Sir - In your article on pavement parking (March 9) councillor Altaf-Khan claims that "the pedestrians' association were consulted" about proposals for footway parking in Ferry Road and William Street. I can assure him they were not.
Oxford Pedestrians' Association recently balloted its members on issues of concern and it was no surprise that footway parking - by both motor vehicles and bicycles - emerged as a major problem. It is an offence to obstruct the footpath, and the windscreen stickers produced by the police and our highway authority vividly illustrate why this should be.
There are many narrow roads in Oxford for which Ferry Road could set a disastrous precedent. On-road parking space is becoming increasingly scarce as car ownership rises and cars get bigger.
The only solution, if we are not to risk losing the use of our pavements as pedestrian thoroughfares, is for the highway authority to take responsibility for ensuring that the limited road space is fairly and safely shared in each parking zone. Residents will have to agree about how their parking needs can be met on their road without obstructing pedestrians' rights to safe unimpeded passage on the pavement.
Oxford urgently needs to find ways to reduce our dependence on cars - making it more difficult for people to get about on foot can only make things worse.
Paul Cullen,Chairman, Oxford Pedestrians' Association, Oxford
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