Badly Parked Cars!

[summerdays]

Agreed to the above, but a car can be partially parked on the pavement without causing an obstruction.

I agree it is possible to park slightly on the pavement without causing an obstruction but lots of drivers are unable to make that distinction - and the next driver parks a little further on etc. As I said elsewhere the council has told me that many of the pavements are not designed to take the weight of the car sitting on them for extended periods leading to damage to the underground services especially as the vehicles get larger and heavier.

 

[JamesAC]

Get your pitch fork out and ban cars! Where do you suggest people park their cars then?

I don't have a pitch fork. But I do have a garden spade, a rake, a hoe and so on. All of which I keep in my garden shed, none of which I foist onto the public highway.

I think that banning cars would be quite a good idea, particularly in cities such as London.
My local streets are clogged with parked cars 24 x 7. Clearly people don't need them for daily commuting, otherwise they would be gone between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. and they're not; they're littering the street almost all the time. So why not get rid of them, and on the few occasions that you really need a car, hire one?

As to where I suggest that people park their cars: I don't have any suggestions. It is not the duty of society to make provision for people's personal property.

 

[cd365]

I agree it is possible to park slightly on the pavement without causing an obstruction but lots of drivers are unable to make that distinction - and the next driver parks a little further on etc. As I said elsewhere the council has told me that many of the pavements are not designed to take the weight of the car sitting on them for extended periods leading to damage to the underground services especially as the vehicles get larger and heavier.

Older pavements, especially the ones using paving slabs were not designed for cars, slabs were often broken by cars parking on them. A lot of modern estates use tarmac on the pavements now.

A complete rethink on parking needs to be done to sort out people parking on pavements, roads widened etc. but we all know this is never going to happen. The world is not perfect and some things we just have to put up with.

 

[cd365]

I don't have a pitch fork. But I do have a garden spade, a rake, a hoe and so on. All of which I keep in my garden shed, none of which I foist onto the public highway.

I think that banning cars would be quite a good idea, particularly in cities such as London.
My local streets are clogged with parked cars 24 x 7. Clearly people don't need them for daily commuting, otherwise they would be gone between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. and they're not; they're littering the street almost all the time. So why not get rid of them, and on the few occasions that you really need a car, hire one?

As to where I suggest that people park their cars: I don't have any suggestions. It is not the duty of society to make provision for people's personal property.

Great, ban all in cars in cities but let's make sure that the public transport system can handle that, which in my experience it can't. But even then that would not be practical, how about disabled people who would struggle to get to a bus stop? Do we leave them house-bound? Cars have enabled people to have mobility and freedom, why would people want that to be taken away? To please cyclists, and only a minority of them would want their cars to be taken away.

I commute to a local town, I car share with my wife. I haven't been able to get a job in my local town for over 20 years. My wife worked in our local town and used to use public transport, but was then made redundant, she could then only get a job in another local town, she has now been transferred to the same town that I work in. There is no public transport to get us here so a car is the only option. I have a car which is left parked at home most of the week now, but sometimes we have to take our own cars, meetings, late/early starts etc. If I didn't have a car I would probably not have a job and be a burden on the state. So yes, let's ban car and see how messed up things would get.

 

[troyka]

i don't own a car, or have a license, Ive never seen the need myself, i cycle, walk and use public transport, i commute from my village to work in a nearby city (40 mins train journey) and have lived like this for many years. even in rural areas.

disability.. bad design and thoughtlessness disables people, im not going to get into a debate about disability issues it would be unfair of me,
but dont think that every person drives a car or uses one, they don't and the world will not stop if the car was banned, not that it ever will be, oil will run out way before people are smart enough to realise how damaging the car is.

 

[d87heaven]

I spotted a bicycle chained to a lamp post, I was outraged I tell thee. How very dare they.
I was just as outraged to spot the council had installed bike parking posts, I mean why does the local council feel it has a duty to provide society with these facilities. Of course if vehicles* were all banned then the council wouldn't have been able to install them in the first place therby solving the problem.

* I know you stated ban all cars but Im just being sarcastic (just in case anyone didn't realise)

 

[gambatte]

in the estate where I live, everybody has a private drive, not many use them. They either do the usual pavement parking and leave their drives free, or stick a tourer on it.
My street is a close. 1 entrance/exit. Leaving it, the last 40yds is a steep descent. Their are pavement parkers at either side of the mouth of the junction and directly across. The road it joins is the brow of a short rise. As you can imagine, visibility is appalling. When snow comes, if you lose it, there's no available kerb to slow your cars forward motion. Just decide which vehicle your biggest bug bear and aim for that - you'll have to hit something.

As to vehicle weight. 50 yards from where I work is a stainless steel recycling yard. Its all double yellows round there but its unenforced They have artics coming, with fully loaded trailers. I've seen 3 or 4 waiting outside waiting to get in to access the weighbridge. Apparantly being half on the pavement and putting your hazards on makes parking legal (? ) In the last year I've seen the water authority there twice, fixing leaks where waters surfacing through the pavement. Both times it coincided with sunken surfaces, just where the wagons would have their wheels.

 

[ufkacbln]

We have a local car boot sale - on a Sunday every inch of pavement, grass and driveway is used, and the free car park virtually empty.

Many are actually walking further than if they had used the car park - why?

 

[ufkacbln]

Great, ban all in cars in cities but let's make sure that the public transport system can handle that, which in my experience it can't. But even then that would not be practical, how about disabled people who would struggle to get to a bus stop? Do we leave them house-bound? Cars have enabled people to have mobility and freedom, why would people want that to be taken away? To please cyclists, and only a minority of them would want their cars to be taken away.

Absolute tripe!

The elderly and disabled are in fact the groups in which car ownership is least likely.

70% of single pensioners do not own or have access to a car and are the ones who will be hospitalised due to the damage caused by parked vehicles, or be most inconvenienced as they have to try and avoid the irresponsible abuse of pavements..

The illegal parking of cars makes their local mobility more difficult and is the one thing likely to limit their mobility.

 

[cd365]

70% of single pensioners do not own or have access to a car and are the ones who will be hospitalised due to the damage caused by parked vehicles, or be most inconvenienced as they have to try and avoid the irresponsible abuse of pavements..

62.3% of stats are made up

 

[cd365]

I did not mention car ownership by the disabled/elderly, but for them to get about easily they will nearly all have access to a car via family. If you banned cars how would they get about? Wait for some form of state run service to take them somewhere? How often would that be?

Some people need to live in the real world and come up with real world solutions.

"Freedom to travel is a basic right for our citizens, curbing mobility is not an option". Transport Commissioner Siim KallasMarch 2011

 

[BentMikey]

cd365, your viewpoint throughout this topic doesn't seem to match the reality of problem pavement parking to me.

 

[troyka]

"Freedom to travel is a basic right for our citizens, curbing mobility is not an option". Transport Commissioner Siim KallasMarch 2011

what part of that implys parking on pavements and cycle paths?

 

[cd365]

cd365, your viewpoint throughout this topic doesn't seem to match the reality of problem pavement parking to me.

My point is not all pavement parking is a problem and some pavement parking has been made worse by badly planned/designed estates. Cars will not be gotten rid of so it requires a rethink by planners to ensure that roads are designed properly. There are some ignorant people who park on pavements and completely block them, yes that is an issue, but 2 cars to be parked opposite each other, each 18 inches up on the kerb to ensure that other traffic can move easier past is not that much of a problem. I am a realist and live in a real world, we live in an imperfect society and have to do our best to get by.

 

[captain nemo1701]

Paving slabs are generally laid onto about 50mm of sand and can be shifted by vehicles moving over them. They are not designed for cars. As a result, pavements become uneven and present a slip, trip and fall risk to pedestrians, especially the elderly and anyone who might use walking sticks, zimmer frames etc.

The pavement is for pedestrians and is not overspill parking for private cars. Around where I live in Bristol, drivers have taken to parking on grass verges, churning them up in the rain .

Do folks here get a bit annoyed at 'paveparking'?. Personally, when not on the bike, I walk everywhere and get a bit cheesed off when I have to walk around cars on the pavement, sometimes in the road, because those who own them to can't get from A to B without the aid of 1 ton of metal, glass & plastic and refuse to try alternative forms of transport. I resent someone else's driving lifestyle choice assimilating space for themselves and affecting me in negative ways like this.