A lot of police time is spent dealing with improperly parked vehicles. We have several businesses’ specializing in carryout transactions. Several signs were posted for a 15 minute zone. People would park in these spots and then go shopping or eating for hours. The business would lose money because customers would go elsewhere rather than not being able to park for 5 minutes to pick up their order and leave. Other neighbors of retailers and restaurants are burdened with people who pull right up to the driveway and block a portion of it, making it impossible to back out safely.

People who park in front of fire hydrants are endangering not only their house but those of their neighbors. A fire truck being blocked by a vehicle from gaining access to the hydrant and must hump hose from the next closest hydrant which by law is 250 feet away. If that hydrant is out of service or more engines are needed the next closest hydrant may be another 500 feet away, the length of 1 and 2/3 football fields. Some hydrants or sections of older cities do not have enough pressure to pump the proper amount of water that distance. Thus I always towed vehicles I found blocking hydrants if I could not find the owner to move it immediately.

Some other parking regulations not readily known are parking on a crosswalk or within 20 feet of a crosswalk. Pedestrians must be able to see around parked vehicles to safely cross a busy street. A vehicle also cannot be parked within 30 feet of a stop sign.

I would gather that most people don’t know that it is against the law to park within 50 feet of the nearest rail of a train track. Then there are always those who want to double park. This is parking next to a vehicle legally parked. This is often done in downtown business locations and in school drop off zones. Prior to the Broadway School Zone street reconstruction I would write 3 to 5 parking tickets a day when parents and grandparents wanted to drop their kids off as close to the door as possible. They were teaching the little ones it was fine to run between parked cars. My response to the arguments was, “The safety of all the children is paramount to the convenience of your child.”

So even if you think you already know all the laws dealing with parking remember each city can make laws beyond what the Ohio Revised Code prohibits. Such as prohibiting semi trucks from parking on city streets unless actually loading or offloading. When a semi truck gets towed, it runs into the hundreds of dollars just for the tow truck. So read the Ohio Revised Code Section 4511.68 below which is only one section of the ORC dealing with parking so you don’t come out from a nice dinner or day of shopping and find your car ticketed or towed.

4511.68 Parking - prohibited acts.

(A) No person shall stand or park a trackless trolley or vehicle, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or to comply with sections 4511.01 to 4511.78, 4511.99, and 4513.01 to 4513.37 of the Revised Code, or while obeying the directions of a police officer or a traffic control device, in any of the following places:

(1) On a sidewalk, except as provided in division (B) of this section;

(2) In front of a public or private driveway;

(3) Within an intersection;

(4) Within ten feet of a fire hydrant;

(5) On a crosswalk;

(6) Within twenty feet of a crosswalk at an intersection;

(7) Within thirty feet of, and upon the approach to, any flashing beacon, stop sign, or traffic control device;

(8) Between a safety zone and the adjacent curb or within thirty feet of points on the curb immediately opposite the ends of a safety zone, unless a different length is indicated by a traffic control device;

(9) Within fifty feet of the nearest rail of a railroad crossing;

(10) Within twenty feet of a driveway entrance to any fire station and, on the side of the street opposite the entrance to any fire station, within seventy-five feet of the entrance when it is properly posted with signs;

(11) Alongside or opposite any street excavation or obstruction when such standing or parking would obstruct traffic;

(12) Alongside any vehicle stopped or parked at the edge or curb of a street;

(13) Upon any bridge or elevated structure upon a highway, or within a highway tunnel;

(14) At any place where signs prohibit stopping;

(15) Within one foot of another parked vehicle;

(16) On the roadway portion of a freeway, expressway, or thruway.

(B) A person shall be permitted, without charge or restriction, to stand or park on a sidewalk a motor-driven cycle or motor scooter that has an engine not larger than one hundred and fifty cubic centimeters, or a bicycle, provided that the motor-driven cycle, motor scooter, or bicycle does not impede the normal flow of pedestrian traffic. This division does not authorize any person to operate a vehicle in violation of section 4511.711 of the Revised Code.

(C) Except as otherwise provided in this division, whoever violates division (A) of this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor. If, within one year of the offense, the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to one predicate motor vehicle or traffic offense, whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. If, within one year of the offense, the offender previously has been convicted of two or more predicate motor vehicle or traffic offenses, whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree.

Amended by 130th General Assembly File No. 66, SB 194, §1, eff. 6/2/2014.

Effective Date: 01-01-2004

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