What’s a good way of dealing with the cars parked on sidewalks, which impede pedestrians from using the sidewalk? I often walk on South Sound Road, where there are only a few sidewalks. Every time there is a car, or two or three, parked on the actual sidewalk (often in front of Southern Skies condos, San Sebastian condos or the houses in front of The Avenue), causing me to have to walk out into the traffic to get around them. Why do these people think they can park anywhere they please?
Auntie’s answer: I will start off by saying that it is actually illegal to park on the sidewalk. You might be surprised to hear that, though, judging by the number of drivers who apparently feel the sidewalk is an extension of a car park.
But right there in the Traffic Law, 2011, is Section 93, which sets out ticket offences, including (1)(n) anyone “being the owner or person in control of a vehicle, (who) causes or permits it to stand or lie on a road or footpath so as to cause unnecessary obstruction or danger to persons using the road or footpath”.
An RCIPS representative explained the rationale for setting out this offence, which you also mentioned in your question. “This type of parking obviously puts pedestrians and cyclists at risk and therefore is a danger to the public.”
You might also be interested to know that Section 118 (“Obstruction on road, pavement, etc”) (1) says, “A constable may, at any time and without previous notice, remove from a road, footpath or pavement an object or vehicle which obstructs that road, footpath or pavement and which is likely to cause danger to a person lawfully using the road, footpath or pavement and any such object or vehicle may, at the discretion of the court, be forfeited to the Crown.”
As for you dealing with this problem, the RCIPS representative suggested you contact the police and an officer will be sent out. The officer “may issue tickets or if the driver of the vehicle is present they will be spoken to in an effort to educate them on the dangers of their parking choices for future reference”, the representative said.
While I do not want to enter into a discourse on the effectiveness of a police lecture on the errant parker — though I do harbour doubts of that working — I am happy to weigh in on the last part of your question. I believe people who think they can park anywhere they want share a very similar mindset with those who believe it is fine to park in a disabled spot when they are not handicapped. It is all about their own convenience without regard to how their actions will affect anyone else.
The next time you encounter a car parked on the sidewalk, if you do contact the police, please let me know how that works out.
The law mentioned in this column can be found on the CNS Library
There you go it says it in the law “footpath or pavement”. We are not in america so there is no such thing as a sidewalk, learn to speak the language of the country.
Stop being pedantic.
eggs or paint stripper are far more effective the the trotters who don’t care.
I understand many members of the RCIPS believe they have better things to do than chase down illegal parkers, especially when on the surface it appears as though the parked cars are hurting or disturbing no one.
However, in my opinion, it is an important part of the RCIPS responsibility to teach people respect for the law. Little things like the illegal parking, illegal license place covers, missing license plates, overly tinted windows and other minor infractions teach people they can ignore laws and do what they wish. Just like littering, these tiny infractions build into more and more deplorable ones. Next thing, Cayman will be just like Chicago.
Shocking, a law not being enforced by the RCIPS.
The police do not tickets sidewalk parkers by KFC on Shedden if they have local plates. But they ticket the tourists too close to the cross walk in the same area all day long. Even though there are no yellow curbs or markings to tell tourists that they cannot park near the cross walk.
I work in town and have nearly been run down by drivers with an obstructed view. Not to mention just plain old bad drivers, and speeders, and drivers who do not understand the concept of a cross walk. We used to have a beat cop, which helped a ton, but I guess that money has gone to hiring staff to clear plates at Grand Ole House.
How do these laws you’re quoting not apply to the segways which are constantly putting pedestrians at risk by usurping the footpaths?
These horrible things need to be restricted to private land use only.
Good luck with calling the police. The illegal parking along South Sound Road is not enforced…. Ever. Why should we call the police? They patrol the area regularly yet don’t seem to see the illegally parked vehicles from Walker’s Road to Bel Aire Drive especially those parked along the Rugby Club where it is clearly marked as no parking area. Why is it necessary to tell the police to do their job?
Because, 7:33, you’re in Cayman!