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?

Satsumaeater - in my experience, if I don't use my bike bell, pedestrians moan at me! So I've decided to always use the bell on shared paths and hope that it will be received in the spirit it was intended, i.e 'excuse me please' not 'get out of my way'.

I would be phoning the police every day demanding they ticket the cars for obstructing the pavement. I would also be squeezing down the side if possible. I don't care if the car is damaged. I've had my car keyed when it's not even on the pavement. Life goes on its just a car. Not worth risking life and limb for.
There are a lot of campaign groups that try to improve conditions for pedestrians - find out if there's one in your area.

If it happens somewhere because the pavement is ridiculously wide and the road narrow then the boundary should be moved

Problem with this idea is moving all the relevant kerbs would bankrupt nearly every urban council in Britain. Even just painted parking space markings wouldn't be cheap.

The police would soon be charging you with wasting their time if you called them every day. Do you know how few crimes, yes real crimes, they are able to investigate because they're so under resourced?

Ringing 101 and reporting a crime isn't a waste of time . That's what they're there for, to report crime and that's what she is doing, so that's not wasting police time is it?

Also Leicester police literally were soured in this thread saying contact them if it does happen.

@adaline

The problem is with the infrastructure not the individuals. Our road is a two-way street but there's no way you can fit two modern-day cars down it side-by-side, for example. You just have to pull over or reverse or hope you don't meet the bin lorry on your way to work!

I can assure you it is not just down to infrastructure. The main road I'm talking about is wide and even if a car parked fully on the road on one side there would still be enough room for emergency vehicles to get by. Also, these people have driveways but often have their cars obstructing the pavements rather than make the effort to drive in and park every night. I see this all over the area I live..

Round our way the police don't come out for burglaries so I don't think there'd be much chance for parked card.

I get irritated by people just filling their garages with junk and then leaving their car(s) on the street. We have always used the garage to put a car in, and then have the other one on the drive. If you have too much junk then declutter FFS!

There's an idiot near me who has left a trailer (a small one, maybe four square feet?) on the bit of pavement in front of their garage. It blocks the full width of the pavement. It hasn't moved in months, so their car must be one of the ones on the street/pavement.

I'm really glad you posted this. Parking on the pavement is my pet hate. I find it really hard not to challenge drivers if they're with the car and ive had so much abuse its unbelievable. Now i just cross the street and wonder what the world is comming to.

If it's a tight road there's always the worry other cars might struggle to get past.

Then perhaps they shouldn't be parking there anyway.

While I agree that pavement parking is a problem I can't understand why some people don't get that in many cases there is no alternative. It isn't laziness. The fact is that in some northern towns where there are narrow streets of Victorian terraced houses there is literally nowhere else to park - no car parks, nowhere round the corner where the street is wider or where there is ample parking provision. We don't all live in London where the public transport is excellent, so not owning a car is not an option.

Many jobs in my area are on trading estates in semi rural areas, and where public transport provision is very poor, so owning a car is very necessary.

While I agree that pavement parking is a problem I can't understand why some people don't get that in many cases there is no alternative.

I guess the point is why do some people feel that parking so they block a pavement is an option at all.

I live in one of those victorian terraces and park on the road. I'd no more park across the pavement blocking it than I would park in my neighbour's drive blocking them in.

I agree with letthere. Blocking the pavement shouldn't be an option at all.

Again agreed, park on it, if you really need too, but don't block it.

As for this : "Mothers cycling with their children should not be on the pavement - take them to the park, mothers".
How do you propose I take them there? Fly? I have to take them via existing transport routes and no I will not put my 3 yr old out on the road. It's also odd that there seems to be some disdain for mothers implied there on a site named for mothers.

You should take them on the road. I've never seen anyone with their kids on the back of the bike on the pavement.

Anyone who says they can’t manage without a car is wrong.

Absolute rubbish!

While I agree that pavement parking is a problem I can't understand why some people don't get that in many cases there is no alternative

We do get that. But in most cases there IS an alternative eg park around the corner and walk a bit. And in any event, why is your need to park your car more important than a pedestrians' need for a safe walking route? The point is still that pavements are for pedestrians, not cars, and therefore if there is nowhere to park your car other than on a pavement, consider if it's a good idea to have one. That is the harsh reality.

You should take them on the road. I've never seen anyone with their kids on the back of the bike on the pavement.

Slight misunderstanding there. I was talking about having a child on their own bike, not in a seat on the back of an adult's. Some people get so extreme that they'd object to a young child riding bikes on the pavement, apologies if that's not what was meant.

"But in most cases there IS an alternative eg park around the corner and walk a bit"

There isn't in my local town. Have you actually visited one of these Northern towns with loads of terraced houses?

I am not advocating blocking the pavement BTW, and I would never buy a house with no off street parking, but I agree with pp that town planners need to ensure there is adequate parking for residents. The tactic of building over car parks to encourage people to use public transport doesn't work. Car owners won't give up their cars and just park in inappropriate places.

I don't park on pavements. I am just giving the other point of view because I see the reality and problems it can cause for both sides.

ForalltheSaints that is such a good idea!
Penalty points all the way! It is so dangerous and very frustrating for wheelchair users. The worst thing ever was when some cunt parked down our 10 foot (clear no parking signs) flush against my garage door. I told my high SEN disabled daughter we were going out to soft play, she gets really excited when she sees we are going in the car as she loves going out. Pack her feeding pump, continence supplies, wheelchair and her in the car, press the key fob - garage door moves 15 inches and stops, obstructed by the car No way on my limited budget (then) could I get my daughter to soft play. Of course she was distraught to be taken out of the car and back in the house crying, spasming and getting overwhelmed with her secretions. The bastard car was there for hours. I left a note on it but I was in a white rage and in tears. Life was hard enough anyway.

We park fully on the road in my street, one side. Not for any reason, just custom.

It's great at school time when a car parks over the pavement then can't get the car out because the cars either side are fully on the road.

Our street is a tight road so pretty much everyone parks on the pavement if they aren’t in their drive. There’s only one person that doesn’t do it, our NDN and it’s really difficult to back into our drive as a result.

So if it’s a tight road, that should explain it.

Ofcourse you can manage without a car. You might have to re-evaluate some of your choices and change some things. How do you think people managed 50 years ago? They walked!! They use the bus! They chose where they lived, worked, went to school in order to facilitate that. They maybe didn’t have as much convenience and choices, but they managed and were probably healthier. Is the car culture really so incredibly intrenched that people can’t see any other alternative?

There is public transport. There is walking. There are bicycles. There are car clubs. There are lift shares. There are scooters, motorbikes. There are even taxis !

And if your need to have a car means that you are blocking pedestrians, children and people with disabilities from safely using the pavements then you are in the wrong. If their is no space where you live to park your car, then do not have one and fit your life choices around it.

If you do Absolutely have to have one, don’t live somewhere where you have nowhere to park it. If you absolutely need one for your work or some other issue, then move somewhere where you have space for one. Or change your work. Or change or curcumstances .

Talk about entitlement! Putting your convenience and life choices higher than someone else’s ability to simply get around outside safely is incredible entitlement.