Preventing parking in front of your house ?

[Toltec]

Byker28i said:

I was chatting to a neighbour around the corner who had this issue and planted on the verge instead. Started with some lavender, even had huge sunflowers there last year.

Guerilla gardening

Could work providing someone doesn't just park on it anyway or the council strimmer guys don't just destroy it.

[J4CKO]

Jonno02 said:

RobM77 said:

This is surely very simple. The proper way to park your car is at the side of the road. Nobody has any business to go climbing all over a grass verge ripping it to pieces, or up onto a pavement where the right of way and safety of pedestrians is jeopardised.

rant over!

This, this and this.

The rest of the road seems to manage as does the rest of the country, might drop the Citroen at the Mother In laws (she has space off road) as nobody really using it at the moment, then never need to park any on the road, I would move the Rhododendron so could get all four on the front but my wife isnt keen on removing it and I do quite like it having tended and pruned it for twenty years.

the problem is, if someone parks one side like that, it precludes anyone parking like that the other side, if the verges arent used, it halves the parking available, next door but one on our side have between four and six cars at any one time depending who is staying, think that is the problem as their kids park on this verge and obviously arent that careful when they park to straddle the grass and just use the concrete.

[RobM77]

TooMany2cvs said:

RobM77 said:

...and they're not very safe if you have to dive onto the verge in an emergency

...? In a residential 30 limit? There must be postboxes, roadsigns and streetlights flying left, right and centre all over the country...

Two things:

a) The things you listed are nowhere near as frequent as the rocks placed by residents, which by necessity have a spacing much less than the length of an average car (4 metres). Streetlights are the most frequent of the items you list, and they're typically 30-35 metres apart.

b) My comment was regarding residential areas, not specific to towns. Not all residential areas have the things you list. Our village is typical in that it has no streetlights, virtually no road signs, no names of streets and no postboxes. My parents' village is the same.

Incidentally, both my parents and I have grass verges which take ages to grow and look very neat. My parents have rocks but we don't - our verge was destroyed by a delivery driver in a lorry last spring and is now just a heap of unsightly mud, almost a year later (give or take a few stinging nettles). Our neighbours have rocks and funnily enough have a nice attractive grass verge. There are no cars parked on our street (we all have large driveways for 8-10 cars) - the issue is simply idiots who can't control their lorries and Range Rovers properly.

Edited by RobM77 on Monday 8th January 15:31

[Europa1]

s55shh said:

I think that once the grass grows back it will look much better than the mudbath that is left by people parking cars on it. Near my house the verges are so trashed that the council have actually given in and asphalted them.

If it grows back. When there was this problem on the street I live on, people didn't stop parking on verges just because the weather was warmer. There were just expanses of hard baked earth instead of mud.

[the pips]

Our local authority took action after a number of residents started taking the mickey. They were driving over the grass verges to park outside their houses, Within a few weeks it was looking like a battlefield. Not much later short stumps were embedded in the verge to stop the practice. Must have really upset the one who even created a paved parking area outside his house.

[ATG]

The guerrilla gardening approach is the way to go. The street will look better, no one is going to drive over it or resent being unable to drive over it. Peace and happiness all round.

In the meantime I would wind the neighbours up by neatly stacking the rocks on top of each other, painting them different colours, have the stork deliver lots of little baby white rocks, park toy landrovers on them at implausible angles, etc

[WCZ]

(genuine question)
if someone parked a HGV or a tank outside someones house then how would they remove it and what would you be prosecuted for?

I went to visit a friend in stockport, parked on the public road and some cretin stormed out there house saying "WHY THE fk DID U PARK OUTSIDE MY HOUSE" I replied "because it's a public street" then they threatened me with violence unless I moved it.

[TooMany2cvs]

WCZ said:

(genuine question)
if someone parked a HGV or a tank outside someones house then how would they remove it and what would you be prosecuted for?

Leaving an HGV parked there for more than a brief stop-off would be a breach of the operator's licence.

Tank... Good question, but they sure as hell aren't going to wheelclamp or tow it.

[Toltec]

J4CKO said:

The problem is, if someone parks one side like that, it precludes anyone parking like that the other side, if the verges arent used, it halves the parking available,

It isn't available parking any more than a footpath is an extra lane to use to get around a queue of vehicles.

[J4CKO]

Toltec said:

J4CKO said:

The problem is, if someone parks one side like that, it precludes anyone parking like that the other side, if the verges arent used, it halves the parking available,

It isn't available parking any more than a footpath is an extra lane to use to get around a queue of vehicles.

Not a great comparison, I will park, wheels on the kerb/verge but I would never mount the pavement as speed to get round an obstacle, unless there was some very extenuating circumstances or directed to do so by the Police.

Most roads in this country seem to operate on this basis, as long as the footpath, road or any driveways arent blocked.

Anyway, wasn't parked on the verge and I have not been laying massive white eggs on it either !

[Byker28i]

ATG said:

The guerrilla gardening approach is the way to go. The street will look better, no one is going to drive over it or resent being unable to drive over it. Peace and happiness all round.

In the meantime I would wind the neighbours up by neatly stacking the rocks on top of each other, painting them different colours, have the stork deliver lots of little baby white rocks, park toy landrovers on them at implausible angles, etc

A giant chicken, so it looks like it's laid them?

[Jonno02]

J4CKO said:

The rest of the road seems to manage as does the rest of the country, might drop the Citroen at the Mother In laws (she has space off road) as nobody really using it at the moment, then never need to park any on the road, I would move the Rhododendron so could get all four on the front but my wife isnt keen on removing it and I do quite like it having tended and pruned it for twenty years.

the problem is, if someone parks one side like that, it precludes anyone parking like that the other side, if the verges arent used, it halves the parking available, next door but one on our side have between four and six cars at any one time depending who is staying, think that is the problem as their kids park on this verge and obviously arent that careful when they park to straddle the grass and just use the concrete.

I fail to see why grass verges should be torn up, because people don't want to accommodate their vehicles on their own land. Either by reducing number of vehicles or modifying their drive so more vehicles can fit. It's pure selfishness. Obviously this particular neighbour has had enough of it, and rightly so, it's an eyesore in what is presumably a nice street. Doesn't mean it's the right way to go about it, but it's understandable why they've plonked big rocks there. It's the same at a local primary school by me. The whole street has these rocks outside their houses.

Or petition the council to extend the tarmac so there's no grass and it won't look quite so bad.

Either way, it's one house and it really wouldn't bother me that much.

[J4CKO]

Jonno02 said:

J4CKO said:

The rest of the road seems to manage as does the rest of the country, might drop the Citroen at the Mother In laws (she has space off road) as nobody really using it at the moment, then never need to park any on the road, I would move the Rhododendron so could get all four on the front but my wife isnt keen on removing it and I do quite like it having tended and pruned it for twenty years.

the problem is, if someone parks one side like that, it precludes anyone parking like that the other side, if the verges arent used, it halves the parking available, next door but one on our side have between four and six cars at any one time depending who is staying, think that is the problem as their kids park on this verge and obviously arent that careful when they park to straddle the grass and just use the concrete.

I fail to see why grass verges should be torn up, because people don't want to accommodate their vehicles on their own land. Either by reducing number of vehicles or modifying their drive so more vehicles can fit. It's pure selfishness. Obviously this particular neighbour has had enough of it, and rightly so, it's an eyesore in what is presumably a nice street. Doesn't mean it's the right way to go about it, but it's understandable why they've plonked big rocks there. It's the same at a local primary school by me. The whole street has these rocks outside their houses.

Or petition the council to extend the tarmac so there's no grass and it won't look quite so bad.

Either way, it's one house and it really wouldn't bother me that much.

Two houses now, one down the end of the road did it, he has since moved but the new owners haven't moved them, not actually seen them so not sure if they have moved in, didnt look like it.

Obviously just need to get my own rocks

Or something amusing, I do have battered old filing cabinet ready for the scrap man.

The rocks themselves will damage the grass and leave bald patches.

[fido]

the pips said:

Our local authority took action after a number of residents started taking the mickey. They were driving over the grass verges to park outside their houses

My parents have a self-important neighbour, luckily not next door, who has a 'failure to communicate'. Someone [not me of course] reported him for driving over the grass verges and driving mud all over the pavement. Council ask him to extend the driveway - they were doing the whole road at the time so he would have got a discount. He ignores council and so they erected some steel bollards. So he creates a new driveway on the other side of the front garden. Council then install more steel bollards, so he now has a row of bollards next to where his front wall used to be! The stubborn git eventually paid for the bollards to be removed and a wider driveway.

[Jonno02]

J4CKO said:

Two houses now, one down the end of the road did it, he has since moved but the new owners haven't moved them, not actually seen them so not sure if they have moved in, didnt look like it.

Obviously just need to get my own rocks

Or something amusing, I do have battered old filing cabinet ready for the scrap man.

The rocks themselves will damage the grass and leave bald patches.

True, but the rocks will hide the ugliness of it. Assuming this is for aesthetic reasons and not a "keep off my kerb" scenario. The filing cabinet would certainly be an effective end game. If people park outside their own house, I suppose it keeps everybody happy. People seem to get strangely angry when a car that's not their own turns up on 'their' kerb; grass verge or not.

[CO2000]

Double yellows down one side of narrow streets is an option (& verge/pavement parking warnings?)

[J4CKO]

Jonno02 said:

J4CKO said:

Two houses now, one down the end of the road did it, he has since moved but the new owners haven't moved them, not actually seen them so not sure if they have moved in, didnt look like it.

Obviously just need to get my own rocks

Or something amusing, I do have battered old filing cabinet ready for the scrap man.

The rocks themselves will damage the grass and leave bald patches.

True, but the rocks will hide the ugliness of it. Assuming this is for aesthetic reasons and not a "keep off my kerb" scenario. The filing cabinet would certainly be an effective end game. If people park outside their own house, I suppose it keeps everybody happy. People seem to get strangely angry when a car that's not their own turns up on 'their' kerb; grass verge or not.

Never understood that, people objecting when someone parks in front of their house, they bought the house and the bit of land its on, is like their boundary doesn't just stop but the ownership peters out gradually over the 10 feet in front of the house.

I may grumble but if there isnt a car there, it is fair game for anyone in a car that is legal for the road.

[yellowjack]

J4CKO said:

Two houses now, one down the end of the road did it, he has since moved but the new owners haven't moved them, not actually seen them so not sure if they have moved in, didnt look like it.

Obviously just need to get my own rocks

Or something amusing, I do have battered old filing cabinet ready for the scrap man.

The rocks themselves will damage the grass and leave bald patches.

Only an issue if they're removed though.

I have a grass verge outside my house. 95% of the time it's no issue at all. Various neighbours park various vehicles, up to Transit van size, there most of the time. Even when Terry over the road is parked on the road opposite, you can still get a bin lorry between them. Then every so often some delivery plankton, or a particularly dense visitor to one of the neighbours will park with their wheels on the grass. I think some of them are just doing it out of habit, like they feel they must. It's ignorant, and looks scruffy when the car is parked, and damages the grass too. Thankfully, up to now, it's happened so infrequently that the grass isn't scrubbed down to a bald patch of mud, and it has chance to fully recover. It pisses me off no end, as I cut the grass and trim the edges between the council's cutting team's infrequent visits. If you think caring about the street scene makes me a sad busybody, fair play to you. But I also sweep leaves out of the gutters to stop the drains getting blocked. Unlike the twonk down the road from us who lets leaves (mostly from HIS tree, btw) sit on top of the drain grille all autumn, then moans like a bh when the street floods and he has to drive through a lake to get onto his driveway. You can't expect the council to visit more often, either, because we're at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac, and thus a very low priority when it comes to street cleaning and road repairs. And rightly so, because there's no 'passing trade' to make the place dirty or wear out the road. I did consider asking the council about a low hurdle-style post and rail fence to protect the verge (it's what they've used elsewhere to deter problem parking), but so far it doesn't need it. I'd not want those rocks outside though. Not painted white like that in a residential street. Maybe out in the sticks, on the edge of a roadside property, but in an urban/suburban setting like that they're just a silly eyesore.

[theplayingmantis]

ATG said:

The guerrilla gardening approach is the way to go. The street will look better, no one is going to drive over it or resent being unable to drive over it. Peace and happiness all round.

In the meantime I would wind the neighbours up by neatly stacking the rocks on top of each other,

like that piece of public art that was in the desert outside vegas!

[TheAngryDog]

This is why I live in a small street which has plenty of parking for everyone. I can fit 4 cars on my driveway and not worry. No one seems to take the piss which helps.

In Hull down my mums street the council sends out the parking wardens and they ticket anyone parked on the verge.