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AIBU

Parking

(47 Posts)
Sugarpufffairy Wed 18-Jan-17 21:32:37

AIBU to expect people not to park up on the pavement with part of their cars blocking any part of the access to my block paved driveway. There is a hedge and the end of the hedge stops where the block paving starts.
It is mostly one particular person who does this. 3 years ago she hit my car while it was parked outside in the street which is why I had the block paving done.
It is bad enough that she blocks part of my access but I have further concerns. She clearly is not improving her driving since hitting my car 3 years ago. I don't know if the brakes on her car are not in good shape. I don't know if she does not have good enough vision to see that her car is over a driveway. Perhaps she does not have any spacial awareness. There are children in this street and she has a child of about 5 of her own.
To my reckoning she is a very poor driver who does not seem to be improving with experience. I would not like to be driving on the same roads as her. Police seem to ignore all parking issues in this street. It is quite a weird place as regards parking, one other two car household seem to think their desire to park under their window out trumps a Disabled Parking Space. Police did nothing about that.
What do I do next. Any advice gratefully received
SPF

Swanny Wed 18-Jan-17 21:47:02

If there is a sign at a disabled parking space saying 'disabled badge holders only' and someone parks in that space then contact your local council traffic management team.

Sugarpufffairy Wed 18-Jan-17 22:02:23

The Disabled Parking space is a white box painted on the road with Disabled painted outside the box on the road sign. Police were asked to deal with this but they didn't.
SPF

Rigby46 Wed 18-Jan-17 22:17:26

Sadly, those white painted boxes don't have any legal status. And even abuse of blue badge spaces wouldn't interest the police. However, when passage is blocked by inconsiderately parked cars.....well it wouldn't be your fault if your shopping, stick, wheelchair, pushchair ever so sadly scraped their bodywork would it?

Sugarpufffairy Wed 18-Jan-17 22:45:11

It is a pain in the butt, however it shows the level of person around here.
They don't observe consideration for others
They cant drive properly.
Supposedly a "good area" but not so on closer inspection.
I like your thinking Rigby 46. I will remember that when the car is parked at another spot.
SPF

Jalima Wed 18-Jan-17 23:18:31

I don't know what to suggest - but I do know that we were told (by a policewoman) not to put a very polite notice under the windscreen wipers when people park in our road blocking the way.
Yesterday I saw someone who was picking up children from school park on the grass verge outside our neighbours' house - the verge belongs to the Council but the residents are supposed to maintain them. They left deep tyre marks in the soggy ground.

Nan52 Thu 19-Jan-17 10:42:07

It is so annoying when someone parks over your drive, I have seen a neighbour lift up the wind screen wipers so they get the message, do it enough times and they might..

Everthankful Thu 19-Jan-17 10:42:16

Does she have trouble finding somewhere to park near her home? Are there not enough spaces for all of the residents? Does she actually block your access? I and my neighbours always have trouble finding a parking space anywhere near our homes because of visitors to the area (I live in a seaside town). We often have to risk parking on yellow lines and pavements as we have no other choice. Constant pressure for resident only parking falls on deaf ears as nearby businesses always block the request. There are adequate car parks but visitors ignore them

Balini Thu 19-Jan-17 10:43:22

Put a nail under the tyres, when it's dark.grin

toscalily Thu 19-Jan-17 10:44:36

We have problems with inconsiderate parking in our street also, one neighbour in particular so I commiserate. Do you have a dropped curb at the entrance to your drive? if so it is illegal to park across your driveway. Getting action taken is the problem, here are some links which may help you Sugarpufffairy:

www.rac.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?22913-Dropped-Kerbs-and-white-lines
www.drivingtesttips.biz/dropped-kerb-parking.html

brownhandbag Thu 19-Jan-17 10:49:14

Hi Sugarpufffairy, re parking on the pavements: I suggest you contact your local council Highway Maintenance dept for advice, they will also be interested in the parking on verge issue.

DotMH1901 Thu 19-Jan-17 10:53:20

I had this problem where I lived in Dover, the street was built in the 1800's, well before the car arrived on the scene. Many of the houseowners had more than one car and there was always a fight for a parking space. when we moved in we had one car, which belonged to my daughter, and, when the space was free, she naturally parked up outside our house rather than elsewhere on the street. We started finding little 'love letters' from the next door but one neighbour under the wipers each morning, demanding we vacated 'his' parking space (they had two cars) and rapidly turning into notes full of swear words because we didn't oblige. On the way down to the main road the street narrowed considerably and the cars were always parked up on the pavement, often so much on the pavement that you had to walk in the road to get past. I complained to our local Community Police Officer only to be told that yes it was an offence to park on the pavement but the cars could not block the road. Nothing was done at all.

tigger Thu 19-Jan-17 11:04:28

If she is even partially blocking your access then this is a matter for the police who should take action.

NanaRayna Thu 19-Jan-17 11:11:57

Many years ago I met a local man who was beyond incensed when drivers parked across the 'sensory' pedestrian crossing that the council had installed. This crossing was used by all, but was especially for the pupils of a nearby school for blind and deaf children. In those days, before poop scooping was obligatory, he used to find some handy dog faeces and wipe it on the driver's door handle.
He told me that he rarely saw the same car twice!hmm

newnanny Thu 19-Jan-17 11:18:15

We have a blocked paved drive on a steep slope with dropped curb. A very inconsiderate neighbour parks at the bottom of the drive but across the road and parked on the kerb. My husband caught hit this car in 2015 but she still parks there. A couple of weeks ago when it was icy i was worried about slithering down the drive and hitting her car so I knocked on her door loudly at 6.30am and kept knocking until she answered and then asked her to move her car so I did not hit it, which she did. I then told her it should not be parked there Tuesday or Friday as I work and have to leave early..... so far so good but if she parks there again when I need to leave early I will have no hesitation in banging on her door until she answers. I have decided if she can be inconsiderate then so can I.

newnanny Thu 19-Jan-17 11:19:05

YANBU your neighbour sounds very inconsiderate and stupid too actually.

Funnygran Thu 19-Jan-17 11:19:29

Our last house had an 'in and out' drive which was great as the road was very narrow and we didn't have to back out. Someone used to visit our neighbour opposite and regularly park across one of our gateways. When we asked him to move the car he said there was nowhere else to park and anyway we had two gates so he didn't see what the problem was ?

Jaycee5 Thu 19-Jan-17 11:21:55

If the Police won't deal with parking in a disabled parking space, make a formal complaint. You can do it online and they have a statutory obligation to reply within a certain time. One complaint may not achieve much but they may have had others.

Jaycee5 Thu 19-Jan-17 11:23:18

I mean a complaint about the Police's lack of action rather than about the parking.
The police have had massive cuts though so I do have some sympathy with them for not prioritising this but they should still deal with it.

luluaugust Thu 19-Jan-17 11:24:48

I have got an idea that when parking issues were decriminalised in the 1990's the problem was passed to the Local Councils (police said they were to busy to deal with parking), the parking wardens work out of the Local Council so suggest you contact them not the police. You could try and get restricted parking in your street but this is complicated and seems to take forever, good luck we know how infuriating not to say dangerous inconsiderate parking is.

Legs55 Thu 19-Jan-17 11:29:34

This is a problem in many areas, where we lived previously we could park our 3 cars outside our house, semi at end of street, corner plot. Occasionally if one of us was going out but not last car home we would park outside a neighbours house, she came banging on the door one day only to be told none of us had a "right" to park outside our own home but did so for convenience.

The other problem we had was Parents coming to collect their children? (secondary school) & parking outside our house. The pupils were only allowed to use side entrance if they had cycles.Some would be there for nearly an hour confused.

There is little anyone can do, we had a Builder's truck parked outside our side gate making it difficult to put our wheelie bins out. I contacted Council but they weren't interested, Police could do nothing as it was not an HGV. Whilst out shopping I bumped into one of our PCSOs who called round & took details, he tried to contact Builder at phone number on truck. A day or two later Builder turned up in his Transit van whilst I was in the garden, I went to speak to him (not wise move maybe) & he explained why he had parked there but agreed to park a little further back so we could access gate. Could have ended with a mouthful of abuse but thankfully he was a lovely Irishmangrin

foxie Thu 19-Jan-17 11:33:41

I once had a a persistent driver impeding free access to my driveway and after numerous and polite ignored pleas to move I left a note under the wiper. "If you continue to deny free access to my property I will ensure that you are clamped and towed" After that day the car was never seen again. Although the police don't have either the time or inclination to get involved nonetheless there is legislation protecting the rights of homeowners to enable free and unhindered access. I would add that no one has any rights in law right to park anywhere on the Queen's highway which gives the police and other transport officials the powers to move you on.

oldgaijin Thu 19-Jan-17 11:36:28

When I lived in a flat with a designated parking bay, I found that a good scattering of bread on the roof of any car that was parked there did the trick...the seagulls did the rest!

HootyMcOwlface Thu 19-Jan-17 14:29:54

How about printing out some sections of the Highway Code on parking and putting them under her wipers. Print a stack off and do it every time she parks there, she might get the message, eventually.

Barrowlass Thu 19-Jan-17 15:25:11

Really tempting though this idea is the vehicle will be there for a long while if the driver is as unskilled as the writer suggests. Best answer could be a chat with the community police officer - if there is one - or getting a group of residents together and organise a talk.