Pavement Parking Banned: A New Tactic in The Stranmillis Parking War 

By Emily Toolan

Minister for Infrastructure, Liz Kimmins, recently announced changes to parking legislation in order to tackle the parking crisis across Belfast. It is no secret that Belfast, especially in student areas, has problems due to parking – infamously dubbed the Stran Parking War and the Holylands Parking War. This new legislation, however, could make it harder for people to find a space.

The legislative changes include the banning of double parking, parking wholly on a pavement, and parking across kerbs used for pedestrian access. [1] These legislation changes are necessary, but the wider impact they will cause may only further exacerbate the parking problem.

Despite this having positive impacts for pedestrians in clearing pathways, where people wholly park on the pavement, the reverse impact will happen on the road. Sometimes it is necessary to have cars parked this way, as it means roads can have a legal gap to allow emergency vehicles through. This new limitation will mean that on the narrow streets of Belfast, many cars may no longer have the space to even park on the opposite side of the road to another car, causing them to have to seek other options.

The Stranmillis Parking War 

With many students struggling to park in the roads surrounding their homes, let alone those who commute to campus and are massively limited in terms of parking spaces, the new legislation limiting parking spaces should also bring about a solution for those who have no choice but to cause these pedestrian obstructions. “The Stranmillis Parking War” is a joking remark about the difficulty for students in the area to park their cars in the area where they live. There are of course those who get to claim they ‘won the Stranmillis Parking War this week’, but those who are less fortunate are often left desperately driving around in loops, either parking over 10 minutes away from their home or parking on double yellows overnight, hoping they can move their car before the traffic warden comes along. For years, students have been desperate for parking solutions, and for many, the change in legislation just feels like once again, student problems have been ignored. When asked, one student said:

“The parking situation in Belfast is currently appalling and has been for years, from Elms having very few parking spaces (even fewer accessible spots), to students being unable to park on campus and a very reduced number of spaces in the Holylands, Stranmillis and surrounding areas, it’s no surprise students have taken to parking in unsuitable places. Create a solution instead of legislation to punish students!” 

If legislation is being imposed to tackle the inconsiderate parking, many are left wondering why there isn’t a solution to the lack of space and availability of parking.

What the Department for Infrastructure Says

When asked about whether the impact on students’ parking had been considered, a spokesperson for the Department for Infrastructure stated: 

“Inconsiderate pavement parking is above all a road safety issue. A vehicle parked fully on a pavement creates serious and often dangerous barriers for pedestrians, forcing people to step out onto the road into oncoming traffic. This poses a safety risk, particularly for people with disabilities, older people, children and people pushing prams. Likewise, cars parked over dropped kerbs will create a barrier for those with accessibility issues, including people in wheelchairs.“

Inconsiderate parking is a problem; however, it’s not the only issue. Students have been crying out for something to change, and there to be more parking options available, so why just change legislation and ignore the larger problem at hand?  

In addition to this, they also stated:

“The Minister’s decision to introduce legislation to tackle inconsiderate pavement parking followed a public consultation in 2021, where anyone with a view on the issue had the opportunity to respond. The decision on the way forward was taken following careful consideration of all the responses and the wider impact on road users.“

Whilst this does show that the public’s consideration has been taken into account, it doesn’t answer the initial question asked about students. As this consultation was 4 years ago, during a time when the country was still in disarray due to COVID and lockdowns. Since then, there has been a whole new set of students who haven’t had their voices heard, and the country has had time to adjust to a post-pandemic way of living.

In addition, the current students haven’t had a chance to have their voices heard, as most undergrads and a majority of post-grads won’t have been in Belfast in 2021 to give their view on this problem. Once again, students are left out of the conversation that impacts them. 

56% of students, when asked, said they hadn’t even heard of the change of legislation in Belfast and didn’t know what it would entail. 72% of students expressed that they often have difficulty trying to park on campus and where they live. Every student agreed that there needed to be an increase in parking solutions around student areas of Belfast, both QUB and UU.

Another student, when asked, agreed that the legislation change was necessary, but again brought up the parking space issue:

“This legislation will be helpful mostly to wheelchair users and parents of young children with prams and pushchairs, when preventing parking wholly on pavements and dropped kerbs. An increase in parking restrictions should come with proposals to improve parking in busy public areas, for example: QUB and UU, City Centres, and Athletic Grounds.“

Overall, the change in legislation, while necessary, shouldn’t let student problems continue to be ignored.

References:

Department For Infrastructure. “Kimmins Announces Plans to Tackle Inconsiderate Pavement Parking.” Department for Infrastructure, November 5, 2025. https://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/news/kimmins-announces-plans-tackle-inconsiderate-pavement-parking.