‘No way out,’ warns homeowner after ‘triple parked’ drivers block her driveway – ambulances can’t even get through | 88I24H8 | 2024-05-12 12:08:01
'No way out,' warns homeowner after 'triple parked' drivers block her driveway – ambulances can't even get through | 88I24H8 | 2024-05-12 12:08:01
HOMEOWNERS expressed concern about their safety when a group of allegedly illegally parked vehicles swarmed their street, obstructing emergency vehicle access.
Drivers on a dead-end block filed a dozen complaints in two months, reporting cars parked on the sidewalk, in front of fire hydrants, and in the middle of the road.
"We are worried about the safety of our families on this block," Karen Cummings, then 58, told DNA Info about her street in Queens, New York in 2014.
"You can have 20 cars parked illegally here … Sometimes they triple park."
Cummings' block on 68th Avenue sat near a popular play ground.
Youth soccer and baseball teams organized games and practices in the open space.
As parents descended on the field to watch their children, they left their cars on the city's parking-space-depleted streets.
The problem was getting more frequent, residents said.
Cars parked on the street four times a week.
"Sometimes they park around 5 o'clock, and they don't leave until 8:30," Cummings added.
Neighbors worried the influx of parked cars would block emergency vehicles from accessing their homes.
A handful of children and toddlers lived on the street, neighbors said. Several elderly and disabled residents also owned homes on the dead-end block.
<!-- End of Brightcove Player --> Angela Grayson, then-67, said she watched two incidents where children in the park were injured.
In both circumstances, emergency crews struggled to weave between the lot of improperly parked vehicles.
"It's a small block and it's the dead end," she explained.
"There is no other way to get out."
Grayson is one of the residents who filed complaints with the city's 311 service.
<p class="article__content--intro"> Parking on a public street is generally legal, even in front of someone's house, experts say. </p> </div> </div> The number allows New York City citizens to report parking issues and safety hazards.
However, Grayson said drivers often left before enforcement officials arrived on the scene.
"By the time [the police] come, sometimes the people are gone because it takes them so long to get here," she added.
Several who were in charge of street safety said they were fielding complaints from the residents.
"Our units in the area are aware of potential difficulties in access as a result of sporting events held at the location and adjust accordingly," then-spokesperson for the city's Fire Department, Elisheva Zakheim, told the publication.
Neil O'Donnell, then-president of the Queens Falcons Football League that hosted games on the field, said he was also hearing from neighboring residents.
"Parents have been told many times [about illegal parking]," O'Donnell said.
"But some parents don't want to hear it."
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