My name is David, and I live in East Dunbartonshire.
I’m a dad. I have family members with accessibility needs. I care about safe, usable streets for everyone — pedestrians, people with mobility aids, cyclists, drivers, and kids who just want to get to school safely.
When the pavement parking ban came in, I quickly saw what it meant on my own street: less safe, less accessible, not more. I’ve observed how this will make life more dangerous and more difficult for my family, and I know it’s happening on hundreds of other streets across Scotland.
That should have been enough to spark an honest conversation. Instead, here’s what I ran into:
Boilerplate dismissal from so-called representatives, parroting the same talking points instead of engaging with the real-world evidence of my street and the actual points that I raised. Totally dismissed.
Blocked from local Facebook groups for making completely reasonable, “vanilla” posts about the ban’s unintended harms — while posts mocking drivers loaded with language about cars such as “ego-chariots,” “metal boxes,” or suffering from “car brain” are left untouched.
Frozen out of the petitions process because Parliament decided my carefully targeted proposal was “too similar” to an existing petition — even though it wasn’t.
When you raise accessibility or safety concerns in public forums, you expect a discussion.
Instead, you’re shouted down as “selfish” and “entitled” for wanting streets to actually function. The convenience of parking has never been my main point — but why shouldn’t people want to park outside their own homes? For many, that’s exactly why they moved to the suburbs in the first place.
I didn’t want to be a campaigner. I have a job, a family, and better ways I could be spending my evenings.
But when a policy is actively making people less safe, actively making accessibility and life worse, and you’re treated with contempt for pointing it out, you either walk away… or you stand up.
Clearly the conversations that weren't deleted on Facebook resonated with people who have reached out to me and asked the same question. What do we do? Nobody is even pretending to listen and it is maddening.
This site exists because I chose to stand up. Because I was tired of politicians thinking that we all work for them.
I’ve documented the problems, built tools to help people contact their representatives, and started pulling together the evidence politicians don’t want to talk about.
I can’t take on the political establishment — and a sizable chunk of public opinion — on my own.
I’m not a web developer. I’m not backed by a lobby group. So far, I’ve funded everything here myself, and I’m trying to do it alongside work and family life.
If you believe streets should work for everyone — not just for those who fit the neat vision of a “20-minute city” planning document — then please:
Share this site.
Use the email tools to contact your representatives.
Send me information, stories, or photos from your own area.
If you have skills (IT, media, research, campaigning), I am open to help.
This website should never have been necessary — but now that it is, I’m not giving up (but may take time to respond!)