Parking Lot Red Line Violations

[CocoLoco]

The parking lot for the building where I work has several curbed islands in it. People are parking, sometimes three deep, along the curbs painted red rather than park farther away from the entrance to the building. A car can maneuver around this but safety vehicles like fire trucks may not. We’ve had two evacuations in the past 12 months and the fire department came to our site.

Is there any way to get people to stop parking along the curbs painted red?

 

[Eric B]

Tow them away perhaps. I would guess they won't do it again.
A note on the window, warning of a tow, would be a nicer approach.

 

[Sofa88]

I work at a medical office, there’s a long section of red curb and a red metal sign (eye level to someone standing) that reads “emergency vehicles only”. Considering this is a medical office you’d think people would actually follow the rules, right? NOPE! I always see our security guard having to tell people to move out of the red zone. I think the only real way to prevent it is a quick tow or a ticket from city parking enforcement.

 

[295566]

If it's a private lot or public will determine if it's enforceable by parking enforcement (with the exception of city-installed fire lanes and handicap zones).

If it's a private lot and was painted red by the owners (rather than the city), you're boned, and the only enforcement that can happen is having the cars towed by the owner of the lot. The city doesn't have the ability to do a darned thing.

An easy way to see if the curb was painted by the city would be to check for city seal at either end of the paint. A lot of cities public works departments will put their seal to show it's official.

 

[CocoLoco]

Thanks for the tip. My concern was specifically with it being a private lot. Will check for city seal today.

 

[dtrides]

As a private lot, you will still want it to be signed stating cars will be towed if parked in emergency vehicle lane..but hard to enforce as lot owner will have to foot the bill.
I had a issue with abandon cars on one of the parking lots of former employer and police could not help....so early one morning I put them on dollies and "re-parked" them on street behind the store.
Called city and they had them towed in short order.:thumbup

 

[bojangle]

The owner / property management can tow the vehicles. The police / parking enforcement for the city can enforce red zones and disabled zones, properly marked, on public access private property, like parking lots. Those are the only two parking violations that can be enforced on private property.

I've never heard of any difference between city verse private painting of a red curb. My city doesn't have any special seal they use. I believe building codes and fire marshal dictate where and how much red zone and disabled spots are needed on a commercial property and its on the owner to maintain those.

 

[CocoLoco]

Dave, thanks for the info. This is what I was asking for in terms of LEO advice. I will contact the police and forward pictures of what I'm talking about. I'm serious when I say people are parking three deep. They're adding three full rows (total of six cars) of parking next to a red curb some days.

 

[295566]

I've never heard of any difference between city verse private painting of a red curb. My city doesn't have any special seal they use. I believe building codes and fire marshal dictate where and how much red zone and disabled spots are needed on a commercial property and its on the owner to maintain those.

Not all cities do this, but it's pretty common here in the Bay Area. It looks something like this, at one or both ends of the red curb.

This is done in an effort to show that the curb was in fact put up and is enforceable by the city. It's an attempt to prevent people from making their own "private parking" spots, loading zones, etc. My buddy's apartment complex that he manages had their labor guys take a can of white paint to the curb directly in front of the complex so that people wouldn't park there and they had somewhere for prospective tenants to park. Shady as fuck IMO, but not unheard of. Take a look at some red curbs in your city, you might learn something new about your jurisdiction. :thumbup

 

[Junkie]

Not all cities do this, but it's pretty common here in the Bay Area. It looks something like this, at one or both ends of the red curb.

This is done in an effort to show that the curb was in fact put up and is enforceable by the city. It's an attempt to prevent people from making their own "private parking" spots, loading zones, etc. My buddy's apartment complex that he manages had their labor guys take a can of white paint to the curb directly in front of the complex so that people wouldn't park there and they had somewhere for prospective tenants to park. Shady as fuck IMO, but not unheard of. Take a look at some red curbs in your city, you might learn something new about your jurisdiction. :thumbup

It used to be that the SF ones said DPT, which unofficially meant Don't Park There

 

[ST Guy]

Even if it's private, city code likely applies for emergency access and such. I'd be surprised if they couldn't be ticketed. Call the fire or police department and tell them if the situation. I used to work near LinkedIn in Sunnyvale and bozos kept parking on corners and blocking fire hydrants. A few calls over a few weeks with tickets written cured that.

 

[TheRiddler]

If it's only painted red, with no "FIRE LANE" designation or signs, then it's not enforceable. I found this at the Hegenberger DMV in Oakland - everyone parks along the red curb there, but it doesn't meet the requirements for a marked fire line.

 

[295566]

If it's only painted red, with no "FIRE LANE" designation or signs, then it's not enforceable. I found this at the Hegenberger DMV in Oakland - everyone parks along the red curb there, but it doesn't meet the requirements for a marked fire line.

Not all red curbs are fire lanes... you can still be cited for parking in a marked red zone (if it's a proper red curb, painted by the city).

 

[TheRiddler]

Not all red curbs are fire lanes... you can still be cited for parking in a marked red zone (if it's a proper red curb, painted by the city).

If there's a city ordinance prohibiting it.

 

[295566]

If there's a city ordinance prohibiting it.

Which there will be, if the city took the time to paint the curb red. Why would they spend their money painting curbs arbitrary colors if there wasn't any rules prohibiting it?

As I stated, if the curb was painted by the city, it's enforceable. The only zones I know of that the city will paint/enforce on private property are fire lanes and handicap. There may be more, but those are the only two I'm aware of and have cited for in the past.

 

[CocoLoco]

Update: I went out and walked around the six cars parked next to the red curb. No pictures. Just walked around slowly looking at all the cars. Next day no one parked there and it's been that way each day since.

 

[295566]

Update: I went out and walked around the six cars parked next to the red curb. No pictures. Just walked around slowly looking at all the cars. Next day no one parked there and it's been that way each day since.

:thumbup arty

 

[TheRiddler]

Which there will be, if the city took the time to paint the curb red. Why would they spend their money painting curbs arbitrary colors if there wasn't any rules prohibiting it?

As I stated, if the curb was painted by the city, it's enforceable. The only zones I know of that the city will paint/enforce on private property are fire lanes and handicap. There may be more, but those are the only two I'm aware of and have cited for in the past.

I was talking about a red curb on state property (DMV). It was (is) unenforceable because it lacked all the required signage. It's probably a rare example, though.

 

[JimE]

I work at a hospital and folks are pretty good about this. The one person gauranteed to park in the red zone? The Fire Marshall when he "pops by" to "have a look around". Every_damn_time. Fooker :laughing