I would appreciate some comments on this problem: Workmen, who have been subcontracted by a construction company, frequently block the exit to my lane garage with their trucks, and they ignore me when I ask them to move. (This company specializes in building small lane houses on city lots that already have a larger houses on them.) I've tried contacting the owner and contact person of the construction company, and they don't seem to care. The police say to phone the city and report “an infringement of a bylaw” and that the city will send someone out. It would take at least half an hour for the city parking officer to get out here. The owner of the property is not approachable. So, all I can do is yell and honk my horn, but the work guys get pretty worked up about that, although they eventually move their truck. I'm too old to keep yelling? Any suggestions?
Thanks, Charlotte, much appreciated. I've just now phoned the city parking violation phone number - they're open 24/7 - and asked one of their officers to write the construction company's owner re. their violation of city bylaws. This was suggested to me by a former city council woman who said that these lane houses are still not fully accepted by all city council members and that this construction company (who has a monopoly) needs its knuckles rapped from time to time. We'll see.
mary75 apparently cities have a parking enforcement hot line to report vehicles to be towed. i would check out the site in your area and report it immediately to be towed. the dept does the towing and the owner has to pay to recover their vehicle. hope this helps.
I don't know any of the laws, etc. regarding this so my idea would be: Is it possible to park your car on your property so they can't get to the site where they are parking their truck or whatever/ This might get their attention.
I've called 911 a couple of times when people have parked blocking our driveway. It's not a priority call, but eventually the police do come and ticket the vehicle. One time, they had it towed as it was parked to close to the stop sign also. There is a stop sign at the edge of our yard and we can't park in front of our own house.
A couple of tickets and/or towing might get the point across.
Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. Divvi, see other thread. I'm feeling much more confident now that I can handle this. Before, I was overwhelmed with a sense of powerlessness as I tried to leave my home for an appointment and was blocked by 3 men. With no immediate backup from the city, or the Construction Company that had hired them, I was left with only a very loud voice and a fierce temper to finally get them to move. But I don't want to have to repeat that performance.
I thought that you might all like to know that I've had surprising help from the Better Business Bureau. At one time, they charged $25.00 to file a complaint, but not now. They have a form on line that is easy to fill out, and they have followed through promptly. This company has 2 weeks to respond to them. I don't know if it still holds true, but any complaint that BBB has investigated and found to be true, has been available to the public. I know a rough and tough commercial fisherman, a friend of my youngest son, whose solution to most problems is "Get them where it hurts most, the wallet."
Contact the local TV and newspapers most have a consumer advocate reporter. Apparently there is some political discord over the construction which will make the story of interest. Play the role of the elderly widow trapped in her own home by an uncaring city contractor You're blocked in and there is no access for emergency vehicle if needed and have been unable to get the contractor to cooperate
Thought you might like to know that I've had good results and now have free access from my garage. I think that the most effective things I did were to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau against the company and also propose to the City that they pay my cab fare since I could not use my car.
Mary 75 I work for a city government and belive they hate the negative press, contact the TV station and put an editorial in the local paper. Also a personal call to the City Manager or Mayor will also work..
Thanks, Shellseeker50, for your input. I had contacted several top people at City Hall, but the problem continued. It seems to me that the city wants these lane houses and favour this particular company. A friend from church was outraged. She had recently had one of these lane houses built for her daughter. The company has asked her on several occasions to let potential customers look through the house, and she has. She felt that they had been super nice to her, "because I haven't paid them yet." She said she was going to phone them and tell them, "I'm so sorry and disappointed to hear how you are treating the neighbours [of the house you're putting up on Crown Street]". I had tried to get a local newspaper to write about it but never heard back and was just about to move onto the TV stations. Maybe it was an accumulation of my shotgun approach, but I'm wondering if, because it hit them in the pocketbook, the BBB complaint and taxi payment request were the deciding factors. Anyway, what a relief to go about my business when I want. The company are not even parking in the lane any more and have signs up on their fence, "Trades: Absolutely No Parking in the Lane." It was all unnecessary in the first place because I live on a corner lot, and they could have parked on the adjacent street.