A London council is considering whether to impose a parking surcharge on “supersize” SUV cars amid growing concern at their environmental credentials and risk they pose to pedestrians and cyclists.
Lambeth council announced it would commission a study to establish whether the size of vehicles – known as “car-spreading” - was a factor in road danger.
Two other London boroughs will be invited to join the study and it could lead to Lambeth becoming the first UK council to follow Paris and introduce charges based on the weight of a vehicle.
The commitment came after a delegation of children and parents spoke at a meeting of Lambeth council on Tuesday night, asking for action to reduce the number of SUVs in the borough.
Rezina Chowdhury, Lambeth’s deputy leader, told them: “We hear you, we agree and as a borough with equity and justice at our heart, we will act to protect you and other vulnerable residents.”
She said the aim was to ensure that at least 25 per cent of “kerbside space” was for people – and that parking charges should reflect the council’s priorities.
Ms Chowdhury added: “It’s not fair that the vast majority of public space is used exclusively by the minority of people who choose to drive, and it’s also not fair that those who need to drive struggle to find a spot because the space has been taken up by other people driving even larger vehicles.
“We’re looking at ways to discourage vehicles that contribute most to the road danger emergency, including learning from places that have already done this, like Paris and Cologne and in a smaller way, Haringey.
“We will commission a study in partnership with two inner London boroughs to understand the relationship between technical vehicle dimensions and road danger.
“We believe the higher bonnet height of vehicles like SUVs is critical in determining the likelihood or severity of injury where there is a collision.”
Haringey council has proposed a parking permit surcharge “that reflects the size of a vehicle” but it is unclear whether that has been implemented.
Several years ago, Lambeth introduced charges for residents’ parking permits that vary according to vehicle emissions – a policy also followed by other boroughs. It also charges more for diesel vehicles.
Meredith Robertson, a parent leading the delegation, pleaded with councillors to tackle the increasing numbers of SUVs, which accounted for 62 per cent of new cars bought in the UK last year.
She said: “As the size of these cars grow, our children’s world gets smaller.”
Her daughter Dotty, eight, told councillors that SUVs were bad for the environment as they needed more energy than a conventional car.
She said: "Big cars take up more space and that creates traffic jams in our small streets. I have friends with asthma and these big cars and traffic jams make it worse.”
Other children questioned why so much parking space was given to SUVs rather than being put to other uses.
One girl said drivers of SUVs were unable to spot younger children walking directly in front of their vehicle, due to the size of the car bonnet.
Research on car crashes in the UK has found that SUVs are considerably more likely to kill a child under 10, due to the weight and height of the vehicle.
Nicola Pastore, a mum of three in Lambeth who set up Solve the School Run, said: “Every day I worry about my children’s safety just walking to school. The rise in massive SUVs on our streets has made a simple journey feel dangerous.”
