Action call over footpath parkers in Cliff Road, Wilmslow

So says Cllr Don Stockton, who says cars parked along the footpath are restricting the already narrow walkway.

Cllr Stockton, Cheshire East councillor for Wilmslow East and Lacey Green, has been working with residents to look at a solution to the problem.

He is liaising with Cheshire East Council to secure funding to install bollards and warning signs along the railings and on the pedestrian verge advising parking on the footpath is illegal and anyone parking there will be fined.

However, in the long term a preventative rather than reactive solution was required, he said, and suggested these measures could be enhanced by a wider pavement by introduction of one way, or taken further with a cyclist and pedestrian-only route.

Cllr Stockton said the obstructive parking posed a serious risk to pedestrians, particularly in light of the coronavirus outbreak.

Pedestrians were forced to break social distance to fit round the parked cars or risk walking in the road, he said, which was especially dangerous with the speed vehicles travelled along the road.

A Cheshire East Council spokesman said: “We are aware of this long-standing issue and have been working actively with councillor Stockton to address it.

“The parking restrictions already in place include the full width of the footways and this is an appropriate restriction for this location and situation.

“Civil enforcement officers have undertaken regular and more concentrated visits to the area over the past few week, but their remit of activity is limited to enforcing the parking restrictions.

“They have no power to move a vehicle nor deal with ones parked on the pavements or those causing obstructions.

“The council’s parking team are in regular dialogue with the local PCSO to pass on incidents of inconsiderate parking, where this is causing an obstruction.

“Should a vehicle cause an obstruction this is a police matter and should be reported to the police.

“There are, unfortunately, no engineering measures suitable to address the inconsiderate actions of those who choose to park inappropriately in this location that would not also adversely impact on pedestrian movement and safety on the footway."

Wilmslow resident Jo Jeffers said: “Civil Enforcers are ticketing but they can’t be there all day, and it is advisory notices, which for some is worth the cost of having to park somewhere else.

“I would like to thank Cllr Stockton for helping to ensure this problem stays visible. We need action before the next headline will be somebody has been injured.”

Cllr Stockton added: “I would like to thank Mrs Jeffers for her fantastic input and insight. She has put forward a number of useful suggestions and I look forward to working with her and her fellow residents on this issue.”