Parking Over the Sidewalk

I received an email from a disgruntled reader complaining about a motorist who blocked a large portion of a sidewalk when reverse parking their truck which was equipped with a trailer hitch. It's certainly not very neighbourly, and this person wondered if there was anything on the books making the practice illegal.

Provincial Rules

The Motor Vehicle Act applies province wide and says:

189 (1) Except when necessary to avoid conflict with traffic or to comply with the law or the directions of a peace officer or traffic control device, a person must not stop, stand or park a vehicle as follows:

(a) on a sidewalk or boulevard;

Municipal Rules

The request for this article came from a Kelowna resident who also provided the photo above. Kelowna's Traffic Bylaw 8120 says:

4.1.2(a) on a sidewalk or boulevard without a valid sidewalk/roadway occupancy permit pursuant to Part 7 of this Bylaw,

Problem With the Parking Rules

Both pieces of legislation forbid parking on the sidewalk. The photo above illustrates parking over the sidewalk. The basic idea is that a vehicle will not impede traffic on the sidewalk but the courts would likely not look at it that way. A ticket for parking on the sidewalk would likely be dismissed if disputed.

The current rules may stem from a time when most, if all vehicles were parked parallel to the curb. Obstructing the sidewalk in that case required the vehicle to have the right side tires on the sidewalk.

The City of Kelowna is currently in the process of overhauling their parking bylaw and were made aware of this situation. In their reply to my inquiry the City responded:

We understand the wording could be more succinct and intend to make bylaw adjustments in a Parking Accessibility Program update later this year to remove any grey area.

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