Parking issues

[Boogirlgirl]

Posted this on property but got no responses.....
Hi recently bought a house on a small estate..houses are about 30 years old.
Issue is, there is a narrow footpath which runs down the side of our house and the small road which leads into the rest of the estate is on other side of path.
People keep parking on the path sometimes completely blocking our gate so we have struggled to get out of our property.
Sometimes vehicles are parked almost bumper to bumper on the full length of the path (wheels on the path) so I have had to literally squeeze between the cars to get to the other side of the road.
Is there anything that can be done am i wrong to be fed up by this as i understand that many will say drivers pay road tax so can park wherever ? The other week a delivery we were expecting couldn't even get the parcel across the footpath because of all the cars parked on it.
It feels like we are living in the middle of a car park.
Feel so frustrated

That's a bit more difficult then. I assume as you have a drive they are parking across dropped kerbs? I'd put the signs up regarding not blocking the drive/access needed and phone the police if they are parking over the pathways blocking you in all the time. You could also take photos and post them on your local social media page asking people to stop blocking you in.

Forget about the driving into your house and garden thing. That’s an invented worry, unlikely to happen at parking speed.

I’d start with a polite notice on the gate: “Please could you leave room for us to get in and out of this gate when parking your car? Thank you”. Nice and big so it can be seen easily.

Or how about "Fuck off and park somewhere else"

Put a large sign on one of your gates saying "Do not park across gate. Access required for wheelchair and deliveries". If it's people from elsewhere they don't know if you are a wheelchair user or not.

Try a sign saying "access required 24hrs a day"

Do you have a local Facebook page or similar? Try posting pictures of you unable to get a pushchair out of your gate for example... People can be completely oblivious

If they’re work vans, complain to the companies?

They could park in front of the gate if they weren't also on the pavement. I would contact the council and police and ask them to come and ticket the pavement parkers. They are causing an obstruction so can be ticketed, even if it's not like London where it's always illegal

Is there any grass between the path and the road? I'd get big boulders and just stick them outside where the red dots are. Maybe even two per entrance in line with the gate posts.

No straight from path onto road..would I not get into trouble for putting something onto the footpath?

Blocking access is an offence. Contact the council and ask them to put up a sign.
Otherwise the Parkers will start finding their cars dented and scratched by residents trying to lawfully enter and exit their properties 😉

Hard to picture it but the short term solution is to do something like that as if anyone calls you on it you explain why. It would be more obstructive than cars blocking the pavement!

Second is get the council/police to do 'something'.

*less obstructive

Following your updates I'd complain (with photos) to the council -you could also use fix my street. Get the signs up ASAP.

The council MIGHT put a white line over your gate areas -my friend had luck with this after persistent complaints.

What does a white line do?

Can you buy a moped and park it permanently in front of your house or an old banger of a car? Almost like a cone but immovable?

I feel your pain. A friend was in this situation: she couldn’t get her double buggy through the gate and onto the pavement because cars were parking on half of it

Yes you would. Obstructing the pavement is an offence regardless of who does it.

Access protection lines (APLs) are white 'H' shaped lines intended to prevent persistent obstruction of driveways and entrances to properties by parked vehicles. However, they are: only advisory and have no legal standing.
They MIGHT make people think twice fingers crossed if you can get them. It worked for my friend but your situation actually looks worse than hers!

Awful..I mean I get why people want to park their cars in the safest place possible but can't get my head round why they would park on a path clearly blocking accesses x

Like this. Was a bit of a process getting one though!

That's concerning that the RAC haven't updated their "legal advice".

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/new-driving-law-changes-august-27433485

Will these cars restricting access onto the estate if they aren't half on the pavement? I'd get in touch with my councillor and discuss putting parking restrictions along that stretch of the road. It's often the only way to get through to the persistently selfish

This is so unreasonable but it's hard to get people to change their parking habits. Locally, someone actually had a road sign put up saying Parking For Residents. Park Elsewhere. But as others have said upthread, this has no standing legally.

Residents here also had a white line placed outside the entrance to a courtyard but often people just ignore it anyway, sorry to say.

One set of neighbours put out a huge line of cones but they got removed a couple of times and last time I moved them because they were acting as though they owned the whole road. The issue was that they did not realise the impact living by a large residential home would have on parking because they were so happy to have got an older ladies' property very cheaply. This was for good reason.

It's not a driveway though so that wouldn't work. Probably needs bollards on the pavement.