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?

And actually when I was young and inconsiderate and blocked pavements my car was also keyed. Made me think more carefully about where I parked in the future

@JamieVardysHavingAParty, excellent post. I agree completely.

keying a car cause you have to walk round it is unhinged

I wouldn’t ever damage someone’s car purposely, but parking on the pavement and forcing someone to go around a car onto the road is unhinged

I do wonder if perhaps a large part of the problem is cars are far to big, even mini produce a car twice as big as a mini in the 1970s

If cars were made for just three people, and much smaller they wouldn’t take up the storage space that modern cars do & this would reduce the need for people to feel they can encroach on pedestrians space.

I walk to work and over a miles and a half to one office I pass a miles worth of cars queuing, most cars have three empty seats, rarely do I pass s car with three seats used.

course they're empty people go in different directions, other half drives in opposite direction to next town. I drop off baby then drive several miles to work. public transport it would take 3 buses and walking down a busy road with no pavement. not everyone has good transportation links. if you accidentally on purpose damage a car cause your so inconvenienced at having to step round you seriously need therapy. there are underlying issues at play, its about so much more.

if you accidentally on purpose damage a car cause your so inconvenienced at having to step round you seriously need therapy. there are underlying issues at play, its about so much more

Do you not understand the difference between “inconvenienced” and “put into a dangerous situation”?

I haven’t read all the comments as too many but whilst I agree about parking on the road, around here the parking markings are part on the road and part on the pavements so you have to do that or a) no cars will get through as parking is on both sides and even with parking half on the pavement it’s onlh single file cars space and b) I would get a ticket if not in the lines. It’s a pain though as it isnt a dropped curb so you can’t reverse park and bounce up the curb you have to go forward.

How do you think people managed 50 years ago?

Well by about 1970ish a lot of people had cars much like now . It was hardly Victorian times 😂😂.

about to turn 30 this year thankfully survived many dangerous situations whereby I've had to walk around a car. Don't know how I've made it this far #blessed

if you accidentally on purpose damage a car cause your so inconvenienced at having to step round you seriously need therapy

Being forced into the middle of a road is dangerous not a minor inconvenience. How can you not get the basic premise that the pavement is for pedestrians?

If cars blocking pavements were fined then the selfish bastards would find the inconvenience enough to park somewhere reasonable.

about to turn 30 this year thankfully survived many dangerous situations whereby I've had to walk around a car. Don't know how I've made it this far #blessed

Want to pull out the anecdote about your nan smoking 60 a day and living to a 100 too? Anecdote isn't data. Those who haven't made it aren't here to comment obvs.

if you walk into the middle of the road that's natural selection taking place. your mis-directing your anger, roads and paths weren't designed for how they are now used ie multi car houses, lots more vehicles ect. you say move somewhere reasonable but in condensed terrace arrears places like that don't exist. leave car on road, effect flow of traffic and possibly lose a wing mirror. park on road some crazy person who's unable to express their anger keys up your car to make themselves feel better. No win situation all round

about to turn 30 this year thankfully survived many dangerous situations whereby I've had to walk around a car. Don't know how I've made it this far #blessed

The key there is “walked”. Having seen a chap in a wheelchair - and therefore less spontaneity of movement - trying to navigate around a parked car, you are indeed blessed. And ableist.

If you’re enough of a cunt to block an entire pavement, you deserve every little bit of damage to your vehicle.

If you’re enough of a cunt to block an entire pavement, you deserve every little bit of damage to your vehicle.

that anger towards a stranger on the internet, it's something you should probably shine an introspective light on it. Also I'd urge anyone who has concerns about poor infrastructure to contact their local council. Some people are constructive others are bitter

moominfan you are missing the key point that the pavement is for pedestrians

If you are too selfish/shit at parking to give them enough room to pass, then the consequences of that are your problem.

course they're empty people go in different directions, other half drives in opposite direction to next town. I drop off baby then drive several miles to work

So a smaller car with only two seats would be ideal and you wouldn’t waste road space driving or parking, fuel would be cheaper.

Some people are constructive others are bitter

And some are just selfish cunts.

Mooninfan- you contact your local council over pavement parking - I suggest you do as then you’ll realise why people get frustrated

Some people are constructive others are bitter

And some people couldn’t highlight “I park on the pavement and fuck everyone else” more. I’m not angry. I feel very sorry for someone as lacking in driving skills as you must be.

If a car can't pass through then an emergency vehicle can't. Yes it's annoying when they're parked half on and half off but it could be life threatening if an ambulance or fire engine can't fit through.

I have two customers who can’t always get out of their house due to pavement parking, they both use mobility scooters. Are you suggesting they should be prisoners in their own homes all the time due to emergency vehicles not getting through so cars must pavement park and block them in their homes?

If you are too selfish/shit at parking to give them enough room to pass, then the consequences of that are your problem.

roads built for two way traffic can't accommodate traffic flowing both ways and parked cars and pedestrians. is that not just really naff design?

So a smaller car with only two seats would be ideal and you wouldn’t waste road space driving or parking, fuel would be cheaper.

two seats wouldn't be ideal as we often use the one car at weekends, need to fit in multi car seats at times and shopping ect. Looked into a smaller car when I first started driving but none could fit a pram.

So a smaller car with only two seats would be ideal and you wouldn’t waste road space driving or parking, fuel would be cheaper.

No suprise I'm not a big fan of the council however If walking round cars or your car being damaged really is a problem, surely it's worth ago to try and get enough people interested in the issues and present them to the council.

And some people couldn’t highlight “I park on the pavement and fuck everyone else” more. I’m not angry. I feel very sorry for someone as lacking in driving skills as you must be.

I don't know if sorry is the right word but I just know I'm not as angry as you and very content about that. Perhaps your moving away from issue at hand?

I have two customers who can’t always get out of their house due to pavement parking, they both use mobility scooters. Are you suggesting they should be prisoners in their own homes all the time due to emergency vehicles not getting through so cars must pavement park and block them in their homes?

No win situation, people blocked in or emergency vehicles can't pass through? someones losing in this situation unless money is spent to change the environment people operate in to fit multiple needs. Going tit for tat over the existing space distracts from the over arching issue or poorly designed spaces