Don’t Park in Front of Curb Ramps
Earlier in the month I did a post about an illegally parked car block the ADA ramp/curb cut which blocked my flow in the wheelchair and required me to backtrack to get to the other side of 10th street. I’ve been through the same intersection (10th & St Charles) numerous times since then and it has been clear. The other day, however, a driver decided to make a space where there wasn’t one — blocking the very same ramp.
This time I was ready — I had programmed the police non-emergency number into my phone. Thankfully I left my number with the dispatcher as the officer called a short time later and didn’t understand the problem. After directing the officer to look at the blocked ramp he got it.
I came back through the same intersection two hours later and the car was still blocking the ramp but it was ticketed (the rear tire is centered on the ramp). A friend suggested it should have been towed. At first I thought that a bit extreme but upon more thought I agree, had the car been blocking auto traffic they would have towed it very quickly.  Towing the car would have been a better lesson for the owner of this car.
Just tow the bastard. Really, who are that driver’s parents? Did they not teach them anything?
HAW HAAW
Steve, you did the right thing. Any idea how much the ticket amount was?
Thats a dick thing to do (the car owner).
Only severe penalties will get the attention of these self-absorbed putzes. Let ’em have it. Tow the car, write the ticket. I’ve had it with people who observe the tenets of the social contract only when they find it convenient, and often, not even then. Hang ’em high.
It’s the Lou, the Auto Bully Rule (“My Way or No Way”) dominates the social contract. How many miles of cycle paths, lanes or boulevards are being built along the New 64? The car/truck/SUV mentality with all of its self-absorbed habits continues to dominate a region and leadership wonders why depopulation continues. When a region is enslaved by the addiction to foreign oil and refuses to have fair/effective law enforcement, this poor treatment of others is to be expected. MOdot is tearing down homes so they can expand their highways/ramps/roads to support the Bully Rule.
The driver must have gone to the Lou Hamilton school of inconsiderate parking. You should have shown the license plate!
In today’s world, it’s “all about me”. Unfortunately, laws without enforcement are worthless/just feel-good eye candy. Steve, you definitely did the right thing, and just a ticket is fairly mild – if you park anywhere with onstreet parking restrictions, you take your chances, both for time violations and for parking where you shouldn’t (like here), and getting a ticket once or twice a year is “just the price of admission”, cheaper, in the long run, than parking legally in private, for-profit lots (and for delivery services like UPD and FedEx, just a cost of doing business). I’m in the camp of tow the a**hole – it takes more than an occassional ticket to reeducate these clueless and/or selfish idiots. But one thing that would help a lot here (and everywhere) would be better markings – a red curb would send a better, more-understandable message than a yellow one, but I’m guessing that that’s both the existing law and “the way we’ve always done things”, so why change now? Plus, was there a sign (No Parking Anytime, with an arrow) or just the faded, painted curb?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/16/washington/16disabled.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
A responsible driver always checks the curb after they park. It is blatantly yellow, as can be seen in the picture.
While ignorance of the law is not a valid excuse, standards across the country do vary:
.
Google it, and you find: “The color on curbs typically means:
.
White (or no color) – Parking allowed, unless restricted or limited by signs.
.
Blue – Parking for the disabled only. Drivers must have a disabled person parking placard (typically hanging on the rear view mirror) or disabled person or disabled veteran license plate.
.
Green – Parking allowed for a short time. The time is usually shown on a sign next to the green zone, or may be painted on the curb. Green curb can also be used for student loading zones, if accompanied by the appropriate signs.
.
Yellow – Stop only long enough to load or unload passengers — no longer than posted. Drivers are usually required to stay with their vehicle.
.
Red – No stopping, standing or parking. A bus may stop at a red zone marked for buses. Red is also used to designate fire lanes at schools or NO PARKING areas.”
.
However, when you check Missouri’s manual, you find: “NO-PARKING ZONES
.
There are many areas where you cannot park. Check for signs that may prohibit or limit parking. Some parking restrictions are indicated by colored curb markings. Do not park:
• In an intersection.
• On a crosswalk or sidewalk.
• Across a driveway entrance.
• On the left side of a two-way street.
• Alongside a curb that is painted yellow.
• On a bridge.
• Blocking a fire hydrant.
• Blocking the normal traffic flow or creating a hazard to other drivers.
• With your vehicle facing against traffic.”
.
Kentucky (where I first learned to drive) is silent on the subject. Colorado (where I spent 30 years driving) is silent, as well (probably because snow and slush cover the curb), relying only on posted “No Parking” restrictions/signs. Bottom line, different states have different rules, so until the state and the city do a better job of educating (and enforcing), don’t be too sursprised to see more violations – confusion is never a good starting point . . .
I need to get a life. The city parking regulations are listed at http://www.slpl.lib.mo.us/cco/code/data/t1724.htm. And when you dig deeper, you find this little nugget: “17.20.030 Crossing at other than crosswalks. A. Every pedestrian crossing a roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles upon the roadway.” This is followed by: “17.20.040 Crossing prohibited–When. A. No pedestrian shall cross a roadway other than in a crosswalk in the central traffic district. B. No pedestrian shall cross a roadway other than in a crosswalk unless said crosswalk is more than one hundred and fifty (150) feet distant. (Ord. 57831 § 1 (part), 1979: 1960 C. § 829.040.)” So while the vehicle is illegally parked (yellow curb), is it blocking a crosswalk (not marked)?! Or do we just need to make the city spend some more money on paint?!
Jim,
I’ve always understood that there is a legal crosswalk at every intersection, whether or not it is physically painted/marked or not.
Enforcement is a mixed bag – do it well, and you don’t “feel the love”: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jun/18/checking-meter-officers-face-barrage-insults/
If the car had been towed, that one driver would have received a very memorable lesson. However, by leaving the car there with the ticket on the windshield, there’s a possibility that many more people would have seen it, realized the error of that driver’s ways, and modified their own future behavior.
his carelessness affected probably 1 person, you. Yes he was wrong, but not wrong enough to tow. If he was blocking traffic he would be affecting many people. This is an all about me world, ain’t it.