To think the pavement is for pedestrians

[Whiskeyjar]

Why do people park their cars over the pavement? I genuinely want to understand this better as I think there surely must be an reason for this that I am missing. Example - I live next to a busy main road which is very long and I need to walk up this to access DS1's school and DS2's nursery. Since having DS2 I have walked everywhere with the pram and have came up against this problem almost every week- majority of the time it's different cars but some are repeat offenders. They don't just park slightly over the pavement but over enough that you can't pass with a pram which then forces you to have to cross the road which is really busy and no proper crossings on it. I get so annoyed that I'm being forced on to the road and putting my kids in danger because people do this- but why? What's the purpose of it? It's a wide road so if you parked entirely on the road cars would still pass with ease and even if they didn't, you could still do single file to get round a car that's parked? I have knocked on doors and asked people to move their cars on several occasions and never had any push back luckily. Is it just thoughtlessness?

I have this problem with several of the roads near us, which are part of our daily walk routes. I also have to contend with uneven pavements, and people not keeping their garden hedges and plants to the confines of their property (which obviously makes the available space for pedestrians even narrower). This combination leads to me having to push the buggy into the road several times on our walks.

I'm also a runner. I had to run in the road a while back, because some twat had parked his/her shiny black Astra completely blocking the pavement. I was so focussed on not being knocked over by cars whizzing past, I think I may have spilled lots of sticky orange squash on the car....

ProfessorMoody Made me laugh
If I'm out with my mum (who uses a wheelchair) and we have to pass a car parked on the pavement, I do my best not tl leave a scratch, but there's often so little room to squeeze past it just can't be helped.

Back when I was still pushing a pushchair I often had to push it down the road because of pavement parking bastards leaving so little gap that I couldn't get through. Which was sort of (not really) fine, because I'm able-bodied - if I'd been in a wheelchair I'd have been stuffed. It really hacks me off.

My niece had twins and fixed keys to the sides of her double buggy and if those keys accidentally scratched a car she was not to blame

I'm going to do this. Serve the fuckers right.

there would still be space for single file?

If it's a street built for two way traffic, you wouldn't drive single file, some streets near me are really tight so drivers park on the street. If they didn't there wouldn't be room for both lanes of traffic. I think it should be better traffic managed, the areas weren't built for so many cars

I passed my driving test in 1987. I can honestly say that I have never parked on a pavement.

I work with someone who uses a guide dog. Cars on pavements are potentially very dangerous for her. Her dog is trained to guide her around obstacles that prevent her and her dog from walking side by side along the pavement. If the dog judges that a gap is too small she suddenly finds herself being guided onto the road.

We've got a poster up in our kitchen at work about the Guide Dogs for the Blind "Streets Ahead" campaign. They're calling for pavement parking to be made illegal. Blind and partially sighted people shouldn't have to risk their lives because people are too idle to find a safe and appropriate place to park.

I bloody hate that crap,I'm in a wheelchair and I've had to bump down into the road with no dropped curve and risked nearly getting run over by a bus.

Popcorn my DH drives and he never parks on the pavement!

It is 100% illegal to obstruct a pavement. I promise you.

I live on a street of Victorian terraces, surrounded by more streets the same. There is no off street parking except in a very few exception where newer houses with drives have been built between the terraced houses. With cars parked on the edge of the pavement, my street is still single track and can still be tight for large vehicles. There is literally no off road parking for the majority of people, so there are no alternatives.

Generally people manage to park so as not to block the pavements or dropped kerbs but you do get some absolutely arseholes park terribly. I haven't resorted to a key but have "accidentally" folded in their wing mirror to get past. It really bugs me when people fold in one side so it isn't taken out by a passing car but can't be arsed to do the one n the pavement sided to make it easier for pedestrians to get by.

YANBU. Parking on the pavement is inconsiderate and can be highly dangerous for pedestrians.
Just a bit of consideration would be nice.

The on road parking bays near to wear I live are marked partly in the road and partly on the pavement, active parking should leave room for pedestrians but also for through traffic including emergency vehicles

Where

As well as the rudeness of drivers (they seem to think they not only own the roads but the pavements also) as well as being inconsiderate to pedestrians it also destroys pavements and costs YOU money when the council have to repair.

I'd phone the parking people in your council and see if they can ticket them. I'd also put a note on the windscreen.

I do think it's a sense of entitlement. Some people think they have an automatic right to drive everywhere and to park when they get there and if it inconveniences or downright endangers other people that's just unfortunate but there's nothing they can do.

“Why do people park their cars over the pavement?”

Because in some cases there literally is nowhere else to park, and the streets are too narrow to allow an emergency vehicle past if they don’t. Someone died quite recently in our local town because an ambulance couldn’t get to him due to obstruction from parked cars.

The houses in question are Victorian terraced houses on narrow streets, with no provision for parking anywhere. It has nothing to do with being lazy NinaMarieP.
Moominfan is correct in saying that it is poor infrastructure.

“No it isn't. They can go and find somewhere else to park that doesn't involve obstructing a pavement.”

I can assure you that in some cases there really is nowhere else for people to park in our local town. The public car parks have barriers that are closed at night.

Buying a house with insufficient parking would be a deal breaker for us BTW, and I don’t park on pavements, but I can see both points of view.

There’s a really good site called FixMyStreet. Post anything on there like bad parking, overgrown foliage, rubbish etc and it sends it straight to your local council anonymously. Just remember to blank out any personal info from the photos like reg plates

Park further away and walk. Even better swap your car for a bike.

Oh and if you see fit to park on a pavement because there’s ‘no parking’ don’t be so lazy and drive round the corner? Jeez. So much entitlement. Yes you may pay road tax but so do most pedestrians as well as council tax. Think we’re more entitled to be on pavements then cars. Also it’s only a month or two til the law changes and the fine comes in for parking on pavements so I wouldn’t worry OP

Yanbu

People are terrible for it where i live (victorian terraces, yadda yadda); they could park a short distance away but they are lazy dipshits so they don’t.

There was a woman on here years ago who had a thread about writing ‘selfish parking’ on a pavement/dropped kerb parker’s passenger side window in lip balm, i often think wistfully of her and wish i had the balls to do the same.

Arrogance. DSis NDN parks his transit van entirely on the pavement to stop anyone else parking on 'their' bit of the road the public road, that is. It just merely happens to be the stretch between their two houses. Even though the pavement is really wide, I can't get the pram past, people with wheelchairs or mobility scooters have no chance.

I think the problem is loads of our streets were built in the days where you just had the milk float, the rag and bone man and the odd rich persons car. They weren't built with modern car use in mind.

But yes obstructing the pavement is very selfish and driving on to a pavement where there are pedestrians walking about is batshit crazy.

On our road, we all have two parking spaces, however people still park on the pavement as they are too lazy to use their parking space and walk to their property.

I fantasize about having the super strength to flip pavement parkers over on to their sides as I walk past.