to be sick of parked cars on the pavement - long rant sorry!

[shivster1980]

Hello all,

I need to rant about this or I may just explode.

We are in the fortunate position of living close enough to DS's nursery (he is 3). It is on the school site though privately run.

On the way to nursery every morning we have to circumnavigate the sheer volume of cars parked on the pavement. We haven't used a buggy for ages but I know people who do and it is damn near impossible to squeeze a buggy through the gap left on the pavement once the cars are in place.

I have a few problems with this:

1. The cars should not be parked on the side of the road the school is on anyway. There are no yellow lines but it is school policy and they have been informed.

2. The general safety aspects of it. they mount the kerb suddenly (as there is a lot of traffic) and we have had 2 near misses personally since september.

3. Some (not all) drive along the pavement to rejoin the traffic !

4. A few weeks ago I was walking back home having dropped DS off and a passenger (child) swung their door open onto the pavement and just missed a child walking along. The doors obviously have to be opened - they are doors, but because of the amount of the car on the pavement already the door in question just fitted the gap!

My DH will mock me for using the 1,2,3,4 points! I annoyingly use it in speech as well and my DS has started to copy it!

Anyway - rant over! I feel better for that!

AIBU

contact your council - make a complaint - ask for yellow lines

Well, in your situation it does sound rather intolerable, but would the cars block the access of emergency vehicles if they were parked fully on the road? If so, then surely it's a case of leaving space where it's most needed?

Yanbu. Pavements are not for cars. Ever. They are for pedestrians.

These assholes who park their cars on the path, obstructing those walking, as well as people in wheelchairs are an anti-social menace. Call the council and get the selfish fuckers towed.

And if you see a car driving on the pavement take their reg number and call the police. Wankers.

YANBU

There are a lot of people on my road who park their cars on the pavement, and it's a fairly busy main road. No reason why they should, as there's plenty of space for emergency vehicles etc/no cars parked on opposite side of road - it's just inconsiderate.

I've had to push my DS's buggy out into the road a few times which is a bit nerve wracking but not really much I can do about it - apart from fold their wing mirrors in as I go past, if they've left a few inches of pavement for me

I once saw a note on a windscreen that read 'Your car is not worth more than my baby's safety - please park more carefully' which I thought was a good idea...would prick the driver's conscience without being rude or abusive. That particular car hasn't parked on the pavement since!

If the cars would block emergency access if parked on the road, they shouldn't be parking in that road at all, they should park in the nearest safe legal place and walk, (obviously excepting any with SN)

YANBU and if you get the school onside, you can put a good case forward for yellow lines/no parking outside the school. You will counter some serious opposition as apparently some children and parents melt if they have to walk more than 100 metres in the morning but it's well worth the fight

YANBU. I hate that too.

Is it actually illegal to park on the pavement? What is actually the law?

Thanks for your replies.

If they were parked fully on the road on the opposite side then they would be out of the way and would not in my opinion be blocking emergency access.

I agree skidoodle I am embarrassed to say that I had forgotten the plight of wheelchair users. My Dad used wheelchair in the last years of his life and it would be impossible to get a wheelchair passed if a standard maclaren buggy has to squeeze through. I see a child minder most mornings. She has one in a pushchair, 2 2yr olds holding on either side and 3 older children. It's easy for me to act as a protection for my one 3yr old. It's more difficult if you have more than one child to watch out for and there are loons mounting the pavement left right and centre.

"Yanbu. Pavements are not for cars. Ever. They are for pedestrians"

Not strictly true. Some wide pavements do have parking on them, but they are indicated by marked bays. But I'm being a pedant.

Its illegal to park on the pavement. Contact the parking authorities and ask for a patrol at the relevant times, a few days of tickets will soon put them off.

I tend to just shout at them at lot when they do it!

I am in complete agreement that many people park irresponsibly on the pavement, but it is possible to do it sensibly and is sometimes necessary to avoid blocking access to emergency vehicles. If you can't do it in such a way that you're not blocking emergency vehicles or pedestrian/wheelchair access, then you should park elsewhere. It seems a bit daft to say 'never park on the pavement' unless it's actually illegal - is it?

Can you show me where it says it's illegal, runnybottom? I had no idea.

yes it is annoying.

but really you need to know the point number on the head esp if you child is copying.

I would also ring the police and report as many reg numbers as you can. I've done this recently as there's a 4x4 belonging to a local pub which parks right across the pavement, meaning that you have to walk out into the road, on a junction. This is after I've ben it to ask that it doesn't happen in person.

I have sen it on the pavement since, but yesterday it was in a parking space so the police have perhaps warned the owner.

If it happens again after my baby arrives, I will not be pushing the pram out into the road. Instead, I will squeeze/scratch past if possible, and hopefully that will teach the bastards a lesson. If it's not possible to squeeze through, I willphone the pub and tell them to get out there and move it, at which point I will give them a piece of my mind in rather less polite terms than previously

www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_069860

Da Law!

YANBU

However, calling the council to put tickets on them will do nothing as it is not a static offence and councils only deal with static offences. The local Community Officers/Police are the correct people to address this.

If you want to contact the council, ask if there is anyone who deals with Safer Routes to Schools work and talk to them about the problem. There is a lot of work that can be done with the school - having a "policy" is meaningless. There are too many parents think it doesn't apply to them, or the ones that know that the school can't actually do anything to enforce it.

Depends on where you live and the pavements

Roads here are narrow and Police actually told us to park on the pavement (can't aprk elsewhere, hugely recognised issue throughout village, DH once drove for an hour looking for a space after a night shift).

But you can't get a buggy or wheelchair along out path anyway, too narrow (under 75cm) and sloped. I know, i've tried. Everyone walks in the middle of the barely used road.

I do worry what path users think though, the alternative however is aprking a mile away usually and TBH with our family set up I couldn't cope (2 Sn kids, a buggy, often shopping.... how?). We are however an unusually complex case.

Of course you're not supposed to park on the pavement. Pavements are for pedestrians.

Just because people do it all the time doesn't mean it os OK.

Contact the nursery and teh council and the police. It is dangerous.

"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."

Highway code no-one bloody pays ay heed to it any more

I would need squeeze my buggy through the gap -too dangerous to push it on the road- and wouldn't it be unfortunate if the cars all got scratched??

YANBU, this is a pet hate of mine. Some people seem to think their children will collapse with exhaustion if they have to walk more than 4 steps to the school gate...

Highway code para 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.

So it's a criminal offence in London ("MUST NOT") and would be taken into account if the action resulted in accident, injury etc ("should not")elsewhere.

Not sure why the difference is made between London & elsewhere, are the cars not as dangerous!?

Ok, actually the highway code is not law.

www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/tpm/tmaportal/tmafeatures/tmapart6/secparkingfactsheets/parkingonpavements

There is no law saying you can't park on pavements, there is a law saying you can't park in a way that causes an obstruction, and there are occassionally by-laws that say you can't park on pavements in the area those by-laws relate to.

Basically what I said then - wrong if it's done irresponsibly, but not actually illegal. It is illegal if it's causing an obstruction so call the police.

We lived on a road once - victoran terraces - where there was no other option than parking half on the pavements. The pavements were wide and it was easy to get past, but if anyone parked fully on the road, not even a normal car could get past, let alone emergency vehicles.

I think the reason they tell us to park like this btw is to allow emergency vehicles access- woman nect door won't and I can barely get my car past, I've seen an ambulance reverse after failing.

I'd love an alternative solution btw, the problem seems to be narrow village centre with schools close by plus 2 well used Churches, village centre, community centre and playschool. Police are addressing oh yes- i've already had to glare at them this week whilst they wrote down the name of ds3's SNU taxi and then told the Warrior driver they understood his alrege car needed to be on double yellows for space reasons (last time they warned taxi driver and when DH pointed out that teens had taken disability space, Police amateur type eprson (forgotten term) said oh we try to avoid confronting teens (but not taxis carrying a few autsitic kids pauing for 30 seconds clearly)

x-post ISNT

We had a problem of cars stopping on the zigzags outside school (even worse) & the school arranged for the PCSOs to come on a rendom morning every week for a few weeks recently & loads of people got tickets (Some daft enough to do it when the PCSO was stood there in his hi-vis jacket ) Has been better since then, so hopefully they will keep popping back every now & then to "remind" people