Driveway legality without curb cut?

[tdiamond]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York City, New York

I was ticketed and towed for blocking a driveway of a commercial building. My car was parked in front of a roll-up door that was (faintly) spray painted "No Parking." There is no curb cut in front of the door.

I searched the forums and found some previous threads on this topic, but could find none that answered the question of whether there is a specific provision in NY traffic law or code that helps defines the legality of a private or commercial driveway in relation to curb cuts?

NY Traffic rules define Driveway as follows: "Driveway. Every entrance or exit authorized pursuant to applicable law and used by vehicular traffic to or from lands or buildings abutting a roadway."

NY Traffic Rules state: "Driveways. In front of a public or private driveway, except that it shall be permissible for the owner, lessor or lessee of the lot accessed by a private driveway to park a passenger vehicle registered to him/her at that address in front of such driveway, provided that such lot does not contain more than two dwelling units and further provided that such parking does not violate any other provision of the Vehicle and Traffic Law or local law or rule concerning the parking, stopping or standing of motor vehicles. The prohibition herein shall not apply to driveways that have been rendered unusable due to the presence of a building or other fixed obstruction and, therefore, are not being used as defined in §4-01(b) of these rules."

NYC Department of Buildings, in their guidelines on curb cuts, states: "A curb cut is a dip in a sidewalk and curb that enables a vehicle to drive to a driveway, garage, parking lot, loading dock or drive-through."

It seems to me that the lack of curb cut would constitute a fixed obstruction to the use of a driveway. Is this likely to be a winning defense?

 

[adjusterjack]

It seems to me that the lack of curb cut would constitute a fixed obstruction to the use of a driveway. Is this likely to be a winning defense?

No.

There is no requirement to make a curb cut for there to be a driveway. A curb is not an obstruction. Delivery trucks negotiate them with ease.

There was a roll up door and a No Parking sign.

That was enough to tell you not to park there.

You rolled the dice and came up craps.

Pay your fine.


PS: I'm an ex NYer with relatives in Manhattan. There are driveways like that all over the city.

 

[FlyingRon]

I'll disagree on that one. Driveways and curb cuts are highly regulated in NYC. No curb cut, no driveway.

 

[adjusterjack]

Then cite the OP a statute that says that so he can plead not guilty and have a defense.

 

[FlyingRon]

Unlike the generic description in the NY VAT, the NYC rules require the driveways be authorized:

Driveway. Every entrance or exit authorized pursuant to applicable law and used by vehicular
traffic to or from lands or buildings abutting a roadway​

Just putting a parking space on your property or a garage door doesn't make it a driveway. You must file a PW1 and get approval to do so (and there are dons of zoning regs on this) and when you do the city will cut the curb. Chances are without the curb cut, it's likely NOT a legal driveway You certainly can go on to the city parking regs site and determine if this is indeed an authorized one.

 

[justalayman]

Then cite the OP a statute that says that so he can plead not guilty and have a defense.

From everything I Have found all driveways require a permit to be issued. I have not found anything stating and drive must have a curb cut but common sense suggests it is a requirement as driving over a sidewalk without a curb cut is detrimental to the sidewalk (and is a really good basis for a suit for damages to vehicles using the drive) Curb cuts also alter the amount of on street parking, which is a serious concern (which is why I presume a driveway permit must be obtained).

I suspect there is no legal drive in the case at hand. The question then is; can a ticket be enforced in an illegal driveway situation. From what I have read; no, it can't.

So, I would suggest starting with researching to determine whether a driveway permit has ever been issued for the location. If so, it might be a losing case but it might be arguable on the lack of a curb cut was indicative of it not being a legal driveway. If there has been no permit issued, I would argue no permit, no driveway ergo not a valid ticket.

Every time a situation has been posted regarding NYC, it was shown NYC is a city of laws and the law has been the best defense to a ticket regardless what the situation appeared to be.

 

[HighwayMan]

There was a roll up door and a No Parking sign.

By the way, that "sign" is not enforceable.

 

[tdiamond]

Unlike the generic description in the NY VAT, the NYC rules require the driveways be authorized:

Driveway. Every entrance or exit authorized pursuant to applicable law and used by vehicular
traffic to or from lands or buildings abutting a roadway​

Just putting a parking space on your property or a garage door doesn't make it a driveway. You must file a PW1 and get approval to do so (and there are dons of zoning regs on this) and when you do the city will cut the curb. Chances are without the curb cut, it's likely NOT a legal driveway You certainly can go on to the city parking regs site and determine if this is indeed an authorized one.

Thanks for all the responses.
I could not find any application or approval on Bisweb for a PW1 at that address, although I will keep looking.
Could you clarify about going onto city parking regulations web site to determine if it is authorized? I am only familiar with the parking sign map on their site

 

[tdiamond]

Then cite the OP a statute that says that so he can plead not guilty and have a defense.

NYC Administrative Code Title 28 Chapter 7 Section 406.7.7 Driveways states:

Driveways serving passenger vehicles shall be a minimum of 8 feet (2438 mm) in width and shall not exceed the length of the curb cut, not including the lengths of the splays. For all other motor vehicles, the minimum width of driveways shall be 10 feet (3048 mm). Portions of the driveway located between the curb line and the lot line shall be paved in accordance with the requirements of the Department of Transportation for the construction of sidewalks.​

The curb cut at the location I was towed is zero feet (I can provide photo evidence of this supported by Google streetview). It seems to me that given a curb cut of zero feet, a driveway of any length would be illegal.