Stop people parking across my doorway to flat

[cassmac]

I live on Kirkdale and wondered if anybody else had problems with people parking across doorways, my entrance is next to a shop which is frequently parked across by cars ( sometimes for 10 minutes sometimes all night ), meaning my entrance to my door is blocked I would have thought this would be illegal as it is blocking a fire exit apart from anything else. The pavement outside the costcutter has cars constantly parked along doorways , I contacted my MP who said that although it is illegal to park on pavements this stretch of pavement belongs to the landlord for offloading surely that doesnt mean parking for a considerable amount of time ?
If anyone has had a similar problem advice would be much appreciated as it is really starting to get to me!

[mosy]

The nearest I've had in the past was a truck parked outside. It wasn't actually blocking my car in, but made it impossible to get out without a 96-point turn. I asked the police if there was anything I could do. They said I should put a polite notice under their windshield wiper asking that they give me enough clearance. I did and it worked. Can't say whether it will for you, but worth a try, especially if a regular vehicle. Chances are they might just not realise they're blocking you in.

Thinking outside the box, you could paint/outline a square outside your front door. That'd be defacing public pavements of course, so maybe that sticky hazard tape wouldn't be since it's removable. I'm guessing as I don't want to get you in trouble, but I'd probably do something like that if a windshield note didn't work.

If the vehicles are delivering to shops, you could ask the shopkeeper(s) to ask their supplier drivers to be sure to leave clearance.

Of course, if they're not supposed to be on the pavement in the first place, report their reg nos to the Safer Neighbourhood Team.

[cassmac]

Thanks Mosy, I have asked the regular driver to stop parking across my front door - he said it was his property as he works in the cost cutter I explained its not his property if across my front door and he disagreed. I will check again with the council if i can make some kind of obvious boundry , and you are right a good idea to report to Safer Neighbourhood as I dont want to waste police time, but also want it to get resolved, I did try leaving notes under windscreen wipers but just found these on my doorstep ! I just dont know whats hapened to common courtesy ?! Thanks for your advice.

[14BradfordRoad]

I doubt that you would ideally want a large 'Fire Exit - Keep Clear' sign on, or next, to your door but who knows, it might just work..



By the sound of it the parking across your doorway is definitely a hazard and putting yourself / family at risk. The problem is that some people can't or just don't want to understand this. I had a similar problem in a School where a delivery driver used to completely block the door to the School kitchens putting around a dozen or so staff at risk despite warning signs, I did manage to resolve the problem eventually and hope you manage to resolve yours, as more than just an inconvenience.

Others have had the same problem: http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Motoring ... 31428.html

[redrosette]

I live just round the corner, and I find the continuous use of that part of pavement as a temp car park most hazardous! I have always wondered about people that either live the shops along that side of Kirkdale, because the cars are ALWAYS there. I've seen many people scrambling around the cars trying to squeeze into their front doors. Often, I'll be happily walking alone, when a car will storm the pavement nearly knocking people down. But no one else seems to bat an eyelid

Surely there's something to be done.... Permanently.

[Rachael]

Bollards?

[mosy]

Sinking bollards in (rather costly) could also depend on who does indeed own that area of pavement. The council ought to be able to say if they rent out a "frontage" area to Costco or maybe that company/owners own the land. If the council owns the frontage, surely they should take responsibility for it (including any area they've rented out) to ensure safe entry and exit from your premises.

There's an old saying that "All we have to do is find the person who knows and ask them"
The council must know if it's theirs or not and whether rented out by them. At least you'd know definitively who to tackle rather than being passed from pillar to post.

[JRobinson]

If all else fails, you can contact the land registry to obtain details of ownership (but it will cost you)
You should be able to ring up the highways department in lewisham Council and ask for an answer over the phone of if the street is public highway or private land - they might tell you that you have to write in and request a highways search, in which case it's probably easier/cheaper to go direct to Land Registry. If you're lucky and get a nice person in the highways department they might just tell you over the phone (but if it is private they won't know details of owenership).

Hope that helps.

[edit to add] you could get some garden canes, 1m long, and attach helium balloons to the end, and then fix them to your door frame, so that they stick out horizontally and provide a 1m 'buffer' in front of your door. They won't be touching the floor so you'd be within your rights (but if it is public highway, the council might want to charge you for an oversail licence - in which case you tell them it's temporary, and take them down until the inspector has left the area)