Council budgets are Cracking Under Pressure

If you drive, have you ever parked with two wheels up on a pavement? Chances are, you have. It's OK, we've all done it. You probably did it because it was the most convenient place for you to park, and you made sure that you pulled over as far as you could so other motorists could get past you, pulling your wing mirrors in to avoid damage.

But what about the people who use pavements – you know, pedestrians? Did you stop to think about how they would get past on the other side of your car? Probably not. And did you think about the damage your car was doing to the pavement you parked on? Definitely not. Guide Dogs has uncovered the immense cost to this country of repairing damaged pavements, kerbs and footpaths each year, and the figure runs into hundreds of millions of pounds.

An average of £200million a year, to be precise. Under the Freedom of Information Act, we asked more than 400 councils how much they spent on repairing damaged pavements, kerbs and footpaths between 2006 and 2010. The resulting report, Cracking Under Pressure, revealed that the total was a staggering £1billion. As it's estimated that 20% of pavement damage is caused by parked cars, damage which can easily be avoided, it's not difficult to imagine how to reduce this massive repair bill.

Pavements are built to cope with the weight of people – including people in wheelchairs, mums with pushchairs, blind or partially sighted people with long canes or guide dogs and older people with shopping trolleys. They're not built to withstand cars, vans or lorries, and paving slabs are particularly vulnerable to cracking under the pressure. Cracked paving slabs can be a tripping hazard, especially for those who can't see to avoid the menace. Indeed, our Streets Ahead campaign wants safer pedestrian walkways, free of obstruction, so blind and partially sighted people can enjoy the same freedom of movement as everyone else.

Motorists, please be more considerate of where you park, don't put your wheels up on the pavement. If there's no room to leave your car solely on the road, park around the corner and walk – it won't kill you. But it could prevent a blind or partially sighted person being injured on broken kerbs or paving slabs.

Councils, the Department for Transport has given you the power to ban parking on pavements; we urge you to use it. You will see your highway repairs bill go down, as well as making your area an easy place for all pedestrians to walk.

Want to know how much your council spent on repairs to pavements in the past five years? Check out our council repair spend document (xls file 335kb)