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(30 posts)

Lack of Parking enforcement in WS

Started 2 years ago by Greg M
Latest reply from Lex

Greg M
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I live just over 2 blocks from the SW police station just off Delridge. We have a horrible problem of neighboring apartment dwellers storing cars on our street and illegal parking. 4 out of 7 nights the fire hydrant is block with cars. It takes weeks for the SPD to respond to their abandoned car reports. Calling about the blocked fire hydrant is a joke, 20 minutes wait time and then no response. All it would take is a couple of times a week for the meter maid to circle the block. Since most are there for weeks that would catch them. Even when tagged, they just strip the orange tag off and leave the car. The fire hydrant is a particularly sore issue as the house behind me has been on fire and I'd be really PO'd if the fire department wasn't able to use it for my house or my neighbors. Thanks for listening.

Posted 2 years ago #
MargL
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I don't doubt if a house was on fire the Fire fighters would have no issues with running the hoses over or thru a car blocking a hydrant.
You might try calling your nearest fire station, too.

Posted 2 years ago #
WSratsinacage
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My latest favorite thing is near the Admiral district, the city put up a bunch of "no parking east of here", "no parking west of here", etc signs so people wouldn't park too close to intersections and driveways. This law is still ignored and I have not seen any enforcement. Things are just as dangerous and inconvenient as they were before. Waste of money unless the city is going to enforce it. Common sense, common courtesy are sadly not that common anymore.

Posted 2 years ago #
KBear
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Those signs are so dumb! What if you don't know which way is east? Why not just say, "No parking here to corner", or in the middle of the block, two signs that say "No parking between signs"? It works in other cities.

Posted 2 years ago #
KBear
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Oh, and which sign do you put on a diagonal street? "No parking northwest of here?"

Posted 2 years ago #
jrwhite760
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I agree with you KBear, there have been several times we have been confused about parking and which way was was east or west. And we even have a compass in our car!!! (lol)

Posted 2 years ago #
JenV
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"If you can read this sign, don't park here"

Posted 2 years ago #
austin
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"What if you don't know which way is east?"

Yeah! Also that dumb rule about driving on the right side of the road, I can't tell my right from left half the time, besides having to remember all these rules just makes driving dangerous.

Posted 2 years ago #
KBear
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austin, if your avatar is any indication, it's probably best if you walk or take a cab.

Posted 2 years ago #
SarahScoot
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Thanks, Austin - that's pretty much exactly what I was thinking. Really, adults (or anyone given license to drive) should know their cardinal directions. :-\
Even my directionally-challenged friends in high school knew that "west is toward the water."

Posted 2 years ago #
flowerpetal
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But if those high school friends were on Harbor Drive, would they then know that the water was to the east? Or on Alki Pt. where water is east, north and south?
I'm amazed that people can't figure out what direction is being referred to.

Posted 2 years ago #
SarahScoot
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flowerpetal:
No, these people would be totally confused if they were out on the peninsula or anywhere that doesn't fit the "west is water" rule ;-) .

I think that our society gives adults too many "passes" on knowledge these days. I frequently see people park on the wrong side of the street, not pull over for passing police or aid cars with lights and sirens going, and other driving faux pas, just because they were never taught. I was taught several rules by my parents that were not covered in drivers' ed, including non-driving-related ones.
Knowing directions is a reasonable expectation of mentally competent adults.

Posted 2 years ago #
B-squared
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i wished they would go back to painting the curb red when you aren't suppose to be parking too close to a corner, or bus stop, or a hydrant. this eliminates the need to know east from west. also eliminates the need to guess how far 30ft is (which seems to be horribly underestimated for the most part).

Posted 2 years ago #
Sue
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Having grown up in NYC where the water is east, I find it takes a concerted effort to remember that it's different here. Old habits die hard. Kinda like how I can't remember a TV station number without first running it through my NY mental filter (like CBS is channel 2, which means it's channel 7) :)

Posted 2 years ago #
Franci
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So I sort of get parking on the wrong side of the street when its one of the really narrow side streets around here that is only wide enough for one lane of traffic at a time. But this morning going down 35th Ave at 8:00 am in fairly heavy traffic, I witnessed someone parked on the wrong side of the street attempting to move into traffic on the other side of the road..?? This I don't understand. It seemed like an accident waiting to happen.

Posted 2 years ago #
JanS
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Franci, it will kill brain cells and make it hurt if you try to figure out how some people think - lol...

Posted 2 years ago #
WSratsinacage
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Parking on the wrong side of the road is another pet peeve of mine. Illegal and dangerous but un-enforced... can't believe someone did this on 35th! I've seen it done on Fauntleroy which is bad enough. Quite common on "neighborhood" streets.
One time someone parked the wrong way infront of the driveway to the parking lot between Subway and the bikeshop on CA across from Thriftway, so no one could pull in. Talk about a cluster!

Posted 2 years ago #
KBear
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Visitors to Seattle are often astonished to see all the cars parked on the wrong side of the street, while longtime Seattle residents are often just as astonished when they find out it's illegal.

Posted 2 years ago #
maplesyrup
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Unfortunately, in my neighborhood the meter maid seems to have time to give chickensh*t tickets for things like having the back of your car hang 6 inches out of your driveway over the sidewalk.

Seems like their priorities are a bit out of whack.

Posted 2 years ago #
SarahScoot
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Maplesyrup: I don't think that signals that their priorities are "out of whack." Yes, I wish people parked in fire zones, bus zones, and too close to intersections would get fined (or towed, depending), but I'm also grateful when they fine or warn for issues like obstructing a sidewalk.
In the span of a few blocks the other day, my husband and I saw two cars parked completely ON the sidewalk (blocking completely), and several others with rear bumpers hanging far enough out from the driveway to obstruct passage for those in wheelchairs or pushing strollers. Luckily, we're able to simply step into the street to walk around, but that's not an option for everyone.

Posted 2 years ago #
KBear
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The thing that annoys me is that people park illegally on my street (wrong direction, blocking driveways, blocking sidewalks, etc.), when there is almost always a perfectly legal parking spot within half a block. How lazy can you be?! (Probably way too lazy to clean the crap out of your garage and park in there!)

Posted 2 years ago #
maplesyrup
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Sarah- We got a ticket for hanging over the sidewalk 6 inches, and our neighbors got one for blocking half of the sidewalk while she ran back into the house to get something she forgot. We live in an area that has very little pedestrian traffic and I've never seen anyone in a wheelchair go by. Anyway if they did, their way was not obstructed. They could take a very slight detour and use my paved driveway to go around.

And yes, it is still technically illegal.

However, ticketing someone for that, compared to being unresponsive to a blocked fire hydrant complaint- 2 blocks away from the station no less- is a pretty clear indication of priorities being out of whack to me.

Posted 2 years ago #
JoB
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kbear...

thank god for the alley and alley parking. we can barely park the lawnmower in the garage..

i know.. i need to get in there and empty and sort boxes. it's getting critical... all of my shorts are in there somewhere:(

Posted 2 years ago #
WSratsinacage
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kbear rocks

Posted 2 years ago #
KBear
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KBear just tries to be a good neighbor and a good citizen and wishes others would do the same.

Posted 2 years ago #
saney
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the city should create a volunteer parking enforcement squad.... have citizens well versed in the parking code go out for an hour a month and issue citations. they could take a digital camera and document the offense (since it would have a time stamp). i would soooo love to do that in my neighborhood.

i would also like to volunteer to go out and ticket people violating the smoking ordinance. i hate when the entrance to a business is blocked by a smoker in the doorway trying to avoid the rain.

Posted 2 years ago #
maplesyrup
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No offense but the last thing I want is a bunch of self-appointed nannies running around issuing tickets for whatever minimal parking violation gets their goat.

Posted 2 years ago #
KBear
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Saney, sign me up! Maplesyrup, where are you parked?

Posted 2 years ago #
maplesyrup
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Heh.

Run! It's the parking nannies!

Posted 2 years ago #
Lex
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do you really think handing out the parking tickets would resolve the problem? The city (SPD) just needs to make the call to the towing company and have those cars towed. nothing deters a person more than having their mode of transportation disappear and then having to fork over some cash to get it back. I say if its infront of a fire hydrant TOW IT!!!! perhaps an individual with the city can put a note "if not moved by date/time will be towed" if the car continues to be there even after it moves for a few hours and comes back TOW IT!! i'm gonna print tee shirts that say "Tow it" and go to the precinct

Posted 2 years ago #