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Options for enforcing no parking on a private road

  • 15-10-2020 10:57am
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 19,549 ✭✭✭✭


    we live in a small estate / private road, circa 20 houses or so,

    the estate wasnt and wont be taken over by the council, so we the residents have a management company and we pay a management fee for the management of the common areas.

    Strangely even though a condition of planning was that the council wouldnt take the estate over, nor would they allow gates.

    This has meant that from time to time people decide to use our private road as a place to park when collecting kids from a nearby school or visiting nearby houses.

    the residents would like to prevent this as it can make access and exit dangerous and also there are a number of children in the estate so we would prefer non residents or visitors not to make a habit of driving in.

    We are going to put up some more signs reminding people that its private land but what are our options regards clamping and has anyone engaged a private clamping co in this kind of scenario ?

    All of the houses have their own driveways by the way its not a communal parking scenario.


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Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 6,133 ✭✭✭Claw Hammer


    Cyrus wrote: »
    we live in a small estate / private road, circa 20 houses or so,

    the estate wasnt and wont be taken over by the council, so we the residents have a management company and we pay a management fee for the management of the common areas.

    Strangely even though a condition of planning was that the council wouldnt take the estate over, nor would they allow gates.

    This has meant that from time to time people decide to use our private road as a place to park when collecting kids from a nearby school or visiting nearby houses.

    the residents would like to prevent this as it can make access and exit dangerous and also there are a number of children in the estate so we would prefer non residents or visitors not to make a habit of driving in.

    We are going to put up some more signs reminding people that its private land but what are our options regards clamping and has anyone engaged a private clamping co in this kind of scenario ?

    All of the houses have their own driveways by the way its not a communal parking scenario.

    It is very common for the management companies of apartment blocks to engage clamping companies to prevent non-residents parking in the grounds of the complex. You could also look into the feasibility of putting in Pay and Display.


  • Registered Users Posts: 19,549 ✭✭✭✭Cyrus


    It is very common for the management companies of apartment blocks to engage clamping companies to prevent non-residents parking in the grounds of the complex. You could also look into the feasibility of putting in Pay and Display.

    thanks

    pay and display wouldnt work i dont think,

    the clamping service we would require would be more one where you could call a clamper and have them come rather than have them patrolling the area as such


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,133 ✭✭✭Claw Hammer


    Cyrus wrote: »
    thanks

    pay and display wouldnt work i dont think,

    the clamping service we would require would be more one where you could call a clamper and have them come rather than have them patrolling the area as such

    That is the way it is in most apartment schemes.


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,133 ✭✭✭Claw Hammer


    Another option is for one of the actual residents to park their car out on the road and put a clamp on it themselves. Have signs up saying clamping in operation. When people come and see a clamped car, and signs up, they will piss off.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,920 ✭✭✭3DataModem


    I lived directly opposite a DART station for a good while, and a prominent sign reminding people they could be clamped with a picture of a clamp did the trick.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 10,151 ✭✭✭✭Marcusm


    Cyrus wrote: »
    thanks

    pay and display wouldnt work i dont think,

    the clamping service we would require would be more one where you could call a clamper and have them come rather than have them patrolling the area as such

    If the cars are staying for only a short period, I’d see a few complications with clamping on a call out basis, principally that the car will have left before the clamper arrives and the clamper will want security of payment for each call put irrespective of whether there is a car to clamp.

    IIRC where you are, it is not a main road so DLRCC should not be concerned with any gates creating tailbacks but the refusal will likely to have been a hatred of gated developments. Would it be worthwhile documenting the difficulties and making a new planning app for a car gate but leaving pedestrian access only.

    A grumpy neighbour who is willing to “ticket” miscreants or otherwise engage with them might be a possibility. I would worry that a clamping contract is just going to be impractical/costly.


  • Registered Users Posts: 19,549 ✭✭✭✭Cyrus


    Marcusm wrote: »
    If the cars are staying for only a short period, I’d see a few complications with clamping on a call out basis, principally that the car will have left before the clamper arrives and the clamper will want security of payment for each call put irrespective of whether there is a car to clamp.

    IIRC where you are, it is not a main road so DLRCC should not be concerned with any gates creating tailbacks but the refusal will likely to have been a hatred of gated developments. Would it be worthwhile documenting the difficulties and making a new planning app for a car gate but leaving pedestrian access only.

    A grumpy neighbour who is willing to “ticket” miscreants or otherwise engage with them might be a possibility. I would worry that a clamping contract is just going to be impractical/costly.

    thats a good point actually. and you are right we could easily have gates without any impact on the road / traffic but its this irrational hatred of gated developments despite their requirement not to take them in charge themselves is the issue.

    at various times people have pointed out to people that this isnt a public road and they cant park, some move on, other let their dogs out for a run to leave their mess and then head off, which isnt ideal with kids playing :(


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,335 ✭✭✭SouthWesterly


    Can you put in remote control bollards or a barrier?


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators, Regional Midwest Moderators Posts: 23,901 Mod ✭✭✭✭Clareman


    I'd a similar issue near a school, it is extremely annoying when people rock up, block driveways and generally increase traffic in a normally quiet area. What we did was get parking notices printed up on stickers (you know the kind that are very difficult to get off) and take it in turns to go around in the evenings, if there was someone sitting in the car you'd just hand them the notice and say "Oh thank god you're in the car, I'd hate to have to put it on your window they are very difficult to get off if they get wet", if the drivers challenge you just say "there's been reports of children nearly being knocked down so we have to do something", after a few weeks of this it'll sort itself out for the price of a bit of printing although you might have to do it again every September for a bit to remind people.


  • Registered Users Posts: 19,549 ✭✭✭✭Cyrus


    Can you put in remote control bollards or a barrier?

    a barrier is not really the look we are after but the bollards could be an idea, but would require planning so i wonder how they would react to that!


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  • Registered Users Posts: 3,735 ✭✭✭C3PO


    Who actually owns the road? I would look into the legals around clamping people's cars - there are various requirements around signage etc.


  • Registered Users Posts: 19,549 ✭✭✭✭Cyrus


    C3PO wrote: »
    Who actually owns the road? I would look into the legals around clamping people's cars - there are various requirements around signage etc.

    the residents, and yes im aware that there are requirements around signage


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,242 ✭✭✭brisan


    Cyrus wrote: »
    we live in a small estate / private road, circa 20 houses or so,

    the estate wasnt and wont be taken over by the council, so we the residents have a management company and we pay a management fee for the management of the common areas.

    Strangely even though a condition of planning was that the council wouldnt take the estate over, nor would they allow gates.

    This has meant that from time to time people decide to use our private road as a place to park when collecting kids from a nearby school or visiting nearby houses.

    the residents would like to prevent this as it can make access and exit dangerous and also there are a number of children in the estate so we would prefer non residents or visitors not to make a habit of driving in.

    We are going to put up some more signs reminding people that its private land but what are our options regards clamping and has anyone engaged a private clamping co in this kind of scenario ?

    All of the houses have their own driveways by the way its not a communal parking scenario.

    i assume the school run is the same time every day
    Have the clampers lie in wait at the usual time
    Clampers will not mind if they get 10 or so cars in a 15 min spell
    One or two days of that and they will soon get the message
    Ask the management company to look into the legalities


  • Registered Users Posts: 9,991 ✭✭✭Caranica


    We have clamping in our private estate on a call out basis. No permits but people were parking on paths, against walls, in the turning space. They don't any more!


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,481 ✭✭✭SteM


    Might be worth having someone contact the school. Explain the issue and ask them to reach out to the parents via email to ask them not to park on the private land. Explain the danger to children etc and say that the the residents association will look into clamping if it continues.

    Might be worth a punt before you start engaging clamping firms etc.


  • Registered Users Posts: 19,549 ✭✭✭✭Cyrus


    Thanks everyone some very useful and constructive advice

    Much appreciated


  • Registered Users Posts: 23,180 ✭✭✭✭ted1


    If they are collecting kids from school then the issue only for 20 minutes each day , is it worth getting upset about?

    If it is then contact the parents association


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,315 ✭✭✭Pkiernan


    Clareman wrote: »
    I'd a similar issue near a school, it is extremely annoying when people rock up, block driveways and generally increase traffic in a normally quiet area. What we did was get parking notices printed up on stickers (you know the kind that are very difficult to get off) and take it in turns to go around in the evenings, if there was someone sitting in the car you'd just hand them the notice and say "Oh thank god you're in the car, I'd hate to have to put it on your window they are very difficult to get off if they get wet", if the drivers challenge you just say "there's been reports of children nearly being knocked down so we have to do something", after a few weeks of this it'll sort itself out for the price of a bit of printing although you might have to do it again every September for a bit to remind people.

    The act of placing those stickers on a car is criminal damage.

    You do not have any legal basis to put those stickers on people's car windows, not to imply to a driver that you will do so.


  • Registered Users Posts: 19,549 ✭✭✭✭Cyrus


    ted1 wrote: »
    If they are collecting kids from school then the issue only for 20 minutes each day , is it worth getting upset about?

    If it is then contact the parents association

    maybe maybe not, but you wouldnt go and park in someones driveway and this is effectively the same thing, its bringing traffic in that doesnt belong and can cause issues for people entering and leaving. and while the school is part of it there are others who arent linked to the school (visiting people on the main road)


  • Registered Users Posts: 19,549 ✭✭✭✭Cyrus


    Pkiernan wrote: »
    The act of placing those stickers on a car is criminal damage.

    You do not have any legal basis to put those stickers on people's car windows, not to imply to a driver that you will do so.

    do you have any source for that assertion? genuine question as thats also an option. when i was in UCD they were used liberally, which i admit was quite some time ago, and the clampers use them aswell.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,412 ✭✭✭Uncle Pierre


    ted1 wrote: »
    If they are collecting kids from school then the issue only for 20 minutes each day , is it worth getting upset about?

    If it is then contact the parents association

    Have to say my own thoughts would be along these lines.

    If it's mainly because of a nearby school, then surely the issue only exists for about 20 minutes at a time, just five days of the week, and not even anywhere near every week of the year?

    The other example OP mentions is people visiting nearby houses. Just curious that if they or a neighbour have invited friends or relations over, where are those friends and relations supposed to park?

    I'd feel differently if there was wanton and widespread all-day parking going on by people working nearby, or using the road as a "park and ride" for a nearby DART station or similar. But if it's usually just for 20 minutes at a time during the school run, and then a few other people dropping around a cup of tea from time to time, is it worth getting that worked up over in the first place?


  • Registered Users Posts: 19,549 ✭✭✭✭Cyrus


    Have to say my own thoughts would be along these lines.

    If it's mainly because of a nearby school, then surely the issue only exists for about 20 minutes at a time, just five days of the week, and not even anywhere near every week of the year?

    The other example OP mentions is people visiting nearby houses. Just curious that if they or a neighbour have invited friends or relations over, where are those friends and relations supposed to park?

    I'd feel differently if there was wanton and widespread all-day parking going on by people working nearby, or using the road as a "park and ride" for a nearby DART station or similar. But if it's usually just for 20 minutes at a time during the school run, and then a few other people dropping around a cup of tea from time to time, is it worth getting that worked up over in the first place?

    Each drive way can accomodate 3 cars and there are visitor parking spaces as well, none of the residents have an issue with guests parking.

    Again id make the point if someone parked in your private driveway to your house you wouldnt stand for it, why should we?


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,412 ✭✭✭Uncle Pierre


    Okay. Obviously if each driveway can accommodate three cars, then that's different than if they could only accommodate one, as is the case in many places. You hadn't mentioned that before, nor had you mentioned that there are actually separate visitor parking spaces too.

    However, your statement here - "none of the residents have an issue with guests parking" - seems to contradict something you said in your opening post - "people decide to use our private road as a place to park when collecting kids from a nearby school or visiting nearby houses. the residents would like to prevent this"

    All I can think is that when you said "nearby" houses, you meant houses close to your road, but not actually on it? But even at that, surely there'd have to be a large number of people visiting those nearby houses at the same time if this is really a significant problem, particularly if your road has visitor parking spaces anyway?

    And on your last point, are you now claiming that people are parking in your own driveway, rather than the road outside it? For what it's worth, I wouldn't like strangers parking in my driveway either. But if they park on the road outside, there's not much I can do about it.

    Anyway, seems the main issue here is parking during the school run. Again, I'm not sure it's worth getting all that bothered about. Roughly 20 minutes, two or three times a day, for roughly 167 days (if a secondary school) or 183 days (if a primary school) a year.

    You can't even use the "won't somebody think of the children?" approach, because surely children from your road wouldn't be outside playing at those times anyway, if they're on the way to or from school themselves.

    I used to live myself in an estate of about 50 houses, which wasn't taken in charge by the council either, and was just up the road from a primary school of about 400 pupils, so almost exactly the same situation as yourself. People used to pull in there to drop kids off in the morning, and pick them up in the afternoon. I didn't think it was any big deal, and I'm not sure you should either.

    Just my opinion. Feel free to disregard it.


  • Registered Users Posts: 19,549 ✭✭✭✭Cyrus


    Okay. Obviously if each driveway can accommodate three cars, then that's different than if they could only accommodate one, as is the case in many places. You hadn't mentioned that before, nor had you mentioned that there are actually separate visitor parking spaces too.

    However, your statement here - "none of the residents have an issue with guests parking" - seems to contradict something you said in your opening post - "people decide to use our private road as a place to park when collecting kids from a nearby school or visiting nearby houses. the residents would like to prevent this"

    All I can think is that when you said "nearby" houses, you meant houses close to your road, but not actually on it? But even at that, surely there'd have to be a large number of people visiting those nearby houses at the same time if this is really a significant problem, particularly if your road has visitor parking spaces anyway?

    And on your last point, are you now claiming that people are parking in your own driveway, rather than the road outside it? For what it's worth, I wouldn't like strangers parking in my driveway either. But if they park on the road outside, there's not much I can do about it.

    Anyway, seems the main issue here is parking during the school run. Again, I'm not sure it's worth getting all that bothered about. Roughly 20 minutes, twice a day, for roughly 167 days (if a secondary school) or 183 days (if a primary school) a year.

    You can't even use the "won't somebody think of the children?" approach, because surely children from your road wouldn't be outside playing at those times anyway, if they're on the way to or from school themselves.

    I used to live myself in an estate of about 50 houses, which wasn't taken in charge by the council either, and was just up the road from a primary school of about 400 pupils, so almost exactly the same situation as yourself. People used to pull in there to drop kids off in the morning, and pick them up in the afternoon. I didn't think it was any big deal, and I'm not sure you should either.

    Just my opinion. Feel free to disregard it.

    perhaps i wasnt clear, im speaking as a resident not as an individual house owner, when i saw visting nearby houses i mean houses not in our estate / on our private road.

    good for you that it didnt bother you, but it is bothering the residents here, its not limited to the school run either, and there are younger kids here who arent of school going age.

    you dont see an issue, thats beside the point, we do and i was looking for ways to resolve it not really anyone elses opinion on whether its a big issue or not, thats for the residents to decide as they own the property.

    regarding your point that you cant do anything about someone parking on the road outside your drive way, thats true if you dont own the road, but in this case we do own it and its the driveway into our estate.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,412 ✭✭✭Uncle Pierre


    Fair 'nuff. Said you were free to disregard my view, and was just echoing the view of somebody else above anyway.

    If you're determined to do something about the "problem", I reckon all the obvious solutions have been suggested here already.


  • Registered Users Posts: 19,549 ✭✭✭✭Cyrus


    Fair 'nuff. Said you were free to disregard my view, and was just echoing the view of somebody else above anyway.

    If you're determined to do something about the "problem", I reckon all the obvious solutions have been suggested here already.

    yes they have and i thanked people for them.

    no need for you to "echo" anyone elses view.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,412 ✭✭✭Uncle Pierre


    Cyrus wrote: »
    no need for you to "echo" anyone elses view.

    Fair 'nuff too.

    I trust you'll say the same to persons 2, 3 and 4 who echoed the view of the first person to suggest you could consider clamping. :D


  • Registered Users Posts: 19,549 ✭✭✭✭Cyrus


    Fair 'nuff too.

    I trust you'll say the same to persons 2, 3 and 4 who echoed the view of the first person to suggest you could consider clamping. :D

    its simple, i asked for some suggestions, not someone elses misinformed opinion of whether it was a problem or not,

    lots of people provided helpful suggestions, you decided to try tell me its not a problem, you can understand how thats not really helpful right?


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,412 ✭✭✭Uncle Pierre


    Sometimes the solution to a problem is to consider whether or not it's such a big problem after all, and if you should just learn to live with it. If you don't think that applies here - and clearly you don't - then once again, fair 'nuff.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 3,735 ✭✭✭C3PO


    Cyrus wrote: »
    Again id make the point if someone parked in your private driveway to your house you wouldnt stand for it, why should we?

    Parking on the road or in someone's driveway are not comparable!


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