How to deal with frequently obstructed driveway?
Discussion
We have a recurring problem where our driveway is partially obstructed by s
tty parking. Council have told us they won't put lines over it without a TRO, or enforce the dropped kerb. The police won't help unless we're home and access is completely blocked. Notes on vehicles go ignored.
So i'm left with thinking I have to "occupy" some road space to buffer our dropped kerb. Options I can think of:
- Buy a shed and leave it (will probably cost £1k after buying car, tax, insurance, MOT)
- Buy a scooter (no CBT, might get nicked, knocked over)
- Leave a trailer? (No tow eye and legally dubious)
Has any else had to deal with this? Ideas appreciated!
tty parking. Council have told us they won't put lines over it without a TRO, or enforce the dropped kerb. The police won't help unless we're home and access is completely blocked. Notes on vehicles go ignored.So i'm left with thinking I have to "occupy" some road space to buffer our dropped kerb. Options I can think of:
- Buy a shed and leave it (will probably cost £1k after buying car, tax, insurance, MOT)
- Buy a scooter (no CBT, might get nicked, knocked over)
- Leave a trailer? (No tow eye and legally dubious)
Has any else had to deal with this? Ideas appreciated!
Paint/lay the white T-bar markings yourself. If you make them look "professional" enough (buy your own thermoplastic templates/tape and use a heat gun), nobody will notice. Use dulux or stty white spray paint and it'll look crap and will draw unwanted attention.
https://shop.hi-way.co.uk/products/pre-formed-ther...
Look up the dimensions in the Traffic Signs Manual Chapter 5 and lay according to their dimensions, "wrong" markings stick out like a sore thumb.
When the council re-mark the road they will also do your markings - because they will look like they've always been there and the liners get paid by the metre - and eventually they (another department) will audit the road markings vs the TROs, and will assume your marking was done at some point and not written down, and they will include it in their schedules. It'll take a few years for the legal issue to become a thing in which case plead ignorance. The good thing is that they don't need a confirmatory upright sign, the marking is enough to satisfy "the rules".
PS I write traffic orders and work with them every day, no inspector would bat an eyelid. It happens all the time, and in the grand scheme of things, adding a missing T-bar marking is nothing. And it is clearly protecting a driveway.
tty white spray paint and it'll look crap and will draw unwanted attention.https://shop.hi-way.co.uk/products/pre-formed-ther...
Look up the dimensions in the Traffic Signs Manual Chapter 5 and lay according to their dimensions, "wrong" markings stick out like a sore thumb.
When the council re-mark the road they will also do your markings - because they will look like they've always been there and the liners get paid by the metre - and eventually they (another department) will audit the road markings vs the TROs, and will assume your marking was done at some point and not written down, and they will include it in their schedules. It'll take a few years for the legal issue to become a thing in which case plead ignorance. The good thing is that they don't need a confirmatory upright sign, the marking is enough to satisfy "the rules".
PS I write traffic orders and work with them every day, no inspector would bat an eyelid. It happens all the time, and in the grand scheme of things, adding a missing T-bar marking is nothing. And it is clearly protecting a driveway.
Edited by OpulentBob on Tuesday 30th March 12:24
Park your car there, instead of on the drive. Or as mentioned, buy the cheapest car with a years mot you can find, and put it there. Or, try and catch the owner and have a quiet word. He may think he's not blocking you in that badly, and may stop. If he starts acting like a Neanderthal about it then park a car there.
We live in an area of town where there is a mix of owner-occupiers who are all generally very considerate, and students / renters in houses converted into flats, who don't give a st. So it's different vehicles, but generally stereotypically studenty cars.
I'm leaning towards the shed option - I reckon I can get it under £750 if i'm patient. It won't move until it's MOT time so the only requirements are cheap to tax and insure, and not mechanically borked. If it's a cosmetic wreck, i don't care.
My worry about making pressures on parking worse has been rapidly evaporating.
t. So it's different vehicles, but generally stereotypically studenty cars.I'm leaning towards the shed option - I reckon I can get it under £750 if i'm patient. It won't move until it's MOT time so the only requirements are cheap to tax and insure, and not mechanically borked. If it's a cosmetic wreck, i don't care.
My worry about making pressures on parking worse has been rapidly evaporating.
raspy said:
I feel your pain. I've been in your situation.
Buy a shed and just leave it there. Unfortunately, we live in a world where common courtesy seems to be disappearing quickly.
You talk about common courtesy disappearing but suggest the OP buys a car that he doesn't intend to drive just to use the space instead?Buy a shed and just leave it there. Unfortunately, we live in a world where common courtesy seems to be disappearing quickly.
SmoothCriminal said:
I would say park your car that side and then the other cars use the free side to enter but it looks like that's obstructed aswell
Cars parked on the right side in the picture are ok - there is only one space you can get a car there before there is another driveway. There's a telephone pole on the left side that breaks up parking. Between that and our driveway you can get one large car or two small hatchbacks. If they're not parked like idiots.
Simbu said:
I do like this idea, but a neighbour will see me doing it, and they will shop me to the council. Who I expect will then charge me to undo the work.
Wear hi viz, probably a cap and mask too. No one queries hi viz. The office next to ours had the lead stripped off the roof by a gang of lookalikies wearing hi viz over a weekend. Our security guard sat and watched them 
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