topic Re: Queston about public parking in Community Chat

Queston about public parking

songbird — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 23:59:29 GMT

We have next door neighbor who happen to own two white vans. Nobody drives the vans. Until a few days ago, they were parked in front of their house. Then they parked one of the vans (the rusted one) right in front of our house. Since it's public parking, there is nothing we can do. The van is an eyesore because of the rust. My husband decided to wait a few more days before talking to them. I doubt it's insured since nobody is driving it. (and the other white van which is in better shape) I know we can't do anything at all since the owner lives in the same neighborhood with the parked car. White vans are very popular with do it yourself construction workers/plumbers/heating workers who do private work on the side. There are a total of five white vans in the neighborhood. All parked across the street, aside the the two vans from our neighbors. Is there anything we can do?

Re: Queston about public parking

cherry — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 00:02:08 GMT

I don't know. The street is a public place. It might depend on the zoning laws where you live.

Re: Queston about public parking

whateverisspecial — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 00:06:01 GMT

Check your city code for parked cars on your residential street. Most don’t allow them to remain parked for a period of days or weeks. Or call your local enforcement office they know the codes. Cars with expired tags etc usually aren’t allowed on public streets.

Re: Queston about public parking

cherry — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 00:14:27 GMT

snip

Without parking permits or indeed on a private road, there is nothing that legally states that the parking space outside your house is reserved for your car. ... But there are a few cases when the law is on your side, such as if someone is blocking your driveway or their wheel is over the dropped kerb to your house.Jan 29, 2018

Just from the spelling I think the article is referring to the UK, but I haven't found anything that seems to be different, in the US parking laws

Re: Queston about public parking

Cakers3 — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 00:14:14 GMT

@songbird wrote:
We have next door neighbor who happen to own two white vans. Nobody drives the vans. Until a few days ago, they were parked in front of their house. Then they parked one of the vans (the rusted one) right in front of our house. Since it's public parking, there is nothing we can do. The van is an eyesore because of the rust. My husband decided to wait a few more days before talking to them. I doubt it's insured since nobody is driving it. (and the other white van which is in better shape) I know we can't do anything at all since the owner lives in the same neighborhood with the parked car. White vans are very popular with do it yourself construction workers/plumbers/heating workers who do private work on the side. There are a total of five white vans in the neighborhood. All parked across the street, aside the the two vans from our neighbors. Is there anything we can do?

@songbird You just answered your own question, and since none of us live on your street we cannot answer you. Only your local police will know what codes apply to your situation.

Just because the van isn't driven doesn't mean that there is no insurance, btw. Unless the van has an expired registration/inspection sticker most public parking is not in any violation, fire hydrants and such as exceptions.

I've never heard of a "time limit" to park on a public street, either.

Re: Queston about public parking

riley1 — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 00:20:32 GMT

@songbird - Unless the van has no plates, registration or has been abandoned, there isn't much you can do. It is afterall, a public street. You can check and city if your city ordinance allows for commercial vehicles to be parked in a residential area - see if the plates are commercial.

Re: Queston about public parking

pigletsmom — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 00:22:09 GMT

I think the only hope is if it's unregistered. Do you have anything like a day where you have to be off the street or have to switch sides? If yes you could wait until then and when it's time to switch back put your car there for a bit. Maybe he'd get the point.

This really wouldn't bother be. We have tons of street parking here and there's a good chance someone will be in front of someone else's house. Some spaces in front of a house aren't available because of fire hydrants so it's a space lost right there.

Re: Queston about public parking

SilleeMee — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 00:27:29 GMT

In my state it is illegal to park any motor vehicle on a public street for longer than 72 hours in the same spot. After which the vehicle needs to be moved from the spot. Also illegal is parking any vehicle that does not have a valid registration, which in my state, also includes insurance.

Re: Queston about public parking

roeroe1005 — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 00:27:59 GMT

What do you mean by "public parking"? Is it residential or a mix area?

I live in a city in Westchester County, NY. Our city has very strict laws in regard to commercial v. residential. No vehicles are allowed to be parked on any streets between 2a - 6a, all year long. And they are ticketed.

I suggest calling your local parking or police depts to find out what is/isn't allowed.

Good luck.

Re: Queston about public parking

cherry — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 00:28:28 GMT

@SilleeMee people get around that by driving around the block .and then reparking a few feet away. The car has been moved. and so they are safe for 72 more hrs

Re: Queston about public parking

Sooner — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 00:32:49 GMT

@Cakers3 wrote:
@songbird wrote:
We have next door neighbor who happen to own two white vans. Nobody drives the vans. Until a few days ago, they were parked in front of their house. Then they parked one of the vans (the rusted one) right in front of our house. Since it's public parking, there is nothing we can do. The van is an eyesore because of the rust. My husband decided to wait a few more days before talking to them. I doubt it's insured since nobody is driving it. (and the other white van which is in better shape) I know we can't do anything at all since the owner lives in the same neighborhood with the parked car. White vans are very popular with do it yourself construction workers/plumbers/heating workers who do private work on the side. There are a total of five white vans in the neighborhood. All parked across the street, aside the the two vans from our neighbors. Is there anything we can do?
@songbird You just answered your own question, and since none of us live on your street we cannot answer you. Only your local police will know what codes apply to your situation.

Just because the van isn't driven doesn't mean that there is no insurance, btw. Unless the van has an expired registration/inspection sticker most public parking is not in any violation, fire hydrants and such as exceptions.

I've never heard of a "time limit" to park on a public street, either.

Where I live you can't park on a street for a certain length of time.

Re: Queston about public parking

SilleeMee — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 00:36:11 GMT

@cherry wrote:
@SilleeMee people get around that by driving around the block .and then reparking a few feet away. The car has been moved. and so they are safe for 72 more hrs

In that case I would kindly ask the owner to move the vehicle. I had a similar situation in front of my house. I live in a crowded culdesac and parking is tight. Most of my neighbors understand this and they keep their vehicles parked in front of their own property. But recently we had new neighbors move in and they had a lot of cars. They decided to park two of them in the stretch of road just in front of my house, leaving no space for any more cars. So I let it go for about 2 weeks then decided to ask them to move them and explained that we have a parking situation in this culdesac and that they will eventually understand it after living here for a while.

They have moved their vehicles onto their property and all is well now. Everyone's happy now. Communication is the key!

Re: Queston about public parking

1Snickers — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 01:17:55 GMT

My street is a large loop with acre lots and plenty of room in driveways.

A neighbor across the street and down a lot parked his huge boat trailer on his property but partially in the road on a blind curve. He left it about a month before I called the County asking about regulations. It’s a dangerous curve.

Someone else complained and the County wouldn’t do anything. One morning walking the dogs I noticed all the cables to his lights had been cut. He moved it.

Re: Queston about public parking

DustRose — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 01:52:54 GMT

Should the van be on the street if it's not insured?

Re: Queston about public parking

Meowingkitty — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 02:01:01 GMT

In my city you cannot park what is considered an inoperable vehicle in sight of the neighborhood. We have a neighbor who has a rusted truck shell with no doors, tires, windshield or anything else. It’s just a rusted bucket of bolts. Anyway this guy would park this thing in his driveway and I would report (anonymously) him to the city. He had 5 days to get it out of sight or be fined. He would comply for a few weeks then his wife would tell him to get it out of the garage and he would again put it in the driveway. After about a year of this back and forth with the city he finally made an extension of his fence and put it out of sight. I guess he finally got sick of people reporting him. I don’t know why he insists on keeping it because it will never be anything better than it is. He would then complain to the neighbors about how he should be able to put this so called truck anywhere he wants because it’s a “classic” We don’t live in an HOA but the city has rules on abandoned vehicles.

Re: Queston about public parking

september — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 02:01:55 GMT

@cherry wrote:
I don't know. The street is a public place. It might depend on the zoning laws where you live.

Yes...no one here can say what the laws are where you live. In my area, a car needs to be moved every 48 hours.

I know this, because the area in front of my house, has often been a dumping area for abandoned cars, and I’ve had to notify the sheriffs office numerous times over the years about cars parked out there.

After 48 hours, they will ticket a car. It takes additional time to get it towed.

Re: Queston about public parking

Abrowneyegirl — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 02:18:05 GMT

Do you have an HOA? Our HOA prohibits parking on the street on a 'regular basis' and no commerial vehicles on the street or in the drive way.

Also double check that the tags are current or you can have it towed.

Re: Queston about public parking

haddon9 — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 02:19:38 GMT

@songbird Are they business vehicles? Do they have a business logo or information on them? Even if they don't they might still be considered business vehicles if they have no side windows.

I live in a neighborhood with an HOA and they along with boats, trailers & RVs are not allowed to be parked overnight on the street or driveways of the neighborhood. I know a lot of people don't like HOAs but this is one of the benefits of living in such a community.

Re: Queston about public parking

Cakers3 — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 02:20:19 GMT

@Meowingkitty wrote:
In my city you cannot park what is considered an inoperable vehicle in sight of the neighborhood. We have a neighbor who has a rusted truck shell with no doors, tires, windshield or anything else. It’s just a rusted bucket of bolts. Anyway this guy would park this thing in his driveway and I would report (anonymously) him to the city. He had 5 days to get it out of sight or be fined. He would comply for a few weeks then his wife would tell him to get it out of the garage and he would again put it in the driveway. After about a year of this back and forth with the city he finally made an extension of his fence and put it out of sight. I guess he finally got sick of people reporting him. I don’t know why he insists on keeping it because it will never be anything better than it is. He would then complain to the neighbors about how he should be able to put this so called truck anywhere he wants because it’s a “classic” We don’t live in an HOA but the city has rules on abandoned vehicles.

@MeowingkittyHow is he moving this without tires?

Re: Queston about public parking

september — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 02:22:16 GMT

@Abrowneyegirl wrote:
Do you have an HOA? Our HOA prohibits parking on the street on a 'regular basis' and no commerial vehicles on the street or in the drive way.

Also double check that the tags are current or you can have it towed.

Where I’m going to live, there are similar restrictions. But since I can park two vehicles in my garage, and another four in my driveway...even if I have multiple houseguests, this shouldn’t be an issue.