The right comes from spending 2-3 hours clearing out the sapce.

Jerry if that is true... how long do you have a right to that parking spot that took you 2 - 3 hours to clear out?

A day?

A week?

A month?

All winter?

And what are you using to clear your parking spot with... a spatula? 2-3 hours? Come on. It takes about 15 mins to maybe 1/2 hour tops to clear a spot. That minimal time and effort entitles you to one thing... the ability to drive your vehicle out of the snowbank.

When there has been over ten inches of snow and the city plow has come along over night and plowed in your car and if has happened over night while sleeping and the snow has hardened It can easily take a couple of hours to clear the space, especially if you don;t want to throw the snow back in the road. Even if it only takes one hour it is back breaking work. I think it is wonderful that your are so generous to spend your valuable time and strength to clear a spot in front of your house, then come home from work and not have a place to park. You are a generous spirit to give that spot to someone ,to a neighbor who has done nothing. Certainly the world would be a better place with more people like you. By the way, you are entitled to the spot until the city comes along and CLEARS the snow to the point where everyone can park or until God's good sun takes the sun away.

If Troy did a better job removing the snow after the snow storm, a cleared out spot wouldnt be a problem. I have seen people saving their spot in the summer winter spring and fall. So what is the excuse then? It would be real funny if some one went around collecting all of the chairs and cones people put out to the curb for trash.

Jerry must want your spot and is waiting for you to leave!

By the the sounds of it, he is willing to give me his spot after he cleans it out. He does not care who uses it, If I get there first, it is mine. Actually after 26 years of living in South troy and dealing with the snow parking issue , I now have a driveway(no garage) and do not have to deal with this. Even though the issue does not directly affect me any more, I will defend to the death a person's right to save their spot in winter. All bets are off once spring comes.

What it boils down to is respect for each other, in my neighborhood we try not to take one anothers places out of decency and it works out rather nice, everyone parks usually in the same places and I have to agree about when you maintain and shovel out an area in the freezing cold for hours as I have as well and some lazy slob just embarks on the spot that is about as rude as it goes. Seems like Sam doesn't shovel huh? Also some people pay to have a spot cleaned out and if you only invest 15 min on cleaning out a spot I can only imagine what kind of job you do but you probably like to take that spot someone took more time and effort on don't you?

You go Charlene! You are right, it just comes down to decent courtesy and respect. Some don't even live there, just park their car for the night to go "visit' and sometimes it is there for days. Those who know who shoveled and see someone taking the spot, should nicely remind them as they exit the car, someone else made that nice spot and watch where they go, so I knock can come later to have them move it.

Tina are you really saying that if Troy residents see a car parking in a PUBLIC SPOT and the resident knows that driver didn't shovel out that particular spot days or weeks ago when it snowed... you want everyone to go outside and tell the parking driver that you know he or she didn't shovel out that spot and suggest they move their car?

You also think it's OK for Troy businesses to rope off their sidewalks and direct pedestrian traffic into the street.

LOL TINA!

I see nobody has anything to say about the spring summer and fall months??? What is your excuse then? They swept the spot therefore they have a right to it? There goes the old gaurd again........

I addressed the warmer weather issue. I said all bets are off once the snow goes. I hardly see people doing it in fair wather months.

Sam or sp, have you lived here very long? I doubt it becasue you would understand the "rules" of city parking. There are all sorts of unwritten rules that people living in close spaces for a long time have come to respect. Respect is the bottom line here.

Tina and Charlene understand the sitution.

Gee it is speaking loudly here the Folks complaining about, people who live in the houses and work to clear the houses, must NOT have any problems parking where THEY live. Does no one steal your spot or if you have a driveway you shovel or pay to have plowed, if they parked THERE how would you feel? What is really being said here, is the people who are stealing the spots either don't live there or have NOT shoveled their OWN, and feel it is easier to steal another spot where someone has spent quite a bit of time clearing it.

When you buy a home or rent an apartment with on street parking, you are not automatically gauranteed a parking spot nearby your dwelling. The parking spots are PUBLIC. No one has any legal right to occupy them. End of story.

Troy code section 270-13 states...

"No prohibition, regulation or limitation relating to stopping, standing or parking imposed under this traffic ordinance shall be effective unless official traffic-control devices are erected and in place."

I don't think patio chairs, garbage cans or other unsightly household objects are considered "official traffic-control devices". LOL!

I see people doing it all year, and if you shovel a spot out and someone steals it confront them. At the end of the day if they choose not to move they dont have to. Disrepectful true.... Lazy...probally...but its public parking.....Too bad so sad. If troy did a better job the parking issue would only be for a couple days. However Troy issues voluntary snow emergencies. Yea we see how many volunteers there are. Im guessing this impedes the DPW's ability to plow or remove snow. However i find is discerning that the Mayor claims they do not have the man power to tow vehicles....I find this hard to believe beings how they manage to tow cars every friday (or whatever day your area has street cleaning). In some cases the street cleaning crew never even came to clean the street. Issue a snow emergency, tow the cars that dont move. Not only do you generate revenue for the city, you solve the narrow street problem, and the parking issue. Who wants to operate a business in a city where a box truck has trouble making a delivery? It is irrelevent how long anyone has lived here or anywhere. code is code laws are laws and for good reason. PUBLIC PARKING IS PUBLIC PARKING WETHER YOUR IN ALASKA OR FLORIDA.

What are all the snow emergency route signs for???? Lets go scrappin! We dont have snow emergencies so there is no use for them lol.

As far as not having that problem your right I dont, because I find another spot, somtimes not shoveled and walk my @#$% to my house. Eventually the spot i cleaned out opens up and I move my car back to that spot. It's called living in the city. No Problems, just solutions!

104 oakwood ave has been saving the parking spot in front of their house year round for decades. It's not enough that they have OFF STREET PARKING for 2 cars... they feel they are entightled to the spot in front of their home too.

Pic here http://i52.tinypic.com/1e9y5k.jpg

How do they save it? They illegally place their city garbage cans on the sidewalk 24/7 365 days a year. When they move their parked car, they place the city garbage cans in the spot. When they retunr, they put the garbage containers back on the sidewalk and park their car.

Troy Code # 247-9-E states... "Such containers, when filled with solid wastes to be removed, shall be placed at the curb adjacent to the premises owned or occupied by him/her or, if there be an alley in the rear of such premises, in such alley close to such premises, not more than 12 hours before collection of solid wastes in the residential areas and not more than 10 hours before collection of solid wastes in the business areas of the City."

You legally cannot put your garbage cans out on the side walk unless it is 10 hours before the trash truck is scheduled to arrive. Then, you have to bring them back "in" after the trash truck empties them.

If every resident left their trash cans on the sidewalk like the owners of 104 oakwood ave, we'd have a pretty ugly city.

How they're able to get away with saving their parking spot and leaving their garbage cans on the sidewalk 365 days a year baffles me.

Problem: You are annoyed after YOU shovel out a spot. Solution: I'd be more than happy to shovel out your spot for you free of charge. No labor or cost to you. This way when "your spot" is taken it didnt cost you any time or money. Next snow storm email me @ wu_nation36@yahoo.com with "your parking spots" location I have no problem helping a fellow Trojan out!

the reason for this stems from the past, most peoples deed read you own the property to the middle of the street and the public has the right of way, so in the past it was legal to save the spot in front of your house. it is not legal any longer

I guess some people didnt get the memo.

Sadly, I think this is a battle that won't be won: Section 270-20 of the Troy Code:

"F. Parking in front of residences. No person shall stop, stand or park a vehicle, motor vehicle or motorcycle in front of any residence, outside of the Central Business District, for any purpose except to discharge passengers or deliver merchandise to such residence, nor longer than actually necessary for such purpose, except with the consent of the owner or occupant of such residence. The owner or operator of any vehicle, motor vehicle or motorcycle which shall stop, stand or park in front of any such residence shall move such vehicle, motor vehicle or motorcycle therefrom immediately upon being notified to do so by the owner or occupant of such residence."

According to this we are all wrong and all right. We all win we all loose. I am not surprised by the conflicting laws and ordinences. It's all freestyle politicing and law making.

Thank you John, people should be entitled to park in front of their own residences that they pay the taxes on. This problem started YEARS ago when the City allowed people to break these 1-2 & 3 Family homes down to many more apts. than the 2 parking spots out front will allow. THEN you also have 2 cars for each apt and these streets were designed in the Horse and Buggy days. You can tie up a lot more horses out front than you can park cars for sure. It is now mandated before you can break down an apt. you need to prove you can provide parking, with that said, the Tenants STILL don't utillize those spots or their visitors. It is just one vicious circle.

John that's really amazing.

So, if I'm reading that section of code correctly, the parking spot in front of a residence is by law designated for that resident only?!

If someone parks in front of my house I can tell them that it's my spot and they MUST move immediately?!

As a homeowner who pays lots of property/school taxes in Troy, I appreciate Troy lawfully giving me my own parking spots. However, this section of code needs to be publicized a lot better because VERY FEW ARE AWARE OF IT OR ABIDE BY IT.

run over whatever is left there I DO...:-)

Hope that works for you Timmy Not So Bright because just think about it. Angry people can get even or retalliate and are you watching your car all day and night?...things can happen and should be careful what you run over might damage your car as well.

Probably because they live there. I've never done it and don't intend to strictly because I don't want to make anyone angry but I've had to bring all of my groceries into my apartment from a block away-and I'm talking about a lot of groceries, because people love to park in front of my apartment and then go do whatever it is they're doing around Troy. As unfair as you may think marking public parking is, can we not also agree that it's unfair for residents to have to walk $150+ worth of groceries into their homes from a block away because of people who don't live there parking in front of their homes? The grass is always greener.
Yeah, it sucks-but we're all human and all humans have a sense of entitlement. You don't think it's fair that they save their own spots in front of their houses because it's public parking and it's an inconvenience. They don't think it's fair for you to park there because they're the ones who live there and it's an inconvenience.
Sure, it is quite unsightly when people put cones, chairs, etc. in front of their houses on the street. If people were allowed guaranteed parking in front of their homes, they wouldn't do that. And yes, some people do NOT need to save places, expressly the people that have off-street parking. They have off-street parking for a reason. There is no way to make everyone happy regarding parking in Troy.

Issue not solveable.