe not aware of the problems it can cause.

“It’s been great to see it raise awareness amongst drivers in places like Dundee and Edinburgh, so I definitely welcome it coming to my area as well.”

West Dunbartonshire Council have steadfastly refused to do anything about this illegal parking because councillors know it would cost them votes.

However, they have their own large car park behind their offices in Church Street and parking at their front door in Church Street is common practice for their own drivers.

The Scottish Government gave local authorities the powers to issue fines to drivers who parked on pavements at the end of 2023, but it has been implemented at different times throughout the country.

Under the ban, drivers can be fined up to £100, but this is reduced to £50 if the penalty is paid within 14 days.

Emergency services, postal and delivery vehicles are among those which are exempt, but some van and lorry drivers push their luck to the extreme.

Eric Drysdale, Perth and Kinross Council’s deputy leader, said: “We’ve taken a careful approach. We wanted to see what happened in other areas and learn any lessons that were there to be learnt.

“We’ve had a soft-launch, issuing warning notices to drivers over the last couple of months and a significant public awareness campaign.

“We want people to park legally – it’s not about raising funds or anything like that. This is about public safety and hopefully everybody complies for the benefit of the whole population.”

West Dunbartonshire Council refuse to discuss the matter. It osts hundreds of thousands of pounds a year for their communications department to keep saying nothing.