Apr 6, 2010

Parking Tips from Bangor Police Department

Spring Parking reminders
Courtesy of Sgt. Paul Edwards of the Bangor Police Department

As of April 1, the Special Winter Parking Rules are now expired. Night parking is now legal and odd/even days are behind us. With that in mind, please be mindful of a few parking violations that still apply that I have selected that are important.

Left wheel to curb- Always park right wheels to curb unless parking on a one way street. This rule is extremely important especially when leaving a parking spot as you double the danger of causing an accident trying to look both ways while merging into traffic.

Less than 30 feet from intersection- Always leave at least 30 feet between the front bumper of your vehicle and an intersection. Many accidents are caused by persons who park to close to an intersection, especially large vehicles that are difficult to see around when someone is trying to pull onto a major roadway.

Fire Hydrant- 12 feet must remain free on both sides!
Crosswalk- You can never park on a crosswalk.
Sidewalk- You can never park on a sidewalk.
Esplanade- You can never park on an esplanade. An esplanade is the area between the road and the sidewalk that is generally grassy.
Fire lane- You can never park in a fire lane.

Now that it is legal to park on the street, I would like to recommend being mindful of your neighbors. Please make sure you park in a way that does not block your neighbor’s driveway. A vehicle blocking any driveway can be towed at the owner’s expense.

Pedestrian Safety

With the nice weather upon us, The Bangor Police Department would also like to remind people walking, running, riding bicycles, or skateboarding, to be mindful of vehicular traffic. We would ask the same of our motorists. Please be careful of pedestrian movements and always adhere to crosswalk laws. Walkers and runners must use a sidewalk if available. If one is not available, you must walk or run against traffic as far to the left as you can. Bicycles must follow all traffic laws as motorists and pedal with the flow of traffic as far to the right as possible.