Note: The DearEsq free 'ask a lawyer' site is offered as a free informational service to the public and is not intended as legal advice. Laws vary from state-to-state, and in addition every situation is unique, and relevant facts may not be known. The answer to the question posed below may not apply to in your state or to your situation. For legal advice in your state and your situation you should consult with an attorney in your state who is familiar with the rules and laws in your state.
My aunt is elderly and has a driveway that we all use when we go to visit. The neighbor across the street has a young daughter whose boyfriend is there constantly. He parks right across the driveway where we have to go in order to back out. We have a hard time backing out because his truck is so long and it is difficult. The road right across the driveway is more narrow than the rest of the road. We usually have to back straight out and then go all the way up the road and turn around. It’s not fair. We actually use our driveway to park. We should be able to back out and then drive down the road not have to go up the hill and then down the road. I have even thought about breaking the curb down a little to the right so we can use that part to pull up a little and then go down the hill. My aunt is elderly and doesn’t want to make trouble but it’s not fair to me or anyone else who parks in our driveway and then cannot back out completely!! What can we do?
The first thing I would do is check with the city or county (whoever is responsible for the road) to determine whether that is a legal parking place, given the road narrowing. It’s just possible that it isn’t, and that it just wasn’t brought to their attention. If you’re really lucky, they might even mark it a ‘no parking’ area.
Short of that, I’m not sure what else would be doable. In general, street parking is open to the public, so the neighbor isn’t doing anything wrong by parking there, in spite of the fact that it inconveniences you. Perhaps there’s a way to modify your aunt’s driveway to give you a little more turning room?
