Neighbours parking on pavements and overgrown hedges (photo)

[applesauce1]

I walk into town every day with my baby in his pushchair. Every day, I am met with this obstacle. One neighbour has this tree growing so low and wide that it would hit my baby in the face while in his pushchair, so I can't duck under. Possibly the same neighbour or their NDN has the white car, who always parks on the pavement. In the photo, they've left a generous amount of path compared to usual. Most of the time the car is much further onto the pavement than it is on the road.

The house over the road often has vans in who, without fail, park on the pavement. Usually, my best route is to either go around the van on the neighbours garden, or walk in the road.

I have a feeling people do this because it is a bus route. If people park legally, the bus driver just leans on their horn until someone comes and moves the car onto the pavement.

So my AIBU is, who should I be annoyed with? What would you do? Should I be annoyed at all? I can usually get a quite chance to push my baby in the road, but people drive very fast and often on the wrong side of the road (due to parked cars) on this estate, so I always feel vulnerable doing that.

Just walk around the car 🤷‍♀️ Its pretty standard in the area where I live tbh.

Contact the council about the overgrown hedge; he can't have that blocking the pavement so that should get sorted. If you're unsure who to contact then tweet that photo to your council and they should tell you who to contact.

With care parked like that, I used to just force the pushchair down anyway and (wouldn't admit this publicly) I made sure I scratched the whole length of the car. I did it every time. The regular offenders stopped parking on the pavement.

Ugh, I share your pain. Why should pedestrians, especially babies and children have to put themselves in danger because someone has parked badly?

Our local council would happily cut back the overhanging branches and charge the homeowners.
Can’t you report to the council?

Alternatively, someone set up a Facebook page called ‘Local Area Shit Parking’ which is frequently posted to our local Facebook group and seems to shame inconsiderate parkers into reform.

YANBU. It's so entitled & selfish. People who don't give a thought to others.

We get it round here as well. Anyone with a pushchair/wheelchair has to walk into the road.

@Snappedandfarted2019 Firslty, love the username.
Without the pushchair, I don't think twice about walking around the cars. My pushchair is so heavy, I'm not fast at getting it up and down pavements or up the hill when in the road. Cars come round the corner VERY quickly.
I understand why they do it, I just wish I didn't have to put my son and myself in danger every time I walk down my road.

Do people not get ticketed for parking like that?

I know in our area that parking partially or wholly on the pavement will get you a parking ticket. Even on quietish residential roads. Unless signs indicate otherwise, you must not park on the pavement anywhere.

The only exceptions are some spaces that are marked and signposted clearly that you must park wholly or partially on the pavements, and these areas have plenty of space to allow parking and pushchairs/wheelchairs to pass by on the pavement. In these zones, you will be ticketed for parking fully on the road.

I absolutely hate inconsiderate parking. It is so selfish to block the pavement and stops wheelchairs passing, who may need to go a good way back up a road to find a place with a dropped kerb, so they can move around the obstacle.

Thank you everyone who advised contacting the council. I'm not confrontational at all and get on very well with our immediate neighbours. I don't want any bad feeling on the street as a result of me criticising their parking.
I've sent a photo to the council along with a polite email.

Contact you local PCSO, our area has had a blitz on pavement parking getting ticketed.

Is it in a yellow line?

The sooner they bring in a law making pavement parking illegal everywhere, the better imo. In my road, people park entirely blocking the pavement, with 2 wheels in their front garden. Because our council have never prohibited it, the police can't do anything about it.

They did come round a while ago and ticket all the cars parked dangerously close to the corners though!

The hedge in the pic is a bloody nuisance too.

Contact the council about the hedge

The problem with the car is that if they parked more on the road an ambulance/fire engine may not be able to get past

I know its bloody annoying and shouldn't happen, and it is unfair for you to have to push your baby into the road when you don't know what is coming round the corner but I wouldn't solely blame the driver, inadequate roads are often a problem too

I don't agree with pavement parking ban everywhere. Pavements here fit a car and a wheelchair or pram. And unlike the ones on a pic, we don't have drives or space for them.
This guy though is taking a bit of a piss. If he cut the hedge and either parked few inches more into the road or in the garage I see on a pic, people could fit fine.

It is so annoying and so selfish. Paths are for people!

Every house on my street and the surrounding ones have driveways but people insist on parking on the path. They also love to park over the dropped kerbs too (I guess because they feel the kerb belongs to them because it's in front of their driveway?) I often end up pushing my sons wheelchair entirely in the road until I get to the main road and the path is wider. Now my toddler likes to walk I have to push a wheelchair, wrangle a toddler and often the dog while trying to avoid being hit by a car because people are so rude and inconsiderate.

@LakieLady How do you think that would work then - if people don't have a driveway or a car park, where are they supposed to park?

OP you say if people do not park on the pavement bus drivers blare the horn until drivers move their car. So presumably this means a bus can not get down the road unless drivers park in the pavement? So of course they need to park on the pavement.

i hate it when people park like that. why should I have to take my childs wheelchair into the road? selfish wankers. I would like to see it banned.

I think it's an excellent idea outrageous that a PP deliberately scraped her pushchair along the entire side of a badly parked car.

The sooner they bring in a law making pavement parking illegal everywhere, the better imo. and mine.

How do you think that would work then - if people don't have a driveway or a car park, where are they supposed to park? - i'd also bring in a law that says that if you have nowhere to park your car on your property or safely on the road - don't get a car. Not my problem. Don't park on the pavement, full stop.

I absolutely hated cars parked on the pavement so that I had to take my 3 young kids on the road. Roads are for cars, pavements are a safe place for pedestrians. If you don't understand that, you shouldn't be driving.

Of course it is wrong to criminally damage a car.
I am not well off, so no driveway or garage and narrow roads. If you don't park on the pavement, cars can not drive down the road. If I thought you had damaged my car I would report you to the police

I believe it is the whole of London where pavement parking is banned not just my local borough, and London is not known for it's wide streets, but everywhere copes with buses and emergency vehicles.

We have roads where you can only park on one side etc, but it does work, so pavement parking bans do work and allow the pavement to be left clear for people to use.

he is a thing if your car is parked on the pavement in such a way as to stop someone using the footpath (particularly if the are blind, use a wheelchair or have any issue that affects mobility or who use a pushchair &/0r have children why should their safety needs come second to someone parking a car -when you moved in to house surely you must has realized that their is no parking? Yes I know its awkward but for goodness sake you are endangering people/children's lives in these circumstances -

I wish they would make it illegal. I'm constantly having to take my dc into the road because of inconsiderate arseholes.

I recently saw a disabled man having to go the full length of the road in the road because he couldn't get his wheelchair up and down the steep curbs easily so gave up.

It looks like legislation is coming in soon whereby it will be an offence to park on a pavement. There has been a big push by some of the disabled charities to ensure it happens.

doh! "here is a thing..." "there"