pavement parking! arghhhhhhhhhhhhh

[takenforgrantednana]

ok where i live is a cul de sac, but all the roads that lead to mine have cars parked half on the pavements! drives me nuts! there is no need for it at all, plenty of room if the cars all parked on one side of the roads but no, couldnt possibly do that and walk an extra 10 ft to the front gates, in the mean time kids are trying to play out but end up having to play in the road because they cant ride on their bikes/scooters etc on the pavements, nevermind when you try to walk pushing a pram you have to walk in the road as there is no room to get past these inconsiderate gits!

“This means in terraced housing about every fourth house could have a car.”

No it doesn’t - it just means only that many cars can park in that street... nothing to stop them owning a car and parking it somewhere it does in fact fit.

@julieca

There is rarely enough spaces for everyone to park on one side of the road. In fact I have never come across a street where all the cars would fit if people did this.

ours would, if only they would do it!

@PawPourPoor

if every one parked on the same side of the road then it wouldnt be a problem for the emergency services, its when you get them half parked on the pavement alongside each other that it becomes a nightmare for them. not that it would stop the fire lads as they will just shove the cars out of the way to get to the fire asap, and nothing the owners can do about it after regarding any damage as they get done for causing and obstruction

But if everyone parked on your side of the road, would you be happy with that?
Dc shouldn't learn to ride bikes near cars, parked or not. Asking for trouble there

it wouldnt bother me one bit. and Dc wouldnt be learning to ride near cars as they would have a clear run on the other side of the road away from them then, as it is now both pavements have cars on them and only the road is clear, until a car drives up the road of course

@tabulahrasa Please don't be so stupid. Where can they park it? Streets of terraced housing in my City are bordered on one side by the City centre with limited hours of parking. And on the other side by semi-detached houses that already have just enough parking for people who live there. I used to live in one of these areas and the area itself was about 1.5 miles wide, with every street terraced housing.
Where is this magical place they are all supposed to drive to park? You are talking about reducing the number of cars on the street by half. In some streets, it is already difficult to park. There is nowhere for all those cars to park. The only thing you could do is ban some people buying a car.

Where I am there are plenty of people who park off the road and on the grass verges. Not blocking pavements as such, but why the hell are they allowed to get away with this? Also, we have a load of housing development going on right by us, and the construction workers park both on the verges, the pavements, and double yellow lines. This has been going on for months with no consequences, so they can do it.

Our drive comes out onto a very long straight road. The speed limit is 20mph but most vehicles exceed that because it's easy to do. Now we have to hope for the best as we try to navigate off the drive and onto the road, as there are so many blind spots created by the construction workers vehicles parked illegally.

[quote julieca]@tabulahrasa Please don't be so stupid. Where can they park it? Streets of terraced housing in my City are bordered on one side by the City centre with limited hours of parking. And on the other side by semi-detached houses that already have just enough parking for people who live there. I used to live in one of these areas and the area itself was about 1.5 miles wide, with every street terraced housing.
Where is this magical place they are all supposed to drive to park? You are talking about reducing the number of cars on the street by half. In some streets, it is already difficult to park. There is nowhere for all those cars to park. The only thing you could do is ban some people buying a car.[/quote]
Maybe people would make different choices about where they lived or whether they do in fact need to drive... most of them could walk, or walk to public transport, unlike the wheelchair users they’re stopping getting anywhere.

@Lockheart

*fewer cars.

Just wanted to thank you for this 😂 I'm a fan of the 'less'/'fewer' distinction!

Yanbu op.

Yes some areas have no off road parking and parking on the pavement is the only way the emergency services can get down.

But more often than not its arrogant arse holes who think their car is too precious to be on the road or not visible from the window.

We have a wide pavement along a very busy main road. To get from the traffic lights to the bus stop you have to walk down it. So many idiot drivers park right in the middle of the pavement so if you need to get to the bus stop with a buggy / in a wheelchair / on a mobility scooter etc you have to walk in the road. Or you have to try and cross the road away from the lights.

There's huge trucks coming both ways and it's very near the ambulance depot and the fire station.

They're just selfish. There's a car park opposite.

Do you have to pay for the car park?

JulieCA you seem intent on arguing with everyone who agrees with the OP and I don't understand your view - do you really think it's ok for people to park on pavements because they feel they have no choice? Why aren't you more annoyed at people having multiple cars if they're not needed or the government for not providing more parking, or councils for not providing reliable & affordable public transport so people need less cars? Being annoyed with the OP seems an odd approach tbh.

OP YANBU. I have a disabled family member (a small child) who currently uses a frame to walk. Cars parked on pavements mean he would have to put himself in danger by walking on the road around them.
I think parking so far on pavements that peaks / wheelchairs/ frames cannot pass is awful, entitled, shitty behaviour. Roads are for cars - pavements are for pedestrians.

@julieca

Do you have to pay for the car park?

Nope. But there's other cars on there and from tbe way they're facing they'd have to sit and get across traffic.

It is annoying when cars (unnecessarily) park on pavements so people cannot get by easily. Neither should children be riding their bikes on the pavements.
In fact if the local kids were milling about outside my house I’d probably park my car on the pavement to stop them. Maybe parents should take them somewhere else to learn to ride, or let them play in the garden instead.
I certainly wouldn’t let me kids disturb the neighbours in my close like that.

no point putting a diagram up, we all know what cars parked on the pavements look like

Genuine lol at this.

In the city where I live, no one seems to park on the pavement unless it's a necessity. In streets which are wide enough, everyone parks on the road, leaving the pavements free.

But we do have some of the older parts of the city here where the streets are extremely narrow, with terraced housing, no driveways. Even with cars parked on the pavements on both sides, emergency vehicles/delivery trucks etc can barely squeeze through.

I have disabled DC and my DM is in a wheelchair. I completely understand the difficulty of having to navigate around parked cars. But the only time it happens where I live is when it's clearly a necessity due to narrow streets. Trouble is, those areas were built way before there was such an abundance of vehicles and cars so it's inconvenient but no one's fault.

And also, you talk about everyone parking on one side of the road and what's the big deal with being 10 ft further away. Well, sometimes being on the other side of the road is challenging especially if you have young children/multiple children/babies/disabled adults, especially if the road is busy.

I honestly couldn't get worked up about this. No one parks on the pavement deliberately to be a prick.

It pissed me off when people round here park right at the junction of a road(illegally) or on the dip in the road.
It makes it so hard to cross the road with a pushchair. I dread to think how it is for wheelchair user.

Drivers are always going to be selfish on a matter like this. Even if there was an accident they will still find a reason to park like a twit.

Generally people park on path if road is too narrow for traffic to get through. Agree it is frustrating, unsafe for children playing out as well as grossly unfair to wheelchair users, blind people and people with pushchairs. Houses need to have better parking on drive to facilitate two cars so less parking is required on street.

I shouldn't bother getting pissed OP. Alcohol rarely helps.

I might be wrong but I thought the whole idea of parking slightly on a pavement was incase emergency vehicles needed past and the common decency of allowing space for other drivers? I don't agree with parking fully or mostly on the pavement - especially to the point it blocks it off for others using the pavement.

But for me, I have no driveway & park half on the pavement closest to my door so I'm not humfing a heavy toddler, her bags, my stuff & being heavily pregnant at the same time for any length of time because who the hell wants to park half way up your own street to do that? But I always make sure to leave plenty room for people to get past comfortably. I don't understand why it upsets you so much when it doesn't really affect you?

I live on a narrow road , terraced houses both sides so built up - no drives etc , and one side is double yellow lines - no one parks on the pavement or you would get a ticket - if nowhere outside your house or nearby you have to go round the corner and park. It's just how it works here. Am pretty sure if enough of your neighbourhood , OP , were of a mind you might be able to get something done about it but possibly the pavement encroachers don't want it changed. Personally I would but it would probably take a majority of residents to make a case to get something done. Or a number of people to invest time into making the case and writing to the right people.

It drives me mad. I don’t push the pram for n the road. If they want to run the risk of getting their car/van touched by a pram/wheelchair/mobility scooter it’s up to them.

*in the road though

@MazIsWin22

I might be wrong but I thought the whole idea of parking slightly on a pavement was incase emergency vehicles needed past and the common decency of allowing space for other drivers? I don't agree with parking fully or mostly on the pavement - especially to the point it blocks it off for others using the pavement.

But for me, I have no driveway & park half on the pavement closest to my door so I'm not humfing a heavy toddler, her bags, my stuff & being heavily pregnant at the same time for any length of time because who the hell wants to park half way up your own street to do that? But I always make sure to leave plenty room for people to get past comfortably. I don't understand why it upsets you so much when it doesn't really affect you?

Technically you're not allowed to park with any wheels on the pavement I believe. Also, while you may leave space for people to get past, many dont.

It's not a problem round mind most of the time, but during school run it's bad. Makes crossing the road a nightmare as the roads are all curvy and busy, so I have my 5year old with me, I can't hold their hand to fit past the cars (while carrying his bags etc). Half the time we have to try and walk past the cars which have doors open and parents load their kids in and fasten seatbelts etc or go into the road which is very busy and dangerous. When you cross the roads you also can't see very clearly either way and have to walk out to peer around the cars.

There is also a lady in a wheelchair, sometimes a scooter round ours and if she can't get past on the pavement she screams. I've offered to help her before but she said that if she does this every time eventually people will get the message.
Strange but effective!

@julieca

There is rarely enough spaces for everyone to park on one side of the road. In fact I have never come across a street where all the cars would fit if people did this.

That doesn't mean people should block pavements so wheelchair users cannot go about their daily lives.

@MazIsWin22

I might be wrong but I thought the whole idea of parking slightly on a pavement was incase emergency vehicles needed past and the common decency of allowing space for other drivers? I don't agree with parking fully or mostly on the pavement - especially to the point it blocks it off for others using the pavement.

But for me, I have no driveway & park half on the pavement closest to my door so I'm not humfing a heavy toddler, her bags, my stuff & being heavily pregnant at the same time for any length of time because who the hell wants to park half way up your own street to do that? But I always make sure to leave plenty room for people to get past comfortably. I don't understand why it upsets you so much when it doesn't really affect you?

highway code, rule 244 You MUST NOT park partially or wholly on the pavement in London, and should not do so elsewhere unless signs permit it. Parking on the pavement can obstruct and seriously inconvenience pedestrians, people in wheelchairs or with visual impairments and people with prams or pushchairs. Law GL(GP)A sect 15