You can fight City Hall

I have a new focus for my wrath. A new mission, if you will. And I do accept it. I need to get the "No parking here to corner" sign moved from one side of my driveway to the other.

I live at a T-intersection that has an elementary school across from it. A couple of years ago, signs were put up on each side of the street prohibiting parking within 6 metres of the crosswalk. Unfortunately, the 6 metre line falls just short of my driveway and the one across the street, so people who park right up to the sign block access to our driveways.

Which wouldn't be so much of a problem if people were reasonable and moved with good grace when we residents need to exit or enter our driveways. But people are rarely either reasonable or graceful.

People have gone from merely shooting me dirty looks, to muttering obscenities because I had the audacity to want to use my driveway when they were waiting to pick up their child who can't be expected to walk 4 or 5 car lengths, I mean really lady, as if! Then there are the truly inconsiderate souls who leave their vehicle parked across my driveway and go into the school, leaving me wondering when, or even if, they are coming back. For all I know, they could be merely crossing to accompany a younger child back to their vehicle, or they could be going in to volunteer for the entire afternoon.

Yesterday, a huge 4x4 cab-and-a-half monstrosity of a truck was sitting right across my driveway, completely blocking it, just as I was leaving to go back to work. I came out of my house, climbed into my car, started it up, thinking surely the driver would have the good sense and grace to pull ahead temporarily and allow me to exit. Did he? As our good friends on Coronation St. would say, "Did 'e 'eck as like!" He watched me (we're talking eye contact, here, he saw me, oh yes, he did!) get in my car and chose that moment, that exact moment, to get out of his truck and walk to the back of it.

Why did he think I was getting in my car? More comfortable seating than my living room? Better heating? Better stereo? Surely not that I might want to drive... like now???

So, I laid on the horn, so as to gently dissuade him of any misconceptions regarding my intentions. To his credit, he caught on immediately, interrupted whatever vital functions to which he was attending and moved his truck.

And so it entered my head that I had had enough and perhaps asking that the sign be moved to the other side of my driveway might be reasonable. And that's when I noticed that the sign on the other side of the street had already been moved! The new location is directly opposite where I want the sign on my side of the street to be... how convenient.

City hall doesn't stand a chance.*



*Yes, yes, I realize that on the scale of trials and tribulations in this life, this is really small potatoes. But I gotta blog about something and folks, this is all I got. For which I am appropriately grateful. But the signs, they are a-changin'... or else.