Loughborough MP Nicky Morgan attended a Guide Dogs event at the House of Commons on 3 July to show her support for the campaign to end problem pavement parking.

At the event Nicky heard from guide dog owners how parked cars blocking the pavement force them to walk in the road, into the path of traffic they cannot see. Some guide dog owners face these dangerous situations on a daily basis, risking their safety every time they go shopping or make the school run.

Research by YouGov for the charity Guide Dogs shows that 54% of UK drivers admit to parking on the pavement, with more than a quarter (29%) of those doing so a few times a month or more. More than half (55%) of these drivers do think about the impact on people with sight loss, but park on the pavement anyway.

Pavement parking particularly affects people with visual impairments, parents with pushchairs, wheelchair users and other disabled people. According to a Guide Dogs survey, 97% of blind and partially sighted people have encountered obstacles on the pavement, and 9 out of 10 have had problems with pavement parked cars.

After the event, Nicky commented:

“No one should be forced to brave traffic by cars parked on the pavement. In Loughborough, Charnwood Borough Council, Leicestershire Police and the RNIB College ran a successful campaign which resulted in a 75% reduction in pavement parking. However it’s clear that the problem still persists and that’s why I am backing the campaign by Guide Dogs to tackle this problem once and for all.”