Pavement Parking Prohibitions FAQ's

These prohibitions apply to parked vehicles and stationary vehicles, whether or not the driver/owner of the vehicle is in attendance at the vehicle and whether or not the vehicle's engine is running.

This prohibition forbids vehicles to have one or more of its wheels on any part of the pavement.

This prohibition forbids:

• vehicles to park alongside or in front of other vehicles (it does not matter whether the vehicles' owners or drivers have an agreement with each other).
• vehicles that are parked too far away from the edge of the carriageway (more than 50 cm).

The edge of the carriageway can either be:

• a painted solid white line.
• a kerb.
• where the surface of the carriageway meets its verge.

This prohibition forbids vehicles to be parked on a carriageway adjacent to a footway where, for the purposes of assisting pedestrians or cyclists to cross:

• the footway has been lowered.
• the carriageway has been raised.

The following "situations" do not apply for the "pavement parking prohibition" and the "double-parking prohibition".

• Vehicles being used for emergency service purposes (Police, Ambulance, Fire, Coastguard).
• Vehicles being used to do works on roads, for the removal of obstructions to traffic, for the collection of waste by the Council or for delivering the postal service (Royal Mail only).
• Vehicles being used by a registered medical practitioner, a registered nurse or a registered midwife providing urgent or emergency health care.
• Vehicles delivering goods to or collecting goods from any premises (up to 20 minutes only).
• Vehicles loading from or unloading to any premises (up to 20 minutes only).
• Vehicles providing assistance at an accident or breakdown.

The above exceptions can be allowed only if these activities cannot be carried out:

• without the vehicle being parked on a pavement, however a space of 1.5 metres must be maintained on the footway between the vehicle and the edge of footway furthest from the carriageway to allow unobstructed pedestrian movement.
• without the vehicle being double parked.

Vehicles being used for the purpose of saving life or responding to another similar emergency.

Yes, you can, however you are still bound by the "pavement parking prohibition". So, you cannot park on the pavement.

If there is an existing restriction in place, such as double yellow lines, this restriction still applies.

Only in the case that one or more wheels of a vehicle are on the footway, then it would fall under the "pavement parking prohibition" and we would be able to enforce it.

If this is not the case, then it could be classed as an obstruction, and this should be reported to Police Scotland on their non-emergency number 101.

All pedestrian and cyclist crossings points where the kerbs are dropped on both sides of the road.    

Yes, the prohibition on parking at pedestrian/cyclist crossing points also applies where the carriageway has been raised to the level of the footway.

Taxis are not exempt, and drivers are expected to park or wait correctly at all times.

No, the new pavement parking prohibitions also include grass verges.

If parking fully on a road would result in blocking access and causing obstruction to traffic then you should not park at that location as this would be an obstruction to traffic which is an actionable offence by Police Scotland.  Should this occur, Police Scotland should be contacted on their non-emergency number 101.

It is noted that parking practices of parking partially or fully on the pavement may have occurred in some roads for many years, however, this will no longer be permitted unless the road is considered for exemption.  It is the responsibility of each driver to park their vehicle considerately and where this would not cause an obstruction to the road. If you cannot park with all four wheels on the carriageway without blocking traffic, you will need to find an alternative location to park.

With the introduction of this legislation by the Scottish Government, there is going to be a requirement for drivers to change their parking behaviour as no one has a guaranteed right to a parking space on the public road outside of their homes or on the road which they reside within.

No, disabled badge holders are not exempt from the new parking prohibitions.

You can report these on our website by reporting a parking problem.

No, you would be liable to receive a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN).

The new legislation explains that exemptions should only be given in certain circumstances and pedestrians should be prioritised. If there is sufficient space on the carriageway for drivers to park, and still allow vehicles to pass, it is not appropriate to allow an exemption. Most pavements have not been designed to take the weight of vehicles and can be damaged by persistent pavement parking.

Yes, the new prohibitions apply in all streets, irrespective of their design, length or purpose.

No, the default position is that parking on the pavement, double parking and parking across dropped kerb crossing points is banned. Signage will only be provided where there is a formal exemption to the rules.

Yes, if the road/pavement is available for vehicles/pedestrians to use, the prohibitions will apply irrespective of ownership.

The initial desktop surveys were carried out using the average road widths within our GIS data which ultimately links to Ordnance Survey mapping.  If a road is currently shown as purple colour and you do not believe that it is 7.5m or wider, please contact us by email.  We will then undertake a site visit in order to take measurements and if required, amend the colour of this road within the interactive map.

However, for the purposes of the citywide parking availability surveys, all roads including those highlighted in purple will form part of the survey.

It is noted that there have been some minor discrepancies regarding road widths.  If any discrepancies are reported to us, we will investigate this further with on-site measurements and thereafter the interactive map would be updated, if required.

No - roads shown in green are not exempt.  Roads shown in green require further assessment work which is ongoing to determine their exemption status.

We will reserve the right to enforce in any street shown in green colour, should any clear safety issues be brought to our attention in order to comply with our duty to ensure public safety.  If a pedestrian is forced on to the road in order to bypass a parked vehicle on the pavement then this would constitute a safety issue which we would issue a penalty charge notice for. 

We are continuing to work through the full city area as quickly as possible therefore it is not possible to provide specific timescales for each area.

Whilst it is noted that there may be unintended consequences of the pavement parking ban, any additional required traffic management measures would be looked at separately from the pavement parking process in order to identify whether further intervention measures are required such as regulatory restrictions.

No.  Footway parking surveys and parking availability surveys were undertaken in order to understand where there are issues.  Thereafter, any roads which require further detailed assessment will be considered in accordance with the guidance provided by Transport Scotland.

Any safety concerns should be reported to Police Scotland.

It is noted that there have been some minor discrepancies regarding missing streets.  If any discrepancies are reported to us, we will investigate this further with on-site measurements and thereafter the interactive map would be updated, if required.

No. Stage 1 was completed in May 2024 via a desktop survey in which the measurements were taken from our GIS database which ultimately links to our Street Gazetteer mapping. 

Detailed assessments of roads currently shown in green colour will be carried out in accordance with the guidance provided by Transport Scotland.  These assessments will not involve residents or any community groups, however any feedback received from the local community will be taken into consideration as part of the assessment process.

Whilst it is noted that there may be unintended consequences of the pavement parking ban, any additional required traffic management measures would be looked at separately from the pavement parking process in order to identify whether further intervention measures are required such as regulatory restrictions. 

No. Whilst it is noted that there may be unintended consequences of the pavement parking ban, any additional required traffic management measures would be looked at separately from the pavement parking process in order to identify whether further intervention measures are required such as regulatory restrictions.

All roads within Glasgow will need to be assessed to determine whether an exemption to the prohibitions should be considered.

This assessment will not just focus on each road individually, but it will assess the road in its context with its surrounding area.

If you feel that all the following criteria can be applied to your street, then you can make a request for consideration of an exemption to be made to the prohibitions:

1. The parking availability in your surrounding area is not sufficient to allow you to fully park on the carriageway, and;
2. The width of the road is insufficient to allow emergency service vehicles to pass when vehicles are fully parked on the carriageway, and;
3. The footway is wide enough to host the parked vehicle and have an unobstructed space of 1.5 metres between the vehicle and the edge of the footway furthest from the carriageway for pedestrians.

However, it is acknowledged that each road may present a particular situation and a request can be made where this is the case also.

Each request will be logged and assessed, therefore there is no need to make more than one request for the same street to be exempted.

The outcome of the assessment will be published on this webpage along with the associated decision-making explanations.

Please note that where parking on the pavement will be proposed then a statutory process will require to be followed and if pavement parking is introduced at the end of that statutory process then lining and signing will be installed on the pavement, in line with national legislation, to formally identify the area with an exemption.

If you think you have a valid reason for a location to be considered for an exemption, and it meets the above criteria, you can complete the online form.

All roads within Glasgow will need to be assessed to determine whether an exemption to the prohibitions should be considered.

This assessment will not just focus on each road individually, but it will assess the road in its context with its surrounding area.

The outcome of the assessment will be published on this webpage along with the associated decision-making explanations.

Where parking on the pavement will be proposed then a statutory process will require to be followed and if pavement parking is introduced at the end of that statutory process then lining and signing will be installed on the pavement, in line with national legislation, to formally identify the area with an exemption.

Please note that you will not receive a response to your request as it has to go through an assessment process. Your request for an exemption will be logged and will be considered when your street is assessed.  Please do not contact the council as this process may take several months.

Please continue to look at the interactive map to check the status of your street.  Once any future decisions are taken, they will be published on our website.