Pavements

As Highway Authority, we have responsibility for the maintenance of all adopted pavements within the County. We carry out a variety of maintenance schemes throughout the year to a value of around £16 million.

These are for example:

• Minor patching works
• Surface dressing
• Full highway reconstruction
• Drainage improvements
• Replacement of signs and road markings

The main concerns for the public are generally trip hazards on pavements. We have an inspection regime, which inspects pavements routinely. Our hierarchy for pavements ensures that where there is greater pedestrian traffic along some stretches of pavement, there will be more regular inspections carried out. We abide by the Code of Good Practice, issued by the UK Roads Board, which recommends the frequency of these inspections, which are shown on the table below.

Category	Hierarchy Description	General Description	Frequency
1a	Prestige Walking Zone	Prestige Areas in towns and cities with exceptionally high usage, such as the shopping areas in Durham City Centre	2 Weekly
1	Primary Walking Route	Busy urban shopping and business areas and main pedestrian routes linking interchanges, between different modes of transport, such as railways and bus stops.	1 Month
2	Secondary Walking Route	Medium usage routes through local areas feeding primary routes, local shopping centres, large schools and industrial centres etc.	3 Months
3	Link Footway	Linking local access footways through urban areas and busy rural footways. To include flagged Local Access Footways.	6 Months
4	Local Access Footway	Footways associated with low usage, short estate roads to the main routes and culs de sac.	1 Year

Any individual problems can be highlighted via the Highways Action Line. It will be beneficial if you can have the street name and location of any defect and a good description of the fault, when you to report the matter.

We control weeds on pavements by regular spraying.

If you have difficulty in using a footway in a wheelchair and require a kerb to be dropped to enable easier access, please report this to the Highways Action Line. Similarly if you would like to request a dropped kerb to enable a vehicle to cross a pavement to allow access to a driveway, off street parking or garage, this also can be done via HAL, although there will be a charge for this service.

If you notice obstructions in the pavement, such as illegally erected scaffolding, you can reported this through HAL and an inspector will investigate your complaint.

Illegally parked vehicles cost the Council thousands of pounds as year in damage to paving, grass verges and cause serious problems for the blind, disabled and older people.

If there are waiting restrictions (yellow lines) on the highway adjacent to the pavement than a Penalty Charge Notice will be issued, since a vehicle parked in this manner is in contravention of the traffic order. Waiting restrictions cover the highway from the centre of the highway to the back of the footpath, or verge, whichever is the furthest from the centre of the road.

If there are no waiting restrictions on the highway adjacent to the pavement, then the Council have no powers to take action and this should be taken up with the Police since it constitutes obstruction.

Pavements are constructed and provided for pedestrian use. Vehicles parked on pavements are:

• A hazard to pedestrians causing an obstruction which may result in then having to step off the pavement onto the highway, thus putting themselves in danger.
• A hazard by restricting the width of the pavement making it difficult for someone with a pushchair or wheelchair to pass safely - again this person may have to move into the highway to avoid the obstruction.
• A hazard due to the damage caused by driving on and off the pavement - broken flagstones etc.

Useful Links

Information about Green Lanes, Byways, Bridleways in our Countryside section.

Dropped kerbs.

If you have a problem that you would like to report, please contact the Highways Action Line.