is it illegal to park on th kerb ?

[robyn74]

i have a neighbour who is a complete pain in the a*se regarding parking . she insists on parking infront of another neighbours house up on the kerb of a busy main road . her car also blocks the view when exiting an access road to the rear of the properties and it is just a matter of time before there is a serious accident. the car is within a couple of meters of the access road . she has been asked by others to park elsewhere but it falls on deaf ears !

[factor-fiction]

I'm not sure but i think there is a rule about parking within a certain distance of a junction

[cathfromsaron]

yep, there is a distance limit but i haven't a highway code here!

[ladyalex]

I am sure that there is a law about obstructing the footpath....if it is a public footpath.
We live on a very narrow street and in order to allow traffic to pass, any contractors we have ever employed park their vans half on the pavement in front of our house. Someone further up the street always complains to the local police.
Usually what happens is that the police follow up his complaint either with us
or the contractor. The police are always very polite to us and I believe are also
polite to the contractors as they understand that parking a van on the road
would cause more problems for everyone...they follow it up because they
must, but have never to my knowledge actually done anything more than pay
a friendly visit.
Depends on the circumstances, I guess, but you could report this woman to
the police . We are pretty sure it is always the same guy who does the
reporting, by the way, but the police never reveal who it is.
Neighbours can be aggravating....but I guess we are aggravating to our complainer...

[The-HouseHusband]

243
DO NOT stop or park
near a school entrance
anywhere you would prevent access for Emergency Services
at or near a bus or tram stop or taxi rank
on the approach to a level crossing or tramway crossing
opposite or within 10 metres (32 feet) of a junction, except in an authorised parking space
near the brow of a hill or hump bridge
opposite a traffic island or (if this would cause an obstruction) another parked vehicle
where you would force other traffic to enter a tram lane
where the kerb has been lowered to help wheelchair users and powered mobility vehicles
in front of an entrance to a property
on a bend
where you would obstruct cyclists’ use of cycle facilities
except when forced to do so by stationary traffic.
244
You MUST NOT park partially or wholly on the pavement in London, and should not do so elsewhere unless signs permit it. Parking on the pavement can obstruct and seriously inconvenience pedestrians, people in wheelchairs or with visual impairments and people with prams or pushchairs.

[ABerrant]

In London, and those Local Authorities having subscribed to the provisions of the Traffic Management Act covering such action, it is an offence to park on the pavement.

[puternut]

I think there are some laws/Highway Code as regards parking near a junction

[See section 243
http://www.direct.gov...ighwaycode/DG_069860]

but from robyn74s description this is simply a 'junction' to an access road which might be a different thing.

[hc4361]

The police and council take a pragmatic view to parking on the kerb.
If the pavement is still wide enough to allow pushchairs, prams and wheelchairs unobstructed movement AND the road is busy enough or narrow enough for a vehicle to obstruct the free flow of traffic if it is parked wholly on the road it would be unlikely that any on kerb parking would be penalised.

What is the difference between a car parking within a couple of metres of an access road and a vehicle parking directly in front of the white H markings across a private drive with a dropped kerb? Both equally cause difficulty in getting on to the highway but such parking is not prohibited per se.

You could consider asking the council to install single or double yellow lines in your street if the traffic is heavy enough to warrant a 'no waiting' rule.

[paddywak]

When we go to visit my sister we're in the old "Catch 22" situation, nobody has a drive and if you park on the road cars have difficulty getting by, but if you park on the pavement cars can get by but pedestrians struggle you just have to hope you hit a happy medium.

[FredPuli43]

It's an offence to drive on to the pavement. I only know this because I had a breakdown once and got the car on to the pavement, whereupon a traffic officer asked whether I was the one who drove it there ! He wasn't talking about parking but driving. Not good PR for the traffic division of the Met, but evidently good law, and relevant, in his opinion.