Parking chaos sparks fierce debate after man blocks driveway
A motorist asked if it was unreasonable that her father woke up her neighbors after her car was blocked after cars parked outside her house. Posting on Mumsnet, the driver wrote that she and her father were traveling to visit her son, who lives about two hours away.
She said her dad was ready to leave at 8 a.m. but couldn’t as his car was blocked by people staying next door, which is an Airbnb rental.
He didn’t want to wake them up too early because they had been drinking the night before, so he didn’t knock on the door until 9:30.
She added: “Am I unreasonable to think that he should have woken them up at his scheduled departure time, rather than disturbing everyone?
“After all, they are the ones who chose to park like this.”
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Another commenter suggested there were other options, saying: “If they’re parked illegally, wake them up.
“Otherwise don’t wake them up because it’s your fault if someone blocks a ‘drive’ without a curb because it’s not a drive.”
It is not illegal to park across a driveway if there is a lowered curb, although if the wheel is over the curb they are committing a driving violation.
There are two types of lowered curbs: those for pedestrians, especially those with strollers or wheelchairs, and those for drivers to access driveways.
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Vehicles parked on abandoned sidewalks can be ticketed, even if they don’t completely block it.
Parking very close to or directly in front of a lowered curb is not illegal, even if it restricts access.
Earlier this year Judy and Ed Craine were shocked to be fined $1,542 (£1,281) for parking their own space.
The couple had parked their car on a carpad outside their home in San Francisco for 36 years, which was the first time they had been fined.
The mammoth parking fine also came with the threat of a $250 (£207) daily charge if they didn’t move their car out of their own driveway.
Speaking to ABC News, the Craines claimed San Francisco authorities are enforcing a decades-old rule that prohibits motor vehicles of all kinds from being parked on a carpad unless accompanied by a garage or a cover.
Mr Craine said: ‘All of a sudden you’re being told you can’t use something that we could use for years, it’s amazing. Inexplicable.”
In an attempt to regain access to the parking space, the couple found a photo from 1938 which showed a car – or possibly a horse and buggy – entering the driveway of the house.
City officials told the Craines the couple can build a cover for the carpad, or a garage, if they want to continue parking there.
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