As a retired Police Officer, it used to frustrate me that if I saw vehicles parked on the footpath, there was nothing I could do about it - unless I saw the driver actually driving the vehicle on the footpath, which is an offence. So it is ok at present to force people pushing prams, wheelchair users, young children etc. to walk out onto the road just because some lazy person cannot be bothered to find a suitable parking place and then WALK (perish the thought!) to their destination.
I now work part time driving articulated HGV's and inconsiderate parking has come back to haunt me. They leave their cars on footpaths, on junctions, and ANYWHERE they see fit - as long as there is a big enough gap for a wee car to get through it must be ok in their eyes. Many is the time I have been unable to get into a street I need to get to because some idiot has parked on the corner and I don't have room to turn into the road. Either that or you get into the road only to find cars parked up both sides (yellow lines count for nothing if they are not enforced, and as traffic wardens were done away with outside of major cities years ago, that is now the norm) and the gap too narrow to get through.
Please bring in new legislation if it is necessary to keep our roads and footpaths clear; but it will all be meaningless unless it is ENFORCED, and enforced properly.
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