is it illegal to use your car to block parking on a resident street (West Hollywood: apartment)

[LAGuy]

My neighbors have a habit of using their car to block other people from parking by parking in the middle(this parking space can fit two cars ends to ends). Is there a term for this(define by the parking enforcement)?

[CALGUY]

Yes, the term is called "Jerk".
I have a few other choice words, but I can't use them here.
I don'tthink there is much you can do about it though.
Bob.

[LALove24]

hahaha i have the same problem here, some days I feel like mowing them down.

[capoeira]

Maybe he is from Washington. In Washington it is illegal to park within five feet of a driveway so the way to do it is park in the middle and leave five feet on each side to be legal.

"no person shall: (a) Stop, stand, or park a vehicle:
i) In front of a public or private driveway or within five feet of the end of the curb radius leading thereto"

RCW 46.61.570:

[streetscenes]

Don't think it's illegal, just a pain in the a$$. Do they do it to "save" the extra space for another car? You could talk to your neighbor and ask them to be more considerate. Or you could hog the spot for your self just to show them.

[the one]

i dont think its illegal. but it def. is a problem in most areas with higher population density.

the only think you can do is talk to the offender.
pay them in kind.
key their car with the word "HOG"

i think the best thing to do is talk to the offender.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

I have parked on the street before and had similar situations. Also have parked on the street and when I went back to the car several days later the situation has changes and it looked like I was taking up space by parking in the middle. If this is bothering other people, a good thing to do is band together to teach the offendor a lesson. If you can get two people willing to do this, next time it happens park a car on the offendors tail and another at the front of the car, so close that it makes it difficult for them to get out. You could even trap them by purposely setting the trap. When they park all you need to do is move the cars closer. I know it may not be possible to do this, as you all need your cars. But is was funny thinking about a solution.

[CALGUY]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

I have parked on the street before and had similar situations. Also have parked on the street and when I went back to the car several days later the situation has changes and it looked like I was taking up space by parking in the middle. If this is bothering other people, a good thing to do is band together to teach the offendor a lesson. If you can get two people willing to do this, next time it happens park a car on the offendors tail and another at the front of the car, so close that it makes it difficult for them to get out. You could even trap them by purposely setting the trap. When they park all you need to do is move the cars closer. I know it may not be possible to do this, as you all need your cars. But is was funny thinking about a solution.

Thast won't work.
When I was alot younger,if Ifound a car parked right up , or too close to my rear bumper, I would put my car in reverse, ease up to the car that blocked me in, and step on the gas.
That usually moved the offending car back ten feet or so, if no one was parked behind it.
Cource back then all cars had metal bumpers.
Try that today, and two plastic bumpers will be lying in the gutter.
I did that in West Hollywood way back when, and pushed the car back so it was in the middle of someone's driveway, blocking the entrance.
A half hour later, when I returned , the tow truck was hooking up the car that I had pushed into the driveway opening.
Hopefully that jerk learned a lesson.
Bob.

[greggd]

I think a note on the windshield might be a start.

A parking spot at your apartment or house would be even better.

Personally, I dont think there should be any street parking in any residential neighborhood. They should use their driveways or garages and Apt blocks should have community parking lots. I know that can be costly, but it would make for a nicer place.

There are too many people using garages to store junk or house people.

[uptown_urbanist]

It's inconsiderate, but not illegal. Good point above about how it's different in different places, or maybe they've just never lived anywhere with parking shortages; maybe you could figure out a way to nicely bring it up without causing more problems? It could be that they're clueless, in which case a polite comment could do the trick, or could be that they're really paranoid about someone bumping their car (in which case maybe they'll still be shamed into doing the right thing if they know their neighbors are watching them), maybe they're just intentionally obnoxious. If that's the case, read up on your local parking laws and call the cops every time you see them violate something (like maybe leaving their car parked for more than X number of days if they go on vacation); doesn't solve the problem, of course, but sometimes there's satisfaction in seeing mean people get what they deserve. Of course it's much nicer to be on good terms, or at least neutral terms, with your neighbors, so hopefully you can work this out without increasing tensions.

People get really weird about parking; my mother-in-law's neighbor gets really possessive and outright agressive (scarily so) about "his" parking spot, meaning the patch of public street outside of his house. Sorry buddy, not "your" spot. He has a garage and a driveway with room to park in front of it, so he has nothing to complain about. Our crazy neighbor while growing up used to always park in front of our place as some sort of power play. It was legal, and in itself not a big deal, but it was annoying because it was clear that he was doing it for spite. Hopefully your neighbors are of the normal-but-clueless variety.