ext_49173 ([identity profile] sparr0.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] davis_square2012-12-13 11:19 am
Entry tags:

Wide driveway curb cuts, parking

One of my neighbors has a curb cut that is ~4 feet wider than their actual driveway. When parking, do I need to be 2 feet clear of the cut, or of the driveway? Those 4 feet are the difference in that spot being a 1-car parking location or a 2-car parking location.

[identity profile] pierceheart.livejournal.com 2012-12-13 04:31 pm (UTC)(link)
I hate to tell you, but, whatever the official definition is, it's all up to the Parking Control Officer.

No one is willing to go to the effort to mark where the no parking zones are for driveways and intersections, so it becomes your word against the PCO.

[identity profile] pierceheart.livejournal.com 2012-12-13 04:35 pm (UTC)(link)
The problem is that all the regs say is within two feet of the driveway.

[identity profile] surrealestate.livejournal.com 2012-12-13 05:47 pm (UTC)(link)
I'd call 311 and ask about it.

[identity profile] ringrose.livejournal.com 2012-12-13 07:56 pm (UTC)(link)
When you find the answer, consider painting the relevant chunk of no-parking yellow on the curb. Anyone considering writing a ticket is likely to see that and say "ah, they're clear."

[identity profile] jbsegal.livejournal.com 2012-12-13 08:37 pm (UTC)(link)
I've sort of been feeling like buying a couple of gallons of that and marking various curbs and corners. I've gone out with a tape measure and measured the 20' to the corners and 10' to the hydrant on the cross street nearest me and I feel like marking it would be a benefit to the people who will no longer get ticketed for not knowing.

Anyone else want to go in on this with me and do more of the corners around us, elsewise, if I EVER get to this, it would only be for the corner of Willow and Appleton.

I called 311 a few years ago and they said that no, the city will NOT do that for us. I never contacted Rebekah to complain about that.

[identity profile] cdevers.livejournal.com 2012-12-13 10:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Would the city complain if you just went ahead & painted the curbs?

A couple of years ago, ”Ten AmeriCorps volunteers painted a safe, 1.4 mile walking route of yellow footprints in East Somerville between the East Somerville Health Center, two elementary schools, and the business district.” (source (http://www.transtria.com/pdfs/ALbD/Somerville.pdf)). My understanding is that this was done semi-officially, but apparently without the right permits or something, and I seem to remember that the people that did it were chastised & asked to remove them. (They were never removed, but they never finished painting the rest of the loop, either.)

Maybe try it in some other neighborhood first? :-)

[identity profile] pierceheart.livejournal.com 2012-12-14 05:29 pm (UTC)(link)
It was asked here on the comm a number of years ago if the city would do it, and not only was the answer NO, but someone from the city said it would be illegal for them to do it.

Never got a citation for what law they would be breaking.

Knew I would find the prior posts on marking the curbs:
http://davis-square.livejournal.com/2173711.html?thread=25602063#t25602063

and

http://davis-square.livejournal.com/1094383.html?thread=10546415#t10546415
Edited 2012-12-14 17:55 (UTC)
jicama: (beard)

[personal profile] jicama 2012-12-13 10:12 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm interested in the answer; our house used to have a garage, but now has a larger kitchen and shares a driveway with the neighbors. Our side of the curb cut seems not to have been adjusted to match when that change happened. I don't think it's a 4 foot difference, though, so I'm probably not the neighbor you mean. :)