People parking on council grass verges

Participant · 13 Dec 2014 at 15:04

Hi all

There's a care home next door to our house and visitors frequently park on the grass verge, blocking the pavement and turning the verge into a churned up mud pit, especially at this time of year.

Cars parked there also make it hard for walkers, wheelchairs, prams etc. to get past and I've watched mothers with babies having to go onto the road to pass cars on the pavement. It enrages me somewhat that people feel they can park on pavements in such a way.

I'm after opinions as to what I can and should do next, if anything.

The care home owners have, as you can see, placed plant pots in a line from their boundary, completely understandable as just out of shot to the left behind the hedge it is basically a trench of tyre track puddles. This has however pushed the problem towards the verge outside our property.

So do I put rocks there, contact the council, leave arsey notes on the windscreens, or simply suck it up and do nothing?

Usher · 13 Dec 2014 at 15:23

Put rocks on it is the answer & just push them off when you mow it,

The verge belongs to the council, lots of people ( inc our neighbours) are under the impression that it belongs to the adjoining property, most people mow the grass to keep it tidy otherwise it would never get done.

Is that near Studley? I think I recognise it

Participant · 13 Dec 2014 at 15:33

Thanks for the reply. My concern with the rocks solution is - if someone drives over a rock I've placed there and damages their car, am I not opening myself up for civil suits? It's not my land so I have no right to place items on it.

It's sort of near Studley. Message me if you want details, as I don't want to say exactly where.

Squark · 13 Dec 2014 at 15:39

Put rocks through the car windows instead

Jez · 13 Dec 2014 at 15:50

Put rocks there, if someone damages their car how is there any proof that you placed the rocks there? No way anyone would be able to sue you

BurningHorizons · 13 Dec 2014 at 15:53

Ask the council to put some stakes in. I had the same issue. Problem solved.

SexyGreyFox · 13 Dec 2014 at 15:54

Participant said:
Thanks for the reply. My concern with the rocks solution is - if someone drives over a rock I've placed there and damages their car, am I not opening myself up for civil suits? It's not my land so I have no right to place items on it.

YOU DID NOT PUT THE ROCKS THERE
YOU DID NOT PUT THE ROCKS THERE
YOU DID NOT PUT THE ROCKS THERE
YOU DID NOT PUT THE ROCKS THERE

Usher · 13 Dec 2014 at 16:07

Paint the rocks white, that's what I often see down our road

Traffic_Warden · 13 Dec 2014 at 16:15

Some large-ish rocks and paint white along the edge, then they won't bother.

Usher · 13 Dec 2014 at 16:21

Put a sign 'parking reserved for Gypsies'

Maccapacca · 13 Dec 2014 at 17:49

Tether a horse out there

Ryan-3 · 13 Dec 2014 at 18:22

Participant said:
My concern with the rocks solution is - if someone drives over a rock I've placed there and damages their car, am I not opening myself up for civil suits?

This is what annoys me about our current time. Someone can drive blindly into a rock, but it isn't their fault and someone should pay for what they've done. :mad:

You could contact the council, see what they say. The rock idea is probably best to do though.

DB_SamX · 14 Dec 2014 at 00:40

Put rocks there. Suits the landscape, eco-friendly, long lasting, will put inconsiderate drivers off.

Threepwood · 14 Dec 2014 at 01:32

Copy your neighbors by not putting flower pots (that look exactly like the ones that they did not put on their bit of the verge) on your bit of the verge..

Rroff · 14 Dec 2014 at 01:45

Collect (steal) all the for sale signs you can find and stick em in the grass...

Participant · 14 Dec 2014 at 13:46

Cheers all. Hunting for suitable rocks as we speak.

Moses said:
As well as whatever you do to the grass, I'd suggest asking the care home to ask visitors to not park in a way which blocks pavements. Do they not have any parking of their own, or is it insufficient?

Already done. The owner is a very nice guy that fully understood the problem, since it is their verge that gets chopped up the most. He said he asks staff to mention it to visitors, but people don't pay attention.

Funny thing is the plant pots have already been unsuccessful, as someone last night just mounted the verge from the other side.

Regarding the car park, the really stupid thing is that there are always loads of free spaces in front of the nursing home (they've paved over the whole front), yet people still seem to choose to park on the verge. The other day someone got slightly stuck and wheel spun for a few seconds to get out, deepening the tyre marks further.

I'm trying to not get too territorial about it since it's not my land, but it just makes the whole frontage look crap and it will take ages to repair the tyre marks. I mow that verge myself for the same reason, even though it's not my job to. I'm sure that if I put rocks there someone will report it to the council in about five minutes, but I might as well give it a crack.

Jez · 14 Dec 2014 at 19:22

Alternative, move your hedgeline out to the road and claim the land as if it were your own?

Mr Jack · 15 Dec 2014 at 08:41

Have you spoken to the council?

LeeUK · 15 Dec 2014 at 09:50

Put rocks there and continue to mow the grass. It is good on you that you do this. Back in the old days people looked after their surroundings, e.g. sweeping the road outside their house etc. These days people won't do or care about their local surroundlings and just shrug it off as a "council problem".

Haggisman · 15 Dec 2014 at 10:08

Rocks? Really? That's such a passive aggressive namby pamby solution! What you need is an RPG-7.

(I'd go with the rocks idea to be honest.)

People parking on council grass verges

Tea Drinker