Restrictions lifted in Scotland

Being sensible with travel across Scotland

From today (Friday 16th April) people can travel across Scotland, but cannot stay away from home overnight. There are other rules and Covid restrictions to be relaxed on 26th April but hurrah, we can at least get out of the city and the weather is looking good!

Unfortunately, this brings other problems as we saw ourselves last year.

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Parking

An increase in domestic travel means not only busy roads but parking will be at a premium as well.

Whilst heading up to St Fillans last year, the A821 between Ben Venue and Ben A’an was covered in traffic. Both car parks were full so people had resorted to parking cars on both sides of the road, making this A road unnecessarily single track for a short stretch. It was one of those breath in and hope you don’t scrape against someone else’s motor moments…

Parking on grass verges and pavements is a problem in cities, and as we have seen above, in popular tourist spots. Please think of others before parking like this. People with sight and mobility difficulties and children in pushchairs can be hindered.

Pavements are only designed and constructed to take the weight of pedestrians and wheelchairs, so think what a car can do to the structure.

There’s a reason for car parks, they are usually in safe areas. Parking on verges or pavements can be hazardous especially on a bend, narrow road or a junction. Your car will also be at risk of getting bumped or scratched by passing cars.

Last, but not least, emergency vehicles can be hindered by bad parking.

Did you know? The Highways Act 1980 gives no legal right to park on a road, pavement or verge!

(“a person deposits any thing whatsoever on a highway to the interruption of any user of the highway”, (S:148) and then goes on to say: “If any thing is so deposited on a highway as to constitute a nuisance, the highway authority for the highway may by notice require the person who deposited it there to remove it forthwith”.(S:149)

Where no waiting restrictions are present on the road, parking on a grass verge or pavement is not illegal. However, a driver may be open to prosecution if their vehicle is persistently damaging a verge, parked dangerously or causing an obstruction.

Back up planning

Don’t leave home with a single destination in mind. It may be too busy so if you can’t get parked where you want to be please don’t park somewhere awkward or dangerous nearby. Have a few potential destinations in mind.

Rubbish

It’s a sad thing to have to be reminded to take your rubbish home with you. There isn’t always adequate rubbish bins or those that are there could be full. So remember to bring a bin bag to take your rubbish home.

We can all enjoy the great outdoors – when we’re visiting parks, beaches, or woodlands – and look after our stunning country for ourselves and others.