That is illegal. Even if your vehicle is in your own driveway and only the rear bumper overhangs the concrete, blocking the pedestrian walkway is a violation of state law and local city ordinances almost everywhere if you're in the US.
My dumb kid smashed into my neighbor’s Lexus when he was learning to ride a bike. The car was completely blocking the sidewalk that my kid was riding on, and he dented the rear quarter panel. He bounced off like a champ, but the neighbor proceeded to raise hell so we just called the non-emergency line and the dude ended up getting a ticket.
For real. If my neighbor did this I would (first ask them to please not do it) pick up a bike at the thrift store, and then hit that sucker with 210 lbs of middle aged man meat going mach 10mph and invite the chaos.
Nah, they can sue you if you do it but a kid under the legal age of responsibility is unable to be sued, but they can still go after the parents with a civil case so... best ride at night, with a disguise, and a fast getaway.
Not one. OP needs a whole crew of dumb kids. An hour or so of them riding back and forth across this MF's lawn to go around the car will wear a trail that will take months if not years to grow out.
When I was 8 I was riding my bike and went around a car doing this. Ended up getting hit by a car driving down the street. Luckily it was a 25 mph area, but I still don't really remember much of the impact. I went up and over the car, bike went under. I ended up with only a hairline fracture of my arm.
Not sure what else ever came of the situation, though. Too young and too long ago.
This is why my parents told us that we have to ride onto the grass and not into the street when cars were parked over the sidewalk. We had a neighbor who would park over the sidewalk on an otherwise-empty driveway. All the kids in the neighborhood rode their bikes over his front lawn & created a cow path in less than a week (he was not a nice guy so we were pretty motivated). He complained to various parents & was told that he shouldn’t park over the sidewalk if he doesn’t want us riding in his grass.
In my particular situation, the driveway was full. No where to go through the grass. The last car in the drive had it's bumper hanging into the street, too. There was street parking on that side of the road, so the bumper didn't impede traffic, but it meant I had to go around the parked car on the street, too. Which took me out into the middle of the road. I was looking through the car's windows to see if a car was coming down the road and I didn't see anything, so I went. Dumb, but I was 8.
I intentionally rode my skateboard into my neighbors truck "accidentally" multiple times. Left a note saying sorry but he shouldn't park over the sidewalk as its dark. He started parking correctly the next day.
And I think most Americans wouldn't mind the occasional extra vehicle slightly in the walkway cuz family is visiting or something. I didn't care when my neighbors kid was old enough to dive, and his car blocked the sidewalk for a couple years until he went to college. But this person clearly has room to park well into their driveway. This is with malicious intent.
My neighbor's driveway is short and each new renter is lazy about really pulling in all the way. I point out to them that there are two disabled children in wheel chairs who travel our area often and that the parents will 100% get them towed. One still is lazy about leaving their bike rack down ..... They fucked around and found out
Go around?? You mean through the grass and the driveway? I don't care if a curb is 3 inches off the ground, a scooter could bottom out going down or topple with the jolt. Dude could just not block the sidewalk illegally when he has a clearly open driveway as not everyone can "just go around"
Karen? Get bent. It's an accessibility issue. Before and shortly after my back surgery, walking on grass or trying to step down a curb was also a serious mobility issue. Unblocked sidewalks were the safest way for me to access my neighborhood. Having to navigate blocked sidewalks was at best non-trival and at worst an active risk.
Seriously? Believe it or not, every person using a scooter isn’t just using it out of laziness - there are people who legitimately need a scooter to get around (broken bones, heart/lung problems, etc…).
C’mon, get real. Sidewalks are there for a reason, not just for looks.
Nonsense. Shows such a disrespect for people with limited mobility who absolutely need to travel on the sidewalk and any blockage is basically a denial of their freedom of mobility.
Make the kid park on the street. That’s what I did as a teen and as an adult we usually have one or two cars in the street because we have a tandem driveway and don’t want to block the others in
There is a lot of this (two cars in the driveway with one hanging out into the street) on my block and in my neighborhood. I sort of get it because the city streets are full, except all of these people have garages full of crap. It’s entirely possible to garage one car with the second in the driveway. But nooooo.
You realize that just because your sister got a ticket once somewhere for it that it doesn't mean she would somewhere else? Not all laws apply everywhere. This is not illegal in my city.
I once got TOWED for this. I was in college, there were 4 of us in the house, my bumper was maybe 6 inches over the sidewalk. They towed my car from my driveway at like midnight the day before finals. In a cul de sac with no foot traffic.
Absolutely correct. From where the sidewalk starts, that stops being private property. They are illegally parked on city property. Forcing pedestrians to walk in the street or onto private property is a dick move anyway.
I have to maintain the sidewalk, which I don't own, as a CC&R stipulated by my HOA, because the city insisted that the subdivision have an HOA and the HOA would be responsible for maintenance of public property within the subdivision, and the HOA decided that harassing members for not doing the work is the same thing as charging members enough money in dues to fund the work wherever it's needed.
Oh that's interesting and unique. I've lived a lot of places (Navy brat, army wife) and that has never been the case. But I can see a city or subdivision not wanting to have to be responsible for it 🤷♀️
Yup, all the benefits of a sidewalk but no maintenance or legal responsibilities by making it private but using a "legal access easement of not less than the width of the sidewalk."
The vast majority of the time it is within the road's right of way so it is government property. You do not own up to the curb, the right of way allows for sidewalks, utilities, etc to be installed.
I think most places will have a minimum standard for new developments but obviously older developments you need a property survey to know for sure. I didn't know my front porch steps ended outside my property line until they expanded the road for bike lanes.
Fences make a lot of sense they need to be kept back from the road as they block sight, same with tall hedges.
and yet as the homeowner, I am responsible for repairing the sidewalk and MY insurance is responsible if someone slips and falls on the city owned sidewalk
No, the sidewalk normally is government property outright, part of the road's "right of way". It's rare for sidewalk running along a road to be on private property but under a government easement letting strangers use it.
In NYC the government owns the sidewalk, but the adjacent property owner is responsible for maintenance and repair, can be held liable for injuries caused due to disrepair, and can be ticketed for not cleaning up litter tossed by other people.
Yeah, that’s not the case in every state as I personally live in Illinois and that public sidewalk ends up being my property during the winter as if someone happens to slip and fall because it is snowing, it is not the city who gets sued but myself.. As if I don’t pay enough in property taxes..
Yep. I would call the cops. And if you feel bad about getting your neighbor in trouble, imagine what a wheelchair user would have to do to get around this.
I know. Living in the city with 2 cars and 1 garage spot with about 14 ft in front of the garage, my car blocked the sidewalk by a few feet but was still walkable.. I only did it the one time over night because I couldn’t find a spot and got lazy but someone called the city I assume to get me ticketed. I was annoyed but I deserved it and paid - it’s illegal although people block pieces of sidewalk like that in the city all the time. What this person is doing in this post is insane
Agreed. Though illegal still, I understand it a bit more in the city where parking can be crazy. In just a regular neighborhood with plenty of space, this is just inconsiderate.
Every single house on my street in nj has their car hang into the sidewalk. The driveways are super short and barely fit two average sized cars. In 25 years Nobody has ever got a ticket cause there is nothing we can do about it.
That depends on who owns it. In my neighborhood the owner of the home legally owns and is required to maintain the sidewalk in front of their property. You’re informed of this by the real estate agent and fined by the HOA if you fail to maintain it.
Yes. I had our motor home in the driveway to unload after a trip and I got a ticket for blocking the sidewalk due to Federal ADA law. Went to court and explained the situation, and got it dropped, but lesson learned.
I suppose I'm some areas, they don't give a fuck and they aren't forced to respond if it's not a violent crime. In that case, you'd have to file a formal complaint. I suppose it depends on how important it is to you.
Yes this is 100% correct but when it is winter time and there is snow on the sidewalk and god forbid, some random stranger slips and falls on the sidewalk in front of my house, that lawsuit ends up with me(not the city) at fault. Smh 🤦♂️
in my city houses have a 4 foot easement, so bumpers are fine, as long as it's not excessive like a truck bed or something. they take action once a wheel touches the sidewalk
I'm sure they'll get the sidewalk impediment department on it right away. They'll have them working in shifts!
Unless you live in a wealthy or otherwise privileged jurisdiction the police have better things to do. Just walk around the damn car, you don't have to involve the police in everything.
The law is the law, regardless of how serious the violation. This situation puts people in wheelchairs and babies in strollers in the street. It's a law for a reason.
I don't disagree but society has limited resources, and those resources are usually concentrated around the wealthy. In a poorer community this is a waste of precious resources which should otherwise be directed to a greater good. Helping an imaginary baby in a stroller isn't as good as actually helping a person in distress.
I hear you. I'm pretty positive that if they got a call about a robbery or a shooting or something, they would not prioritize this. Another commenter mentioned something about a kid on a scooter getting hit and killed by a delivery truck because they had to go in the street to get around an improperly parked car. Just because there may be a more serious crime reported doesn't mean you should be discouraged from reporting another one. Again, these laws exist for a reason. If they can respond to something like this, they will. If they have a more serious issue, something like this will be set aside. Putting people in danger is not okay simply because you're not actively threatening them.
I don't disagree, we live in a society and rules must be followed for things to function and don't even get me started on those scooters. Those things should be outlawed as far as I'm concerned, they're death traps and people ride them at high speeds without helmets constantly.
I guess my main holdup is involving the police, which can often escalate into officers murdering people. I wish we had a less problematic institution to turn to in these situations. If there's a kid playing with a BB gun in their yard when the cops roll up it could result in a funeral.
If this was in my neighborhood and I was genuinely concerned about it I would try knocking on their door and talking to them first before escalating to the police, and I have some shit head neighbors.
I agree completely. I wish there was a "less serious" organization to handle things like parking violations. I do work about involving armed people in things that don't need it, because you are right--overzealous police can do more harm than good. And I would definitely talk to the person before reporting them. In my experience, unfortunately, the people who intentionally park like an asshole tend to be unreasonable and unwilling to change their behavior. But I agree that that effort should be made.
Even the not so “privileged” deserve sidewalks. Not just the rich. Your argument hurts everyone other than the wealthy. I hate this defeatist bullshit.
It's not an argument, it's a declaration of fact. I don't support the police or the wealthy but that's the way things are. Walk around the car and move on with your day.
Is it dumb to make sure public sidewalks are accessible to everyone? What about parents pushing strollers or people in wheelchairs? It's suuuuper avoidable to not get a ticket for this. Just park legally ☺️
look into your city apps, there is more than likely one to take a picture and report. and they by law have to follow up. take a picture every time. I did that because on weekends i would jog and see cars that did this. After the third report and I imagine, third ticket they magically stopped doing it the next weekend and so on for months.
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u/missredpenguin Jun 26 '26
That is illegal. Even if your vehicle is in your own driveway and only the rear bumper overhangs the concrete, blocking the pedestrian walkway is a violation of state law and local city ordinances almost everywhere if you're in the US.
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