December 4, 2004

2:52 PM

parking meters and nyc. the law says 15 ft but lots of people park closer than that. is there a rule of thumb for this kind of thing? how close is too close? i live in brooklyn if that makes a difference.
posted by alkupe to (10 comments total)

As someone who just recently got his car towed for parking too close to a fire hydrant, I'd say its in your best interest to heed the 15' rule.
posted by skwm at 3:03 PM on December 4, 2004

Agreed. My girlfriend got a ticket a couple of months ago that said "4 Feet From Hydrant." We measured, and it was seven feet from the hydrant...which was fine, but then it turned out that the law says 15. Don't mess around with this...lots of people do park closer than that, but lots of people get ticketed as well.

(We made out okay, since they got her car's make wrong, so we could challenge the ticket.)
posted by Vidiot at 3:11 PM on December 4, 2004

Ever since I got towed underestimating the distance from a hydrant, I don't mess with them no more. Stay away. Far away.
posted by muckster at 3:52 PM on December 4, 2004

When I lived in/near New York City, the general rule of thumb was keep at least a full carlength from either direction of the hydrant.

Another general rule a lot of people I knew used- if there isn't enough room for the fire truck, there's certainly not enough room for you.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 3:59 PM on December 4, 2004

Parked Too Close. Bummer. Heh.
posted by five fresh fish at 4:08 PM on December 4, 2004

Before 9/11, one car length was good. It's still pretty much the accepted rule of thumb in Boston.

Nowadays, with everyone worried about buildings on fire and explosions, you want to give the Brave Firefighters as much room as legally stated. Sucks.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:29 PM on December 4, 2004

You'd think in 2004 they could come up with some alternative fixure for the fire hydrant; one that wouldn't use up a parking space. And it's not just the lost space; it's the braking needed when you see a space hope it's not a hydrant.

How do they handle this in Europe--anyone?
posted by ParisParamus at 6:45 PM on December 4, 2004

In Japan, hydrants may be underground.
posted by dhartung at 2:49 AM on December 5, 2004

You'd think in 2004 they could come up with some alternative fixure for the fire hydrant; one that wouldn't use up a parking space.

Not until they make fire trucks smaller.

I've been ticketed more than once in NYC for being too near a no-parking zone, sometimes even when I'm perfectly legal. The ensuing legal battles with the parking violations bureau take months and months and require you prepay the fine in case you lose your appeal. Park 18-20 feet from that hydrant instead so you can sleep soundly.
posted by werty at 4:37 AM on December 5, 2004

werty--are you saying that if you appeal a ticket in time and lose you have to pay the penalties? I recently appealed and won but i just assumed that if i had lost they at least would have not charged me the penalty for being late. it was ridiculous how long it took them to respond to my appeal and i can't believe they're allowed to charge you penalties for waiting to hear.
posted by alkupe at 10:22 AM on December 5, 2004