[GTO]

We live right on the beach and as you would expect, every evening, there is a mini-party of sorts down below with many groups, couples etc. We are facing a severe problem of idiots parking their cars on our gates without care for 2 - 3 hours, while they chill on the beach.

A little time back, my bro & bhabhi wanted to step out for dinner. But there was a car blocking the gate & it was a full 45 minutes before the beach bum came and moved it.

Watchman is of no use, especially as some of these guys can be rowdy. Cops take 30 minutes - 2 hours to send a tow truck.

Any ideas? I actually spoke with Crazy_Driver about buying a cheap motorcycle that's hard to move and parking it on the gate.

Here's what my bro did for a couple of weeks. Parked a cheap scooter + stones on his gate, so no one blocks it. Worked like a charm. Is this the best solution? Or is there something better / more convenient?


The typical party animals at night. Neighbour's gate coolly blocked by a Polo with an absolute lack of courtesy:

[agambhandari]

Simplest solution (it may seem too simple infact but it works) is to use Traffic cones. Most people will avoid moving them or parking near those at it does look too "official". I use the same to keep the bimmer's parking vacant when i take it out.

And of course, have CCTV monitoring and notice of the same on your wall/gate.

[poloman]

I am not sure whether traditional cone and chain set up will be of help. We use this inside the apartment for vehicular control. Normally people respect this.
EDIT : Sorry @agambhandari has already posted this.
Image credit to respective owner

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by GTO

Here's what my bro did for a couple of weeks. Parked a cheap scooter + stones on his gate, so no one blocks it. Worked like a charm. Is this the best solution?

I am not sure if that is the best solution, but that is certainly a practical solution that might work. Unfortunately this same problem is there everywhere. In Bangalore, for example, I see many houses (and even shops/offices) on the road (who have this exact same problem of people blocking their gate), put some stones.

Or is there something better / more convenient?

Better yet, I have seen some houses put those orange cones, the kind used at construction sites or road works. They typically put two orange cones at two sides of the gate, with a red ribbon running across them. That looks it make like a road work site and usually most people keep away from that.

The orange cones are also much easier to move around and remove when required than the heavy stones.

P.S.: Oops. Saw that the above posts already suggested the same solution while I was typing mine :-) So yes, that seems to be the common solution. Sorry for the repeated suggestion.

[ajayc123]

Well, the cones solution is likely a shortlived one, as petty thieves (unless you secure cones too)will take those away sooner than later.

What I have seen is that some people have got poles (about 3 feet high erected in the ground at both ends), and put an iron chain that is secured by a lock. The lock needs to be removed, chain lowered, car crossed and chain raised again and locked.

[Turbohead]

If you can't beat em, join em.

You can consider parking your beater car in front of the gate. It's a pain when you want to take out the nice cars in or out. This is in case 'geniuses' try moving the stones/cones/scooter and then parking their vehicles there.

Is there not an option to call the cops to tow the vehicle away?

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by GTO

Parked a cheap scooter + stones on his gate, so no one blocks it.

GTO, had this issue years back at Pali Village. I'd do the following:

1. Ditch the stones.
2. Pick up a couple of cones (might get flicked though)
3. Paint NO PARKING IN FRONT OF THE GATE on the footpath with proper reflective yellow paint
4. Fix a red LED sign on the gate itself.
5. Put a bright floodlight on the gate area and immediate road ahead. Put a motion sensor switch if possible.

Intent is to make it crystal clear that the gate is in 24x7 use, and not a derelict one.

[libranof1987]

What a neighboring building has done is, painted two lines outside their door to indicate a no-parking area so vehicles can enter/exit easily. Next, along those lines, they have drilled three 3ft poles on each side into the ground. They go only about a car width wide.



Unlikely that those poles are legal, but we're on a dead-end street, and what they've done doesn't hinder legal parking so it has stayed so for several years now.

[Shreyans_Jain]

I can empathise. This happens everywhere now. Real nuisance for homeowners and a genuine problem for visitors with no easy solutions.

I see your gate opens directly onto the road, there is no sidewalk or footpath or green belt in between. Which means, anything you put outside will directly block the leftmost lane.

Had there been a sidewalk or a green belt, you could have made a one time expense for raisable barriers placed 3 feet in front of your door. Lower them into the ground when you want to move your cars, and keep it raised otherwise. Something on the lines of this



Unfortunately, since the gate opens directly on to the road, the best course of action is to keep a cheap scooter parked right outside, keys with the watchman. Gets the job done with minimum disruption of the traffic.

[sagarpadaki]

Traffic cones work well. 3 Cones with chains joining them would be a good deterrent.

A year or so ago, I saw one similar cone with chain arrangement, the fellow had gone one step ahead and stickered 'Traffic Police' on the cones in reflective tape. . This makes the people wary thinking that this fellow is associated with some big shot or police department. I later came to know this guy is a govt employee and not related to police department in anyway. People even did not park 10 to 20 feet outside the cone area even though the space was available due to the fear, whereas there were vehicles parked in front of all other houses in the street. This may or may not work but worth a try in Mumbai. See if stickering 'Mumbai Traffic Police' on the cones in red reflective tape to make it look genuine helps.

[antz.bin]

Punekars have innovative solutions to this problem.

https://www.google.com/search?q=pune...w=1792&bih=931

They are in Marathi so for the benefit of non Marathi public, here are a few translations for the top results.

"Oh I am a Donkey, I am parking my vehicle in front of the gate"
"Air will be let out if parked here"
"Cursed Parking Spot!
Car gets scratched
Thieves take it away
Air in tyres goes down!
Try it out if you don't believe it."

And 100s more hilarious ones.

Here are a few ideas.

A simple No parking in front of gate board with a prominent crossed out P.

"Parking charge Rs.500 per hour" Add additional zeros till it works. Put the watchman to work and give proper receipt.

[Latheesh]

Cones are the easiest solution. Stones and two wheeler is difficult to move in a hurry and also invite other two wheelers to park next to yours. It is also a pain to manage if you drive in and out multiple times in a day. As others suggested, go for cones, and make the cones look like official.

[tharian]

Whenever I visit my wife's place in Mylapore, Chennai which is quite congested area and were every house has one or more cars which are hardly used and parked on the road, I realized the road next to the pavement is the property of that house owner.
They will park every car, two wheeler, bicycle and take old furniture too and place it in that area so no one else parks. My car being a KA registered one, I have even more difficulty trying to find a spot since the moment I take my car out and return, there will be a two wheeler in that spot. Equivalent to dropping a kerchief on the seat of a bus through the window to reserve it before getting in.
Atleast in your case, you are trying to prevent the gate being blocked. This is what I could think of;
https://www.moglix.com/ladwa-83ft-co...hoCtgMQAvD_BwE

[thanixravindran]

Traffic cone with chains will not last long. Ideal solution is footpaths in the side sre slightly elevated with concrete cones erected on it so that no can park any car infront of gate or the footpath. But this needs to be done by corporation.

Common workaround I have seen in Chennai is beater car occupies the parking in front of gate. One person went to an extent of two main gates. Inner sliding gate that is always closed and an outer Swing open gate which was kept open to prevent any parking between it Desperate times need desperate measures

[condor]

1. Park one of your vehicles there
2. Get the cops to tow away cars couple of times (easier in US)