Leander Police To Launch Crackdown On Bad Parking Starting Oct. 1

LEANDER, TX — Leander police are cracking down on bad parking, poised to issue tickets to motorists leaving their parked vehicles in ways that violate city ordinance or state parking laws.

Beginning Oct. 1, there will be a more robust effort to enforce parking regulations in the city. This comes on the heels of an updated parking ordinance earlier this year enabling police to issue a greater number of citations to owners of unoccupied vehicles. That's a change from previous protocol limiting police to issue citations only to motorists occupying their vehicles.

The upshot: No more driving in front of driveways or too close to street curbs or fire hydrants, among other infractions. Police officials insist they don't anticipate having to issue that many citations, but the crackdown is real.

According to an online statement from the city, some of the more common violations for which citations will be issued include:

• Parking in front of a driveway;
• parking more than 18 inches from a street curb;
• parking within 15 feet of a fire hydrant;
• parking within 20 feet of an intersection’s crosswalk;
• parking within 30 feet of a traffic signal or stop or yield sign.

Police have been focused on sharing tips to motorists over the last couple of months to acclimate them to the upcoming changes to lessen the number of citations they'll start issuing prior to Oct. 1. But after that date, it's up to you to prevent getting a ticket.

"Have a question?" police ask on their Facebook page. "Let is know. We do not want to have to issue any citations and prefer folks park legally."

An informal Q&A session followed that post on Facebook. One resident asked if motorists blocking bike lanes with their parked vehicles would be subject to a citation. The answer from police suggests a thorough examination of bike lanes is afoot to ensure they are properly marked. The issuance of citations for that infraction will be contingent on the outcome of that bike lane study, police said.

"The city is currently reviewing all bike lanes in the city to ensure they are marked properly," police responded. "Once that is accomplished and all are marked appropriately then it will be illegal to be inside of a bike lane with a vehicle. We will update everyone when that process is complete and enforcement begins for bike lanes."

To help motorists out, Leander police issued a series of visual aids illustrating the various types of infractions. This one demonstrates what it looks like to park within 20 feet of a crosswalk:

This second illustration depicts a vehicle that is parked more than 18 inches from a curb, posing a danger to oncoming traffic:

Another illustration shows a parking job too close to a fire hydrant. Needless to say, this is shunned as it could pose an obstacle to firefighters needing to access the hydrant in fighting a blaze.

Blocking a driveway or sidewalk will not be tolerated as before. This is what that looks like, so park in this way at your own peril after Oct. 1:

Parking too close to a stop or yield sign (within 30 feet to be exact) is always frowned on given the obstruction it creates to other motorists needing to see the road alerts. Come Oct. 1, police will be on the lookout for this infraction too in issuing citations.

It's always vaguely jarring to see a car parked the wrong way along the curb. After Oct. 1, this practice will be strongly dissuaded via a citation.

>>> Uppermost image via Shutterstock, photos of bad parking via Leander Police Department