[ml2008]

We live on a residential street off a main roadway in our town. At the top of our street is a funeral home. They do not have enough parking so they use our street for overflow parking. It is annoying to say the least but they often have funerals so big that they have patrons parking on both sides of the street making it difficult to even drive down the street.
We have even have police officers deny us entry onto our own block because it was so crowded down it. Our daughter has had seizures in the past and we now have a newborn whom we don't know whether will have the seizures as well. The parking situation gets so bad that my car can barely fit down the street much less any emergency vehicle.
We have spoken to the funeral home and they have blown us off now for the third year. The police department has been equally useless. They have given us every excuse in the book why they can/will not do anything about the situation. One officer went so far as to say that we chose where we live so we have to deal with it.
We spoke to the mayor and he finally agreed to put up No Parking signs on one side of the street. However, the people are still parking on that side of the street and when we talk to the police about the situation they again give us reasons people are parked on that side of the street and tell us that they can supersede parking signs (even in non-emergency) situations.
They are blatantly biased towards the funeral home and do not seem to care about the concerns of any of the people residing on our street. Can we seek legal action against the funeral home and especially the police department? Thank You

[Fr_Chuck]

Go to the police chief about officers not enforcing the law.
If no result, go to the city counsel. Attend meetings, take photos with you, take lists of names of officers. Call mayor and your counselman when it is happening.

Report the problem to the State Attorney Generals office.

Hire an attorney to review and see if you can sue the city.

[ml2008]

We have been taking photos especially now that the signs are up. My wife has called right away when it happens during the week and during the day but the only people to call at night and on weekends is the police department that we have a big problem with.

I will have to see about talking to the councilman and Attorney General. That was going to be our next step. I didn't know if we were being nuts about this.

[ml2008]

We have been taking photos especially now that the signs are up. My wife has called right away when it happens during a weekday but the only people to call at night and on weekends is the police department that we have a big problem with.

I will have to see about talking to the councilman and Attorney General. That was going to be our next step. I didn't know if we were being nuts about this.

[Fr_Chuck]

Don't matter if you are nuts about it, it is your street, they put up signs. And now the police have a duty to respect it. I would go to newspaper, push to have police chief replaced for not doing his duty and more. But then that is just me.

[ml2008]

I agree. We wanted to see what options there might be before taking this to the next level.

[smearcase]

This happens frequently with stadiums, businesses, colleges which are located near residential areas. It is always the government's problem unless there is a zoning ordinance being violated.
Getting the government to take on the problem is always hard to do, and this being a funeral home it will be even harder. Many areas try permit parking for residents but when you come home and there is no parking space because someone ignored the signs, you are the one inconvenienced- still.
Is there a practical solution to the problem? (1) Is there land available for the funeral home to expand the offstreet parking? (2) Are there many choices for people to shop around for nearby funeral homes? If the answer to these two questions is no, you are in for a battle. Funerals are going to happen and funerals for well known people are going to clog the street. If the police chief tows the cars of the bereaved, how long will he be in office?
Sounds to me like this guy has a monopoly because he is the only one in town or well below others' prices.
If the answer to question 1 and or 2 above is yes, go to the meetings in as big groups as you can muster and keep hammering them, frequently mentioning the name of that funeral home for the newspaper quotes, and folks around town might stop using his services because they don't want their friends and relatives to be inconvenienced by the parking problem. But if he has the far best price, even that might not work.
Most towns go so far as to stop traffic for as long as it takes for funeral processions. There is precedence for inconveniencing others for funerals.
"One officer went so far as to say that we chose where we live so we have to deal with it."-- seems like a callous comment but if that funeral home has been there for a considerable time, he may be right.

[AK lawyer]

Check to see if the zoning allows a funeral home in that location.