A North East Lincolnshire-wide approach to prohibiting verge and pavement parking has been unanimously agreed by councillors. A Liberal Democrat motion pointed out only four wards have traffic regulation orders (TROs) on this, and called for TROs across all wards. Narrower streets would have exemptions for emergency vehicle access. It also called for improvements to the online reporting system for residents. "Every single week I take my wife out for a meal, I’m faced with barriers," shared Cllr Steve Beasant (Lib Dem - East Marsh), whose wife Carol uses a wheelchair. "Going down Ladysmith Road when I’m going up to Top Town, cars parked on the footpath. "This is no word of a lie, trying to get Carol’s wheelchair through there, I’ve got an inch either side," he said, forcing them to move into the road for fear of scraping vehicles. "We are faced with it every single week at our ward surgery," he added of the issue's importance to residents. Lib Dem group leader Cllr Nicola Aisthorpe (East Marsh) mentioned some of the real cases she said borough residents had raised. "A mum with a pram shouldn’t have to push her child into traffic because a car is blocking the footpath. A resident with sight loss shouldn’t have to feel their way around wing mirrors just to walk down their own street. "An elderly resident with a walking frame shouldn’t have to step off the kerb into the road just to get past a parked car. And a mobility scooter, or a wheelchair user, shouldn’t be shouted at for simply trying to get by a car that shouldn’t be there in the first place." Get all the latest headlines sent straight to your inbox for free with our newsletter. You can stay up to date with all the breaking news and top stories in our area as they happen by clicking this link. Senior Conservatives questioned how long a borough-wide approach would take. "To implement this in its totality is going to take between three to five years and that’s a long time," said Cllr Stewart Swinburn (Immingham), portfolio holder for housing, infrastructure and transport. "We must understand that this is not available with the manpower that we’ve got now," he said, a point also raised by Cllr Ron Shepherd (Conservative - Scartho), portfolio holder for safer and stronger communities. Cllr Shepherd believed enforcement officers would have to be doubled to make borough-wide TROs on verge and pavement parking effective. He stated the council currently has eleven and a half enforcement officers, and a further four WISE (Waste Investigations and Support Enforcement) officers. "This is going to be a long-term project,” agreed council leader Cllr Philip Jackson (Conservative - Waltham) about expectation management on the time it will take to implement the borough-wide approach. A Labour suggestion of a select committee first to work on how to bring in the borough-wide approach was rejected 25-13 votes. "I want that transparency, I want the evidence gathered and I want a big, deep dive into the issue," said Cllr Karl Wilson (Labour and Co-op - West Marsh) on why he felt it was needed. "Select committees just hold up the whole process," argued Cllr Swinburn. Do you feel safe on the roads? You can have your say by completing the poll below or by clicking here.