Another Parking Thread

[ParkaPerson]

Apologies in advance - I know this has been done to death but you lot always have the best ideas of how to deal with bad parkers!

I live on a street where my neighbour and I are the only ones with drives (with dropped kerb). Neighbours have a car but rarely use it however DH and I both do jobs where we are called in from home a lot often at odd hours. Our drive is set up so that although it's only the width of one car we can both park on it and get in/out without blocking each other. It's part of why we bought the house.

The street is busy and not enough parking. When we first moved in we had an issue with neighbours parking over the drive but this was sorted quickly with polite words.

Now, our main issue is with delivery drivers and visitors. Taxis often pull in to drop people off which doesn't really bother me though it's a pest when they're there when I get home. On one occasion DH has collared a tesco delivery van and forced him to move - to much annoyance by the delivery guy. But more than once I have been blocked in by a strange random car and had to get a taxi in to work late at night. I am often called to quite inaccessible places and have a 4x4 for that reason. I don't know what I'd do if I was blocked in in that situation.

We have a sign up on our wall saying "drive in constant use" but it's not been effective. I asked the council to paint a white H over the dropped kerb, said I'd pay for it but they said they only do that in certain areas.

I know the short term solution is for one of us to park over the drive and let the other out if needs be, but that means both of us getting up if one is called in at 3am and just makes me annoyed!!

Is there anything else we can do? For some reason it has been particularly bad lately - I've had to ask people still in cars to move on a daily basis and been blocked in twice in the last fortnight.

Park your 4x4 facing your dropped curb and put a big sign in the window saying "On call. Anyone who blocks the driveway will be barged out of the way will be towed."

Neighbours I used to live over the road from were blocked in by an unknown car and the dh needed to get his disabled wife to an hospital appointment but they couldn't find the owner. They ended up calling the police who found the owner, they were next door to us having had a party, he was still over the limit to drive the next day so the police told them one option was to use a taxi for the hospital and get the inconsiderate car owner to pay for it. They did, he paid up. Not ideal if they wanted to do shopping, go out anywhere for the day though.

You could try watching who parks there and seeing where they go. If they don't move the car then you could knock on the door at whatever time you get a callout, I'm sure they and the people they are visiting won't appreciate being woken up in the early hours of the morning. Or if you don't know where they are try calling the police non emergency number, they might be able to contact the owner. If they can't sort it they might tell you to get a taxi and bill the bad parker.

Thanks for the ideas! And the diagram compliments *preens

Reading about GDPR has terrified me in terms of CCTV but some cones might work. Abandoning car over drive is one thing but actively moving cones to do it is another surely.

Will also get a more strongly worded sign. My work give me a sign for the dashboard of my car when I have to leave it somewhere odd and I'm wondering if it would be worth asking for one for the back windscreen. I could maybe surround it with fairy lights

That's a good idea Deathy - the times I've used a taxi so far I have at least been able to claw some of it back as I get paid call out mileage so just claimed as though I had driven. Hadn't thought of billing the parker's!

The issue is the non taxi accessible places. While I can go to my base and pick up one of their 4x4s it's not near my house at all and having to do that could triple my call out time depending on where I have to go to.

My DH and I have the same model of 4x4. Our drive is narrow but we usually park so we can both get out. Could you do similar so it won't matter whose car you take? Long term, you need to ensure nobody parks over your drive, obviously, but it makes no odds if you have the same car, unless there is specialist equipment in your car, of course.

Fab diagram! Excellent level of detail.

Second the strongly worded signs tucked under rogue parker’s wiper blades and stronger worded wall signage.
I’d paint the tarmac with my own white/yellow lines too... what’s the worst that could happen?

I can’t believe CF parking over people’s drives, if people can’t park they should have their licences taken away, reallllllly winds me up!

I would put up cctv discretely so I could track where they went to (especially if it’s regularly the same car) and go lean on the bell at 3am. I wouldn’t actually stress too much about the legalities, I’d say dh or I or our aunt was home and saw you or we’ve seen you before ...

Vehicles (including taxis and supermarket vans) are allowed to stop on the road alongside your dropped curb for loading and for picking up/dropping off passengers.
You can actually receive a Penalty Charge Notice for parking on the road alongside your own dropped curb unless your vehicle has been pre-registered to do so with the council.

Could you just post a really polite note through all the doors nearby asking them to check their visitors haven't blocked you in because it's..... (Explain the problem).

Totally missing the point but I’m dying to know what your job is, are you a crime scene pathologist? I’m imagining you all Amelia fox...

I don't think I'd get too worked up about taxis and delivery drivers. Presumably they either stay with the vehicle or are within reach of the vehicle and could move it quickly. Especially if there is no other parking on the street, then not sure where else they could pull up anyway, and the only other option would presumably be to block the road. A minute or two delay isn't really the end of the world.

But the ones that park there and walk away.... well guard cat needs to claw their eyes out.

Fantastic diagram Parkaperson
Firstly I need to know more about the ice cream van , is it always there or just there a lot. ( do ice cream vans go on holday in the winter )
Cctv is a good idea , I wonder if having it would reduce your car / home insurance .
A colleague has nest or simalar doorbell installed which he watched avidly for the first week or two of it being installed not so much after that and then within a few weeks got sick to death of his phone going off every time a cat walk past so now turn off the alerts so it's kinda pointless.

Could you get work to make you a large sign saying doctor on call that you can stick on your gatepost ?

Polite but firm notes posted througg your neighbor's letterboxes requesting that visitors do not block your drive as it could cost somebody's life if you can't get out maybe the trick too.

Thank you all for ideas! Hellbent you're not far wrong but I am very uncool.

We have written a note and put it through all neighbours doors - saying we absolutely don't mind people's taxis etc pulling in to drop them off but could they please ask visitors to not park over the drive. Bigged up DHs NHS role when explaining we need 24/7 access.

Planning to get bigger sign for our wall printed but not sure what to write- I feel like if it's too long people will ignore?

In terms of the ice cream van, it sometimes goes off on little jaunts but always comes back home. Suspiciously its trips are not limited to warm sunny days

Call the non emergency police number every time and explain you're blocked in and can't get to work. It may not be moved in time for you got get to work but at least they'll be woken up by a phone call. I'd also make sure I asked the neighbours the following day to see who it was. Explain why you're asking so they're aware.

Just here to complement you on youre excellent diagram. One of the best I've seen!

Just out of interest, why would you both have to get up if one of you blocked the others' car in? Surely you could just move the other car?

How annoying op.could you put a sign up (another one)saying "parking or waiting here is causing wilful obstruction of the highway.you will be reported( with our cctv evidence )if you have stayed long enough to read this then the police will be on way so stay a bit longer to receive your ticket."😀

Pinkyyy it's quite a busy one way road even at night - a bit of a rat run as it's parallel to a main road with lots of traffic lights. There should be 2 lanes but with the parking there's only space for 1 car at a time. So it would mean blocking the road while moving one car. If we both got up then car 1 can get out of the way and loop round the block allowing car 2 out. We would have to completely block the road with one or other car doing it ourselves.

I love your guard cat! He needs to start earning his keep and claw the tyres of offending vehicles.

If this were me I would get big luminous signs saying 'emergency workers on call' can't be too far from the truth, eh OP?

Can I be the first to ask whether there is a local rugby team?

Ahh I see, so not an option for you to move the other one really. Very tricky one!

Buy a guard cat that works. one that hands out notes telling people to move along!

Best diagram award

I LOOOOVVVVE your diagram!!

You need to train your guard cat.
Or sprinkle Dreamies all over any blocking cars (hope that your cat has sharp claws!)

Op I bet your ice cream van is going drug dealing! Sorry 😐

Just posting purely to say best parking diagram ever!