Parking on pavements

[calleyw]

Down my road we are starting to have an issue with people parking on the pavement.

It is just out side my house. This has only started up in the last few months and I have been living here for over two years. We do have a few more cars in the road now.

Sometimes they are right on the edge of my dropped kerb. When I want to leave it means that I have to reverse over another person drive which is flanked on either side by cars. It concerns me that one day someone is going to get hurt as I can't see past the cars when reversing. And I leave for work earlier them in the morning.

Tonight is not because there is no spaces but because of pure laziness as there are plenty of parking just a few feet on the other side.

It would make it very hard to get a pram or a wheelchair around the corner. And my husband on bad days needs a wheelchair. Let alone a fire engine want to get up the road.

There is not just one culprit. There are several. I have not said anything to them yet. As I hoped that they grasp the concept that it is not a clever idea to park there.

I am not sure what to do now. I don't want to kick up to much of a fuss as we are most likely want to move in a few years. And don't want to get in to dispute that I will have to declare.

I know that parking on the pavement is illegal but how is treated when it is cul-de-sac by the council or a police.

I have been tempted to park on the corner myself to try and stop it. I know that makes me no better then them. Bollards would stop this happening.

I also thought about leaving a note asking them nicely if they would not do it.

I also thought about having white lines painted across my dropped kerb and further up the road to maybe stop this.

Any further ideas apart from contacting the local council.

I know this sounds petty to a lot of people. But I don't enjoy driving at the best times. But then having to struggle to get of my own drive to go to work in the morning hardly starts the day off to good start.

Also it drives me mad that people are so selfish that they don't think about any one else but themselves. And fact that they might have to walk an extra few feet.

Yours


Calley

[vikingaero]

Contact your local Police Community Support Officer if you have one. They are the pseudo-coppers with blue bands around their hats and they are normally very effective at issuing parking tickets.

[calleyw]

Contact your local Police Community Support Officer if you have one. They are the pseudo-coppers with blue bands around their hats and they are normally very effective at issuing parking tickets.

I know the ones we have them on estate where I live.

I did suggest to my husband when he was out and about walking if he saw one just to have a quick chat with them.

We have a local newsletter as well where they put down about things that have gone on.

Yours


Calley

[tomstickland]

I'd start by talking to the people and explaining what the problem is. Or leave a polite note on their windscreens. People are exceptionally lazy with parking as close as possible to their front door, something I've never quite understood.

[Poppy9]

We have PACT meetings locally. The police and local councillor attends and you can raise such issues. Took my DD with me to one and she raised the point about people parking on pavements on her route to school. She told them how she had to walk onto the road to get past or how people blast their horns at them to move as they are driving off the pavement.

The police said they would write to the residents in the streets concerned to ask them not to park on the pavements as a first step. They also said they would increase police presence on the school routes where possible. People are still parking on the pavements though 6 months later.

[SimonT]

Its also a problem with people having too many cars.

Some friends of ours live in a cul-de-sac with space for one car up the drive and one on the road - but he works as a taxi driver and has a car just for that as well as the big family car, then there is his wifes car, then there are the two daughters at college that each have their own cars.

Total of 5 cars and unhappy neighbours!

[zappahey]

My sister-in-law had this problem with people parking on the kerb outside their houses. She just walked through their gardens with the pram and explained why if anyone got stroppy about it.

The pavement parking soon stopped.

[calleyw]

Its also a problem with people having too many cars.



I agree with that. We only have one car. And do have off road parking in the good months as it is down to grass until we can afford to get a drive put down.

But my neighbour in the corner has off road parking but his cars seem to spend as much time on the road as they do on the drive. Plus add to the fact that they have two extra cars that they have to do up making even less space on the drive.

Right next door to me has 3 vehicles for two adults. The another one across the road has 3 cars one each adult but one of them can't even drive.

Let alone that two of my neighbours work locally no more than a 10 min walk and both have cars and partners with cars.

And it is just so petty. To me you park where there is the space. Oh no not around here. You park in "someones space" and the moment you drive off they come and move there car to what they think is their space even though it does not exist.

I knew parking was tight around here but did not know it was going to get this. And is not helped when people who have off road parking, park on the road for days on end. And there are families with children that are just-pre-teen. So it is not going to get any better.

Me thinks it time to do-up and move. As it drives me mad that people just so selfish. Let just hope it is not there house burning down when the fire engine can't get down the road one day.


Yours



Calley

[crispeater]

at my previous address there was a boiler company at the end of my road and in the mornings there was about 8 transit vans all parked on both sides of the pavement which meant i had to walk in the road with a toddler and a pram. i got so hacked off in the end that i contacted the council and needless to say within the week we had traffic wardens patroling in the mornings which soon sorted that out. ;)
i wouldnt mind but they could all see me out the window having to walk in the road and couldnt give 2 hoots. im sure they would of been bothered if it were their kids though..

ok rant over :D have you considered contacting your council? i know you wont get traffic wardens in a cul de sac but maybe you could discuss about having some lines put in where the problem is?

sorry for hijacking!

[Garnet_Gem]

My street has "on pavement parking" too. One of the culprits is a serving policeman!

[anewman]

Put a note on their windscreen saying you cannot legally be held responsible for any damage to their cars caused by obstructing your driveway. I.e. you reserve the right to reverse straight into whatever's in the way :D (I wonder if in fact an insurance claim for such damage was made that it would go in your favour, as in fact based on the highway code you should not expect people to park accross your driveway.

[alphahurricane]

I live in a road with double yellow lines, ppeople still park on the pavement though. I put two notices in my window asking drivers not to park their vehicle on pavement, it does not always have an effect, some people do it to be annoying. One bloke said when i asked him why he had parked six inches away from my front door and house wall"Where should I park then" Derrrr, what is the road for?????

There is a pub opposite me and a chippy 20yards down the road, but they can't be bothered to use the CAR PARK 100yrds away!!!

[Minerva69]

Calley - you mentioned your husband has a wheelchair. I seem to remember (although I may be wrong) reading on another forum that you can get the council to stop people blocking your drive if you need it for disabled access, perhaps you could contact somebody at the council to find out.

[scbk]

Calley - you mentioned your husband has a wheelchair. I seem to remember (although I may be wrong) reading on another forum that you can get the council to stop people blocking your drive if you need it for disabled access, perhaps you could contact somebody at the council to find out.

On my grannie's street there's a wheelchair user, and they got the council paint markings outside their driveway to keep it clear ;)

Also may be worth contacting your local fire station, they might take action if the street is blocked. But I wouldn't worry too much, if there was a fire then they WILL find a way past, the cars might come off a little worse for wear though :p

[plane_boy2000]

Reading this with interest - we have the same issue in teh roads around us - its a new development and we have been here 2 years. In some areas in an atempt to calm the traffic the pavements have been made very wide to slow the cars down on the corners, but the effect of that is that they are wide enough to park a car on! I have just been out for a walk with a puschair and have had to step down onto the road numerous times. Just to add to it they are just about to start building a primary school here by my house so all the kids going to and from will have to walk on the road in places - made worse by the fact that they have not even provisioned enough spaces for the staff at the school let alone parents dropping off!!! All the houses by us have at least one parking space and sometimes several like me, but they all still want to park on the pavement!

[anewman]

- made worse by the fact that they have not even provisioned enough spaces for the staff at the school let alone parents dropping off!!!
Parents shouldn't be lazy and making their kids fat anyway. Surely most people are within a mile or two of their school, it's not too difficult to walk, yet chances are most will turn up at 1pm to get a parking space right outside the school gate for when their kids come out at 3pm. And they'll do this in big massive land rovers and live just round the corner.

[Poppy9]

Parents shouldn't be lazy and making their kids fat anyway. Surely most people are within a mile or two of their school, it's not too difficult to walk, yet chances are most will turn up at 1pm to get a parking space right outside the school gate for when their kids come out at 3pm. And they'll do this in big massive land rovers and live just round the corner.#

A big reason many children are driven to school is working parents who don't have time to walk to school and walk back home and then set out for work. Most parents of primary school children are reluctant to let them walk by themselves due to the volume of traffic and parking on pavements. You don't see the same problems at secondary schools (here anyway) because the children are older and are more likely to walk to school. The walking time also gives working parents extra valuable time to travel home from work to be there for them. It's a fact of life now that both parents work. Even if it's only part-time due to the short school day a car is usually needed.

[Throbbe]

To get back on topic ... ;)

We had an issue with parking on pavements in our road and the local police were very helpful. A letter drop didn't have much effect, but the ticketing blitz over the next few weeks certainly did!

[derrick]

On my grannie's street there's a wheelchair user, and they got the council paint markings outside their driveway to keep it clear


The white lines have no legal authority I have/had a similar problem, asked police,parking authority and local council all told me the same thing, it just highlights the need for access to a driveway, but people would probably still park there and it is not an offence to park on one of those white lines,( if some one can point me to a site that refutes this I would be grateful), also would cost me £70.

Report them to the police. it is an offence to obstruct, hardly anyone obstructs our driveway now.

[Hapless]

217: DO NOT park your vehicle or trailer on the road where it would endanger, inconvenience or obstruct pedestrians or other road users. For example, do not stop

near a school entrance
anywhere you would prevent access for Emergency Services
at or near a bus stop or taxi rank
on the approach to a level crossing
opposite or within 10 metres (32 feet) of a junction, except in an authorised parking space
near the brow of a hill or hump bridge
opposite a traffic island or (if this would cause an obstruction) another parked vehicle
where you would force other traffic to enter a tram lane
where the kerb has been lowered to help wheelchair users
in front of an entrance to a property
on a bend.

218: DO NOT park partially or wholly on the pavement unless signs permit it. Parking on the pavement can obstruct and seriously inconvenience pedestrians, people in wheelchairs, the visually impaired and people with prams or pushchairs.


http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/22.htm

[derrick]

MUST & MUST NOT re the Highway Code are mandatory, DO NOT is advisory.

[calleyw]

Calley - you mentioned your husband has a wheelchair. I seem to remember (although I may be wrong) reading on another forum that you can get the council to stop people blocking your drive if you need it for disabled access, perhaps you could contact somebody at the council to find out.

My husband is only a wheelchair user on his bad days rather than all the time.

I have the feeling the law is that you have a legal right to enter your property but not to exit. Or maybe the other way around.

I am lucky they are not parking over my drive yet. But time will tell.

I just can't believe that people are just so lazy.

And what started it I have no idea. I think because no-one has challenged them yet they seem to think it is ok.

Well lets get a fire engine up the road and fingers crossed they will just ram there car out the way. Oh what a shame.

And don't get me started about what I saw earlier. Just so he did not have to move his wifes car one of my neighbours drove over the bit of green by the side of his house to get to another cul-de-sac so he could go out :eek:

Yours


Calley

[EdCov]

I would not get involved with notes on windscreens, anyone who parks fully on the pavement knows that they are being rude and will continue to do so as long as they can get away with it. Contact the council or call the police and get them to sort it out, it is what we pay our taxes for, and people accept the police sorting out the problem when they may not accept others telling them what to do.

If the police or council will not help contact your local councillor. I think the danger with notes is that it starts to get personal. As the case is people need to use the pavements, they are for people to use, not cars to park on, and it is the law.

My view is always be friendly and polite and get on well with your neighbours, but with issues like this leave it to the police. I have heard too many stories of the people who have tried to politely ask people and have ended up having real problems.

[tomstickland]

Do you think the neighbours will take kindly to the police turning up? When there's a problem then the first action is to communicate the problem to the people causing it.

[olly300]

Do you think the neighbours will take kindly to the police turning up? When there's a problem then the first action is to communicate the problem to the people causing it.

No.

The neighbours, and not all of them can be out all the time , will see the OP husband in a wheelchair sometimes. Therefore they if they had any compassion would know that parking where they do would make it difficult for their neighbour.

I often come back from work, I work long hours, and find someone's visitor parked in my space. Normally one of my others neighbours' space is free yet because she is elderly and have seen her dragging heavy bags, I do not park in her space I park else where.

[anewman]

Fix a wheel clamping warning sign stating £50 release fee. Buy yourself a cheapie wheel clamp and clamp the losers. Muhahahahaha. That's got to be the best suggestion yet and will stop them parking there instantly, and the first £50 you get back will pay for the clamp and the sign.

http://www.parrs.co.uk/product-PARRS-Wheel-Clamp-Signs-E186.htm ?? :)

[pinkfluffybabe]

I have the feeling the law is that you have a legal right to enter your property but not to exit. Or maybe the other way around.


Calley

I think you can legally complain about being blocked in but not about being blocked out. So if you had some sort of emergency you need to be able to get out but if you can't get in its more of an inconvenience (in the eyes of the law).

Some people are completely thoughless idiots about parking. Sometimes people park on either side of my drive and I can't see if anything is coming down the hill towards me (which people do pretty fast). Not to mention they are parking opposise a junction which you are not supposed to do. I would contact the council in the first instance Calley.

[Sagaris]

I'd take photos of the way the cars are parked, then email them to the local coucil's parking/highways department. The parking attendants/traffic wardens may well come and earn themselves a few extra pennies, particularly if you tell them about how it restricts pedestrian access. If they are blocking your exit off your property, then the police have powers to have them removed.
I'd also copy all the correspondence to your local councillor as well, and if it's a safety issue, the road safety department at the council too.
Also, you could contact the local paper? Ours is always printing local interest stories like this, and is very useful in getting issues resolved.

[calleyw]

"I don't believe it" (best victor meldrew impression you will get)I lost my rag this morning not only where they parked there but they where actually parked two kerbstones on to my drop kerb.

I left note asking them not to park on my drop kerb and to use the space a few feet down my road.

I was able to get out but it was not that easy and it made me later for work than I wanted to.

Do it again tomorrow and I will be knocking on there door tomorrow morning at 6.45am asking them to move the bloody thing :D

I am just so :mad: who the hell do they think they are. They would never dream of parking on the white lines oppsite on someone elses drive. So why do think it is ok to park across mine. Next they will parking on my drive.

I have only lived here about two years and most of my neighbours have managed to pee me off big time with being selfish. No thought to others. Let alone visitors who think it is ok to park behind the cars of people they are visiting making it impossible for others to get out of drives.

I just so wish I could move but I can't due to husband not working and me not being able to get a mortgage on my own.

Better get back to work seeing as I have a pile a mile high.


Yours


Calley

[calleyw]

Fix a wheel clamping warning sign stating £50 release fee. Buy yourself a cheapie wheel clamp and clamp the losers. Muhahahahaha. That's got to be the best suggestion yet and will stop them parking there instantly, and the first £50 you get back will pay for the clamp and the sign.

http://www.parrs.co.uk/product-PARRS-Wheel-Clamp-Signs-E186.htm ?? :)

Not legal me thinks but very funny.

I did leave note this as I was jsut so pee offed this morning.

If they had brain cells there would be very dangerous.

I will get my husband on to the council this morning as it has to stop.


Yours


Calley

[Poppy9]

When I take DD to her music lesson her teacher lives in a cul-de-sac. The cul-de-sac is quite rough with there being obvious tension between those who have bought their houses and those who are still LA. A few houses have cameras trained on the road outside their house just to monitor their parking space. It obviously bothers some of them that the music teacher has lessons in the evening and due to location most sit in the car or music teacher's house while the lesson takes place. You park legally as it's a public highway but they try and jam you in by moving their car within inches of you. One neighbour came out and started ranting at me I couldn't park outside her house as her OH was coming home soon and he wanted to park there. I told her it was a public highway and when she paid my road tax then she could tell me where to park. I also told her if she wasn't happy with my parking to feel free to call the police and if she didn't desist from ranting I would call them and I was sure she would be popular with her neighbours as the police would be busy there as lots of cars causing an obstruction by parking in the cul de sac turning area.

I think we need a big publicity campaign to remind people that they don't own the road outside their house and if there are no restrictions in force anyone can park there:rolleyes:

[derrick]

I will get my husband on to the council this morning as it has to stop.

The Council will do nothing as it has nothing to do with them, call the police, it is an offence to obstruct and they are required to uphold the law.

[littlejaffa]

(scotland) i used to live on a main road without double yellows anywhere, so legally cars could park on both sides of the road, this would have really bloked it from anythign getting throu so there was a sort of unwritten rule that if you parked on the left you parked on the pavement so cars could get throu.

we regulalry had the right side blocked of with traffic cones cause we were near a football stadium, and while they were happy to impound cars that were were before the cones went out (people on holiday who couldn't move them after the cones appeared etc) they never touched those parked on the pavement.

(england) where I am now locals park fully on the pavment outside there house with no trouble, but the other side of the street is parking meters and there's always wardens about looking for out of 'time' tickets to book people - but they leave those on the pavement alone.

the generall rule seems to be to keep the locals happy in busy areas and let them park on pavements