Kevin Hollinrake MP attended a Guide Dogs for the Blind Association event at the House of Commons on 3 July to hear about their Streets Ahead campaign. The charity wants to make pavement parking an offence, except in areas where local authorities grant specific exemptions.
At the event, the MP for Thirsk and Malton spoke to guide dog owners who told him how parked cars blocking the pavement force them to walk in the road, into the path of traffic they cannot see.
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.