Edinburgh streets: Residents speak out on pavement parking ban that means double yellow lines on both sides of road

"We held a public meeting in the church hall, we had all the politicians there, they listened to us and they said 'Ok, we'll close the end of the street'," she recalls.

Now she hopes the same will happen over plans to paint double yellow lines down both sides of some of the narrowest streets in the city following the pavement parking ban.

Pat Morrison, from nearby Clark Avenue, wants politicians to listen to residents over its plans for Bangholm Place and other roads | collage

"They should defer the decision, let us have a public meeting and let them hear what people think. Surely in a democratic society we are not going to have something just imposed on us overnight without some kind of discussion or explanation."

Ms Morrison lives in Clark Avenue, off Ferry Road and connected to the Bangholms - four roads, just 3.6 metres wide, where any car parked fully on the carriageway means vehicles can't get past without going up on the pavement.

The residents say that for decades they have all parked with two wheels on the pavement on one side of the street to make sure other cars can pass, but now the pavement parking ban means that's not allowed.

They have asked for an exemption, but the council is refusing, claiming the ban is working well across the city because it applies everywhere, without exception.

Ms Morriosn says: "It seems it is just becoming dogma and listening to reason just doesn't happen."

The council now plans double yellow lines on both sides of Bangholm Road, Bangholm Avenue, Bangholm Park and Bangholm Place and says there is enough parking space in surrounding streets for the people affected.

But Ms Morrison begs to differ. "During the day it's not too difficult to get a space in Clark Avenue, but at night if you go out in your car you won't get a space when you come back.”

And she points out the council also plans to stop vehicles which park nose-in along a stretch of wide pavement on Ferry Road, next to playing fields, and they too will be displaced.

The council also plans action against parking on a stretch of Ferry Road | TSPL

"I did a count in some of the streets the other day and there were 30 vehicles on Ferry Road, 10 in Bangholm Place and seven in Bangholm Avenue. The displacement of parking to Clark Road and Clark Avenue is not feasible given the pressure that already exists on parking."

She has circulated a letter to residents, urging them to email councillors ahead of the transport and environment committee on Thursday, March 6, which is due to consider the issue.

"I would happily organise another public meeting and invite all the politicians," she said. "But we need them to come in listening mode."

The pavement parking ban was brought in to make sure people in wheelchairs or with buggies had enough space.

But Mary Fairbairn, who has lived in Bangholm Park for nearly 40 years, says: "I've pushed buggies and push chairs round here and it's never been a problem. We all parked on one side, so it meant the other pavement was totally free for a buggy.

"When people used to bump up slightly onto the pavements to park, it meant the road was clear. Now you can't bump up onto the pavement, people have to drive onto the other pavement to get past, so it seems counter-productive."

And Lisa Spencer, a long-time resident in Clark Avenue, agrees. "It's safer to park on the pavement than have a moving vehicle on the pavement," she says.

And she claims other councils in Scotland have allowed exemptions to the pavement parking ban in streets which are wider than the Bangholms.

"They could have a rule that if a road is under a certain width it gets an exemption, but if it's wider than that it doesn't. To have a blanket ban without using common sense is a mistake. It just seems sheer bloody-mindedness."

Many of the houses in the area have already turned their front gardens into driveways and residents predict more will choose to do so if the double yellow line plan goes ahead.

Ms Spencer says that could lead to more trouble on a different front.

"We have a problem with flooding in this area. If people get rid of their gardens where is the rain going to go? The drainage is poor anyway, so it's only going to lead to more problems. And that's quite apart from the effect on nature and wildlife."

Another resident, Lindsay Mackenna, has also sent a letter to neighbours, highlighting what the council plan will mean.

She says: “The double yellow line proposal will deny around 50 households the basic ability to park on, or immediately nearby, the street they live on, not to mention the severe impact it will have on residents who cannot readily walk streets away to reach their vehicles, be that on account of age, physical impairment an/or parental or caring responsibilities for young children.”