Access to driveway on narrow street and neighbours parking

Not a legal matter but about competing rights.
To get in and out of my garage which is on the footpath of a narrow Street it is very difficult even in a small car if there is a car parked across the road opposite my garage.
The garage is a single garage not too wide so you need to approach relatively straight to get in.
The people across the road have a huge audi wagon. They have off street parking in the form of a carport however they cannot get their wagon into the carport therefore they park legally on the street in front of their house and the house next door.
When I come in and out of my garage in my small car I come within centimetres of hitting their car as the street is very narrow. Sometimes i get stuck between mygarage and their car. When I approach them about parking further away from my garage they said that the problem is that if they park in front of their driveway they will be fined by council and that the former owners never used to park in the garage so it wasn't a problem. When they don't park across from my garage often others do anyway.
I called council and asked about putting a yellow line opposite my garage (where they Park their car) on the basis that without the yellow line, access to my garage with an average car was denied. Council escalated the matter to senior road staff and came back with the conclusion that they supported a yellow line so that I could have unrestricted access to my garage on the basis that the person across the road could either park somewhere else on the street or make some modifications to their off street parking to gain access or presumably get a smaller vehicle that could fit into their carport.
The issue will be that the street is quite full up with cars and a very long car like theirs may struggle to find a spot elsewhere close to their house. They will be feeling "why are we the only house on our side of the street that has a yellow line partly in front?"
I explained to council that the yellow line probably would not go down too well and they might expect an appeal however council felt confident that my rights were justified in being enforced and will go ahead with the yellow line.
I haven't told the neighbours that I requested a yellow line however I think they will be very upset
. I'm a bit nervous about this however I also feel that I like the idea of being able to get in and out of my garage without getting stuck and scraping on the interface of street/gutter/footpath.
I also like the idea of possibly purchasing a Sedan in future rather than a hatchback and I have seen a very large Mercedes inside my garage so It can be done only as long as no one is parked across the road.
What are your comments please?

 

I'm a bit confused about what you'd like comments on?

You might be able to get into your garage more easily by reversing in. On the same principle that it's easier to reverse into angle parking.

 

Solid lines in the middle of the street so that nobody can ever park on street or how about only allowing parking on one side of the street? Do other people on your street have this same issue? Surely you can't be the only ones?

 

True that. Though I suppose it could hold up traffic when you are trying to back into your driveway (bad) whereas you normally wait for a gap in traffic when reversing out (good).

 

Was assuming that a narrow street is a minor street, so not much traffic...

 

Yeah... you're probably right.

 

Not really a busy street but not a cul de sac either. Because it's narrow with my side of the whole street yellow lined (can only park on their side) can only fit one car through at a time. 2 cars cannot pass each other easily

 

Should i have talked to them again before requesting yellow line?
Am i being selfish by wanting much easier access to my garage and any access for normal size cars?
I think they will be inconvenienced and angry. The street is pretty full with residents cars

 

Can you put up a photo of this difficult parking situation ?
Maybe there are other solutions.

 

Are they renters or owner occupiers?

If renters they may move out and you can move on with your life.

And regardless, why hasn't the car port been fixed to support a bigger car - is it an easy fix like removing an older tin butt ugly one and putting up a new one? Or more difficult as its integrated?

If I had a nice expensive car I wouldn't be wanting to park it on a narrow street when I can park it in a driveway.

Maybe if it's owner occupied you could assist in partial payment of a newer wider carport?

 

First world problems, hey

Lucky you though, at least hour council considered the idea, i have people parking in our court, this involves doing a 3 point turn which is impossible with a tandem trailer, so i have to reverse out 200mt, my council said no due to maintenance costs
Can you not have your garage modified ?
If not, then get the yellow line
Drop a note into the neighbor's mail and say "i am sorry, i asked you but had no other option" and possibly mention them modifying their carport so they have the ability to park off st also

 

Sounds like you're on (friendly enough) speaking terms with this neighbour, so I'd probably give them the courtesy of a heads up. Let them know you've discussed the issue with council and the outcome was the yellow line. The potential inconvenience to them can't really be helped because nobody else (other than council) can really do anything to improve the situation.

As Gockie asked above, are there others on your street in a similar situation? If so council may wish to be proactive and apply a similar treatment for them. Then yours won't be the only one Having dealt with BCC this year on a yellow line installation matter, I've found them pretty helpful and understanding.

 

How long have you lived there?

If you've lived there a while it sounds like you just want more convenience at the cost of your neighbour. Suck it up - it's the price you pay for living in the city.

 

A yellow line on the road will indeed disappoint your neighbours and a lot of other people will just ignore it - especially at night. Don't even consider ever getting a bigger car. But count yourself lucky that in what sounds like a pretty congested part of Brisbane you have a garage.

 

I'd recommend reversing into the Garage. It may take two goes? but think about how easy it is to drive out

 

1 month

 

I don't effectively have a garage as a small car scrapes getting in/out and a normal size car would really struggle to get into.
Unless across the road is clear.
They have a garage (lock up carport) that a small or medium car would fit into.

Modification to my garage would involve huge cost (excavation, relocation of retaining wall replacing side of garage, replacing side path- to make wider). It's not feasible. .Their carport is less than ten years old but must have been built to take a small to average car. Their car is very long and wide

 

I believe OOs and the carport may be the problem or maybe it's integrated with the fence. Although i think their issue might be length with this extra long car they currently have.
Here is a photo of their carport.

 

I wonder if the height of the door is the issue?

 

I don't think so. Their car is 2m high. I measured. That door looks taller than 2m. Could be the problem though?