Respecting Alley Access Is The Law In Great Falls

Why Are People Blocking My Alley And Is It Even Legal?

I am an alley dweller. My home is a second home on a lot and I literally can only get to it from the alley.

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This last month, the alley to my house has been blocked when I get home, a lot. I feel like this is happening at least once a week, and it's starting to kind of hack me off. I live almost directly in the center of the alley, so for some reason, that means they also park in front of my garage. 'Cause nobody uses those things anyway.

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Look, if it were a police situation or an ambulance or firetruck, fine. It's a great reason to block the alley. That is not happening where I live.

I just don't get it. I am NOT the only one who accesses their property from the alley. There are a lot of garages on both sides. To me, a garage is a clear indication that an alley is used for these homes.

After being blocked from going to my house again the other day, I decided to look it up.

Laws For Blocking Alleyways From The City Of Great Falls:

There are 4 basic laws that you can see here. The one I'm talking about in this article is this one:

It is unlawful to stop, stand, or park any vehicle or trailer in any alley so as to block entry to any private driveway, entrance to a building, or at any location which will prevent or hinder garbage collection.

Basically, Don't park in alleys. And REALLY don't park in alleys and then chat with your friends for a bit before getting on with your life. And really REALLY don't park in front of someone's garage.  Seriously. There is no reason that's good enough to stop me from accessing my home.