Clear Lake Residents Ticketed for Parking in Their Driveway

CLEAR LAKE, TX -- Some residents in Clear Lake are being ticketed for parking in their own driveways, but the City of Houston's Parking Management Division said there is a reason for those tickets.

According to a Houston Chronicle report, the citations have been issued to motorists for blocking or parking on a sidewalk.

The City of Houston's Parking Management Division, known as ParkHouston, has issued more than more than 1,700 "blocking or parked on sidewalk" tickets since October.

"I've received two in the last six months," Clear Lake resident John Harris told KTRK.

Harris is one of six people in his areas that has been ticketed for blocking a sidewalk, just in December, but some neighbors said their ticket trouble started long ago.

"I think they need to give us a break,” said Janis Clouette. “We're hard-working people. This NASA area has been hit hard by the oil and the problems NASA has had. People are struggling out here. We don't need this city of Houston nickel and diming us too."

The idea is to avoid having pedestrians walk onto the road in order to circumnavigate parked cars.

ParkHouston spokesperson Maria Ishad said the city is considering the needs of the general public when the citations are issued.

"If there is not sufficient passage for someone in a wheelchair, that vehicle will be issued a citation because the sidewalk is for everyone and we have to think about everyone when it's being used that way," Irshad said. “If the bumper is hanging over just a little, you're not getting a ticket. Because this is such a problem that most people don't think twice about.”

Irshad added that the city is willing to help residents understand what’s required of them so that they won't be ticketed.

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