Neighbours car with bike rack permanently mounted on rear

[GAAmam]

A neighbour has an estate car with a tow-bar bike rack permanently mounted; he parks his car outside his house in a public (Council) parking space for which he pays an annual fee for the permit. The space is perpendicular to the house/path in a keyhole shaped cul-de-sac.

Issue is that the car juts out by about 2/2.5 feet (past the white line) and makes it difficult for others to manoeuvre - is this a parking offence? like could he get a ticket / be clamped?

We too have one of these racks but I wouldn't leave it on the car, it takes about 5 minutes to secure it onto the car when we need it.
What he is doing is not the end of the world and nice to see him and family getting out cycling, just its a bit unneighbourly etc.
thanks

 

[Steven Barrett]

In other European countries, they wouldn't dream of doing something like this. In Ireland, we have the "what harm is it doing?" attitude. Like you said, it's not the end of the world but I bet it's very annoying. It's the little things that can annoy you a lot more than they should. I would think what he is doing is a parking offence.

 

[Nordkapp]

It’s good to talk, perhaps that might sort the problem?

 

[gianni]

It’s good to talk, perhaps that might sort the problem?

Unlikely. The neighbour knows how much his car juts out by. They just don't care.

 

[blanketyblank]

Perhaps point out how difficult it is to pass _ maybe they dont realise??? Hopefully. Once its said if they're decent people they will do something about it.

 

[RetirementPlan]

What is it jutting out into? Into your driveway, or into the next parking space?

It's very hard to get Garda or local authorities to act on parking issues in general.

 

[Lone Star]

there is only one way to fix that issue.

 

[Lone Star]

In my experience the more you 'talk' with neighbours the more hassle you land yourself in.

 

[GAAmam]

HI,
thanks all.
its jutting into the part of the cul-de-sac that is effectively the 'road'; its a key-hole shaped dead end. the parking spaces at the start of the cul-de-sac are parallel to the path / road and when the road widens the spaces are perpendicular to the path (where he parks). His car is jutting out by 2/2.5 foot and sticks out (out of line) with all the other cars parked there.
I spoke to a Dublin City Clamper the other day who gave me a number to call; he was saying that he can only clamp if the offending vehicle is more than 50% outside the space OR if the car is blocking the road, i.e. there isn't sufficient space for other cars to pass. He agreed that what the neighbor is doing is obnoxious, but would probably not be a clamping offence for him. He gave me a number to call and said in these situations someone would normally call to the owner and ask them to tidy up their car etc.
There is little or no point in engaging with this individual - he loves to be controversial!!
thanks again

 

[Firefly]

How about hanging some laundry on it to dry...seems what a lot of bike racks end up being used for?

 

[RetirementPlan]

HI,
thanks all.
its jutting into the part of the cul-de-sac that is effectively the 'road'; its a key-hole shaped dead end. the parking spaces at the start of the cul-de-sac are parallel to the path / road and when the road widens the spaces are perpendicular to the path (where he parks). His car is jutting out by 2/2.5 foot and sticks out (out of line) with all the other cars parked there.
I spoke to a Dublin City Clamper the other day who gave me a number to call; he was saying that he can only clamp if the offending vehicle is more than 50% outside the space OR if the car is blocking the road, i.e. there isn't sufficient space for other cars to pass. He agreed that what the neighbor is doing is obnoxious, but would probably not be a clamping offence for him. He gave me a number to call and said in these situations someone would normally call to the owner and ask them to tidy up their car etc.
There is little or no point in engaging with this individual - he loves to be controversial!!
thanks again

If he parked an estate car or a big SUV in the same space, taking up the same extra metre, would you still be complaining?

 

[elcato]

Does the bin lorry go down the road or do they wheel the bins to the top ?

 

[GAAmam]

It is a large estate car he has;

bin truck does come down and reverses back up - always tight and messy

 

[RetirementPlan]

It is a large estate car he has;

If he parked a transit van or a one of the obscenely large Ford Rangers or something, what would you be thinking?

 

[Steven Barrett]

If he parked an estate car or a big SUV in the same space, taking up the same extra metre, would you still be complaining?

If he parked a transit van or a one of the obscenely large Ford Rangers or something, what would you be thinking?

If at first you don't succeed, try again.

The issue isn't the car, it is the bike rack.

 

[RetirementPlan]

If at first you don't succeed, try again.

The issue isn't the car, it is the bike rack.

Why do you think the bike rack is the issue, and not the space taken by the bike rack?

 

[Steven Barrett]

Why do you think the bike rack is the issue, and not the space taken by the bike rack?

Because the OP said so.

 

[RetirementPlan]

Because the OP said so.

There is an interesting question as to why a bike rack taking up space is an issue, but a large vehicle taking up the same or more space isn't an issue.

 

[Steven Barrett]

There is an interesting question as to why a bike rack taking up space is an issue, but a large vehicle taking up the same or more space isn't an issue.

That's because the large vehicle is a straw man argument and is not relevant.

 

[RetirementPlan]

That's because the large vehicle is a straw man argument and is not relevant.

It would kind-of suggest that the problem here isn't about taking up space imho.