Police Warning: Do Not Park On Street
This is too funny...
One of the (few) drawbacks to living in our subdivision is the disregard that many of our neighbors have for the Home Owners Association rule which states: "You are not permitted to park on the street."
My reply: "Yeah, that's why you paid for a TWO-car garage and an extra long (very expensive aggregate) driveway which can comfortably fit FOUR cars... You've got options, please use 'em!"
The reality: The "powers that be" at the Home Owners Association state that while it's clearly a rule which all home owners must heed, they cannot enforce it, because these roads are city roads, and can only be patrolled and enforced by the local police.
(...such is why the following picture is so funny!)
Much to our surprise, we awoke Saturday morning to find this:
...one of our neighbors (who also happens to be a Franklin Police Officer) frequently parks his car at the curb in front of his home -- rather than in the garage or driveway -- and he received the very first Warning for parking on the street in our neighborhood!
Why You Shouldn't Park On The Street
What makes this particular situation doubly annoying is the fact that his home sits at an intersection, thus it's often tricky when you're pulling off of one street and onto the other -- trying not to hit his car, or trying to simply see around his car. You wonder:
..."Is that a MOVING vehicle, or is it just parked there?"
..."Is there a child playing on the other side of that car who might dart out into the street?"
..."Can I get past that parked car on the street before the OTHER car that's coming toward me gets to me?" (Thus, not only are you now dodging PARKED cars on the curbsides, you're also forced to dodge MOVING cars on the road!)
Please Don't Park On The Street
Now, don't get me wrong, I like my neighbors... a lot.
In fact, I don't even know this guy or his family, but I'm sure they're fine upstanding citizens who are proud to call Franklin their home.
The point is simply this: Please don't park on the street.
Ours ISN'T a neighborhood with wide streets. Ours IS a neighborhood with a lot of cars, a lot of kids, and a lot of pets.
If you're parking on the street, you're making our neighborhood LESS safe, LESS friendly, and LESS inviting to visitors and future homeowners.
When homeowners park on the road like this, it makes it difficult to get to and from your own home safely while dodging all the cars parked along the curbs. Some of them are even parked facing the wrong way. And in case you were wondering... yes, THAT is illegal!
I agree with most of these posts and have a similar dilemma with my "law enforcement" neighbors. Our subdivision has rules that limits any parking on the streets and further has recently sent out a memo about the curb appeal and home values in this time of economic downturn. So, in short, everyone complies and NO ONE parks on the street unless they have an occassional overnight guest or party.....with one exception. It happens to be my neighbor who has 4 cars and chooses to park two of them on the street and one of them always blocking at least half of my home (and parked in the wrong direction). Two of these cars are police decoy cars (obvious to most of us) that this husband and wife police duo team choose to keep at their home for their own convenience. Despite the difficulty in maintaining the lawn edging, flower beds, etc with the parked cars and seeing that no one else in the subdivision is parking cars on the street, they continue to do this. I called them a couple of weeks ago and asked them if they would please not park in front of my home EVERY day since it blocks my landscaping and perhaps they could shuffle their cars or park in front of other people's homes. They said OK and complied for one week and actually used their driveway but now they have resumed the same pattern. While it may be legal, it is certainly rude in my opinion as I have asked them politely as a neighbor since it bothers me and diminishes the appearance of my home and their actions tell me that they only care about themselves and their own convenience. I don't really know them as they keep to themselves but since I have made a personal appeal to them to please not park exclusively in front of my home and they continue to do so, I can only conclude that they are self-centered narcissists. I have often heard that law enforcement people are like this but I have never encountered this from a neighbor. I now see it reinforced in other ways and their actions say a thousand words. They have a rottweiler dog that is NEVER kept on a leash despite the county leash law. Last week they confronted a contractor I had working on my gutters who happened to be parked in "their spot" in front of my house and actually showed their "badge" and asked the guy what he was doing here. How outrageous. This is a subdivision and he was not on duty. Good grief! So I guess police are above the law in this case. I don't know anything more I can do besides conclude they are self serving jerks.
how can parking on the street be lazy and some people have to park on the street because another family member is leaving for work in the morning before the other person gets up and instead of playing musical cars they jus park it on the street and as for the police officer did it ever occur to u he was possibly trying to slow people down so they dont run over your precious children !!!!
Chris
Speaking for myself...I'm not a nosy neighbor and 'power' couldn't be further from the truth. It becomes my business when parking in the street becomes a menace and a fire truck would not be able to get to my house because of all the cars parked in the street rather than in their own (empty) driveway. Not to mention all of the little kids running around.
Just sharing our experience...not whining!
Agreed... I hate when people park on the street. that's what driveways are for!
People who park on the street are just plain lazy and drive me crazy. The cop car picture is funny. I used to live by a curved sloped roadway and this cop would constantly park his car on the most inside point of the uphill curve, blocking the view of anyone trying to navigate through the blind curve. ALSO, it was a major route for school bus traffic! You'd think that a COP could figure out the problem, but of course not. Every few days I'd call the police on him and report the problem and they'd always tell me they'd send someone out. He'd still park in the same place though, because, of course, COPS are above the law, but you'd THINK they would care about the school buses trying to get through the narrowed blind way without having to cross into the other lane. He didn't.
You guys are a bunch of nosy neighbors. Are your lives so boring and you feel so small that you have to whine about other people to feel powerful? Mind you own business.
I can see your point of view, but I do have to say that maybe because you can't tell if there is a child on the other side of the car you'll slow down and not speed through the neighborhood. (Not meaning YOU specifically, just you generally speaking) There are bennifits to having a police vehicle parked on the street as aposed to one parked in his driveway. Some departments ASK their officers to park on the street. If a criminal can see his car from 3 blocks away he's less likely to commit a covert crime. They are often told not to park their patrol car in the garage. That defeats the entire purpose of the "Take Home" car. It's proven that when a police car is taken home by the officer crime in his neighborhood goes down and sometimes property value goes up. At least try to see his point of view. Did you ask the officer why he parks there? He might just tell you.
Randy -
Thanks for sharing! Your personal story about dealing with something similar is VERY interesting.
On behalf those who are tired of all the street parking... thanks for being "the bad guy".
:o)
Lynette,
Great little piece you decided to include in your site. I like the photos, as well. I couldn't agree more with your reasons for not parking in the street.
I, too, live in a subdivision with a HOA. However, it is a very weak HOA (no mandatory dues...causing LOTS of issues) so rules don't apply to anyone except paying members. Pretty dumb, eh? Long story short...we had 3-4 of our neighbors (in close proximity to one another) parking a multitude of vehicles on the street. This went on for a couple of months and I finally had had enough for many of the same reasons you state in your blog. I called the county sheriff and found out that it is against the law in GA to park your car in the street. I'm not sure of the length of time parked that makes it illegal but the marshall assured me he would take care of it. He came out, gave warnings, left. He came out a few days later and re-explained to the hardheads that were not heeding his warnings. He came out a few days later and brought a couple of tow trucks. The neighbors were able to talk their way out of being towed, I'm told, but now noone parks on the street and I'm the bad guy. I'll be the "bad guy" if that's what it takes to keep the streets safe for the kids to play on and safe to drive on, as well.
Now I'll get off my soapbox and get back to work. Thanks again.
Randy