Exclusive:The 3 Scottish councils that have issued the most pavement parking fines - as only 1 in 4 enforce ban

He described cracking down on such illegal parking as an “absolute no brainer” and said he was “pretty disappointed” that other councils had yet to follow the lead of Dundee and Edinburgh in issuing £100 fines to errant motorists.

Only eight of Scotland’s 32 local authorities have started enforcement since the legislation came into force on December 11 last year, according to Transport Scotland figures.

Drivers can now also be fined for double parking, and parking across dropped kerbs at crossings, with the penalty halved if paid within 14 days. Fines income is ringfenced for spending by councils on transport.

The City of Edinburgh Council told The Scotsman it had issued more than 4,750 fines since it became the first council to start enforcement at the end of January. Among others, Dundee, which started two weeks later, has handed out some 2,500 fines and Angus Council more than 1,000.

Transport Scotland said Aberdeen City, Highland, Midlothian, North Ayrshire and Stirling councils had also started enforcement.

John Berry, parking and sustainable transport team leader at Dundee City Council, said: “I wanted us to be absolutely ready to use the new powers from the get go.”

He told the Road Expo Scotland event in Glasgow: “It’s been transformational. I’ve seen a very clear behavioural change happening because we are actively enforcing the scheme’s legislation.

Mr Berry said “this type of illegal parking shows absolute disrespect for other road users”, which had been “massively reduced because of the threat of a £100 fine”.

“So many motorists do not give a damn about other road users and I think they’re fair game,” he said.

“As a driver, you think you are doing somebody a favour by bumping your car off the road onto the pavement, but you’re not doing anybody any favours. In fact, you’re doing disbenefits to pedestrians.”

However, Mr Berry added: “I’m pretty disappointed looking around the other Scottish local authorities that they have not all grasped this opportunity in the way Dundee and Edinburgh have. Some local authorities have grasped it and many others haven’t touched it.

“To me, it’s an absolute no brainer to get the teams out enforcing it and get people changing their behaviour. I would say to any local authority that hasn’t done this yet, what are you waiting for?

“The local authorities who haven’t tackled it yet really need to get going. I just don’t understand what’s motivating the politicians or officers in pushing back - it doesn’t make any sense to me.”

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Mr Berry said enforcement had “so many positives”, such as keeping pavements clear for wheelchair users and providing extra income to councils. He said such fines were also “almost impossible” to appeal.

The official said Dundee had increased the number of its parking attendants from 18 to 24, which would pay for itself as they issued around 20 tickets a day. Campaigners for pedestrians agreed that councils should be swifter to take action.

Living Streets Scotland co-director Anne Docherty said: “The [Parliamentary] bill was first passed in 2019 - there are no excuses for stalling. The footway parking ban was supposed to open our streets so everyone could use them safely and easily.

“For disabled people and families with buggies, delays in enforcement means getting from A to B continues to involve a dangerous detour via the carriageway when footways are blocked.

“The ban is proving a success where it has been implemented, for example in Edinburgh, where complaints on pavement parking, double parking and parking at dropped crossings have halved.”

Among councils which have yet to start enforcing the ban, Aberdeenshire said it was continuing with a “programme of education” and had not decided when to issue fines.

A Glasgow City Council spokesperson said: “We are upgrading our back office system, so that enforcement of the pavement parking restrictions can commence and we aim to have this work completed as soon as possible.”

At Fife Council, roads network service manager Sara Wilson said: "We are progressing with the detail of how the new powers will be implemented and like many Scottish local authorities, we're assessing our road network to identify locations for consideration of exemptions.

"The national ban on pavement parking won't be enforced in Fife until work to identify exemption areas is completed and approval is given by councillors."

An Inverclyde Council spokesperson said: “We have been carrying out detailed assessments to find out what would be required to implement and enforce pavement parking restrictions and we are in the final stages of that process.” The local authority said councillors were likely to be updated early in the new year.

East Dunbartonshire said no enforcement date had been agreed.

Transport Scotland said 12 councils had “previously stated their intention to start enforcement” by the end of December, which would extend it to more than 80 per cent of the population.

They were Argyll and Bute, Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Falkirk, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, Scottish Borders and South Ayrshire.

The agency’s spokesperson said: “We are working closely with all authorities to support them to be able to enforce this law at the earliest opportunity.

“Some local authorities have also been issuing warning notices ahead of actual enforcement commencing to help instil behaviour change against inconsiderate parking.

“Transport Scotland has already provided £2.4 million to local authorities to carry out assessments of their road network to identify if there are areas of footway they may wish to exempt.”

The body said those councils which had not taken over control of parking enforcement from the police could still enforce the ban.