Parking NEAR a dropped kerb. How close?

unwashed potato!

unwashed potato!

unwashed potato!

Soldato
Joined
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Surrey
we have an issue with neighbours (pretty much most) will park near our dropped kerb, not right on it but near enough that it still causes an access issue, especially when reversing out the drive or onto as we have a small tree on the street the left side so getting in can be tight when they are reducing access from the right.

i know you can't park across a dropped kerb, but anyone know how far away from one you have to be?

ours is an issue as we're at the corner, so people are parking say 1 metre, often less, from the kerb.

the photo below shows it better. we've had it before when people are on the payment right outside our drive, but mostly they park about where the purple small flowers are to the right. now you can imagine a van/car sticking out from that line, it will reduce access to our drive without being on our dropped kerb

9ijxaFo.jpg

as some may remember i'm currently widening our drive and i'm concerned when i remove some of the small brick wall to the left to help widen the entrance, people will park even closer so defeating the point.
 
Worth emailing your local highway agency and asking them and explain the situation.
I expect if you went the nice persons route and left notes on peoples cars you'd become that person...... no one really wants to go that route.
 
PooKer said:
no one really wants to go that route.
Click to expand...

exactly. and it's too many cars to knock on one neighbour to ask them to park further back. i'm thinking if there was a sign to put up on the fence to the right, and paint a white line however long out to help suggest people to park slightly further away.

have emailed them so will see what they say. i'm just curious more than anything how close someone can park do a dropped kurb. at what point is it considered a obstruction? If i widen my entrance, are they no longer obstructing and now can keep parking there
 
I think you're supposed to leave a metre, as that's where they will put the no parking lines over a drive that has them. However the taper (the sloped bit at the end) is where my council will count as being the start of the drive. If part of your car is an inch over, they can ticket you.

You probably need to check with your council to see how they enforce those rules, as someone parked on the bend can still be over your taper even if the long side of their car is on the bend. There must be some point where a car on the corner has it's front too close to, and over your drive.

You can usually pay to get a line put over your kerb. This will dissuade a lot of people, as most people don't know these are are only advisory. If it's a particular person, you can try some passive aggressive notes, but that gets old fast. If you get a few people ticketed, word gets around and things will be better, at least with regards to other neighbours who regularly block your drive. If anyone complains, just tell them they can't park there and "nuffin' to do with me mate, you need to talk to the council".

The other alternative is to get a honkin' big drive so that you can still get in and out regardless if people park on the ends, and if anyone really takes the mickey, they can get ticketed anyway.
 
A white line is pointless, and is for "information only" - it does not have to be observed.... As we found out when we moved into a house about a decade back...

There was a white line and a disabled sign painted outside the house used by the previous occupants. Contacted the local council, so they could get it removed. They told us that white lines are advisory/information only, and don't have to be observed, and to just ignore it as it would cost them too much to remove/burn it off but if it had been yellow or red, they would have done so.

Unfortunately if you've not got a vehicle on the driveway, I don't believe that parking across the dropped curb (if it's just for driveway access, which it looks like it is) is an offence. It's only illegal to block access to the highway which means stopping a vehicle leave the driveway, or to block a dropped curb intended for things like wheelchair/mobility scooter access. However, contact your local authority who will be able to advise.

On that note, some areas are also managed by the Police, and others by the local authority. Where I now live, it's managed by the Police and parking isn't decriminalised. They haven't got the resources to manage it. Everywhere else in the County it's managed by the County Council who use it as a revenue generating exercise. They have been arguing with the local Borough Council over who should take over enforcement for years, but both want to take control... And so it's gotten nowhere. :(
 
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