Sir – After campaigning for many years against pavement parking , Oxford Pedestrians Association is extremely disappointed to learn that the highway authority is going ahead with the controversial scheme to formalise pavement parking in many streets in East Oxford.

OxPA is wholly in favour of a controlled parking zone to reduce dangerous and antisocial parking, but opposed to the usurpation of pavements for vehicle use.

In view of the Government’s recent guidance to Local Authorities (“Freeing Pedestrians from Pavement Parking Blight”, DfT 2/2011) it seems perverse that there has apparently been no attempt to solve the problem in ways which do not impact so unfairly on more vulnerable users of these roads, especially children and disabled people. We will, therefore, be making a formal request that the scheme is closely monitored and enforced from the start to ensure that vehicles do not take up precious pavement space beyond the white lines.

We will also strongly urge that if the introduction of permit-only parking results, as predicted, in a significant fall in the number of vehicles, then the scheme is re-assessed and wherever possible, white lines on pavements are removed and vehicles are returned to their proper place in the roadway, with the whole pavement width being restored to public space for walkers and wheelchair users.

CJ Grimley Evans, Honorary Secretary, Oxford Pedestrians Association