neighbor driving over grass

[dinger]

What is the name of your state? PA
Hello,
I live a in a small town in PA where neighbors houses are fairly close together. I have a sidewalk which is separated from the road by a patch of "lawn" that is about 18 inches wide. It is currently only dirt, and my neighbor continually drives over it. I would like to fill it with new dirt and plant grass. If I do this and my neighbor continues to drove over, am I able to do anything about it. Is that considered destruction of property.
I'm not out for money, I just don't want them driving on the grass. However, if that is what it takes, do I have any grounds for reimbursement?

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[ifnotforgrace]

This might sound silly, but have you discussed the matter with the neighbor? If so, what was the response?

 

[dinger]

I haven't yet discussed it with the neighbor, but judging from past experience, I don't think it will do much good.

 

[CraigFL]

Why not put one of those short, little, temporary white wire fences around it to keep others off while its growing. Maybe the neighbor will be trained not to use that space....

 

[LindaP777]

It seems that my neighbor would always choose to have a large party, right after a really hard rain, when the ground was very soft. Their guests cars would overflow their driveway and down the street, parking each car parallel with 2 wheels in the yards of all the neighbors. The cars would leave huge ruts and occasionally get stuck, requiring rolling back an forth to get out, making the ruts even worse. Several years in a row, I would replant grass seed, tamp out the ruts and block off the area with stakes and twine, preventing people from parking there. (They, of course, could run over the stakes and twine, but that would be really bold.) If the small stakes don't work, try decorative rocks (small boulders) as barriers. It works, until the barrier comes down and the process repeats itself the next year. Now that my grass has gotten thicker, it's not a bad of a problem. You might even consider buying sod and roping it off.

 

[dinger]

we had thought about roping it off, but I think she does it out of spite. I think the only way would be to tell them that if they drive over it again, they would have to pay for it. but I don't know if I have any grounds to actually say something like that.

 

[HuAi]

Post a barrier around it like others suggested. Even if it's a visual thing like the white picket fence, it will deter most people. Or spend $20 and get some paver stones from Home Depot, and stake them into the ground with the narrow side like a small decorative fence. I am sure neighbor doesnt want his car driving over that.

 

[ifnotforgrace]

OR there are decorative ceramic items Like fountains, rabbits, gnomes or other items that would make it hard to drive over, even pink flamingo's. Try a yard sale for items to begin with. The idea is toget them in the habit of not driving across it. I would still have the preverbal chat with the neighbor if possible. Make the offer of at least talking to them even if you have no expectation of cooperation.