Residential Street Parking: Great Falls Laws And Your Rights

Is The Street In Front Of Your Home Your Parking Space?

Back in the day, I lived by Great Falls High.  People parked in front of my house, and my driveway all the time, even though I had a purple mark on the curb.

Turns out that it was a space for my house, but there's a couple of catches here.

When Can You Claim The Street Space In Front Of Your House As "Yours"?

Only if you have a driveway.  It is illegal to park in front of someone's driveway and block them from leaving or entering their yard.

This is something that happened all the time when I was across the street from Great Falls High.  Even though, CLEARLY, it was an off-street parking spot, didn't matter if I was at home or not, people would just park there, either blocking me in or blocking me out of my driveway.

Even though there are signs posted that it's residential parking only by Great Falls High and CMR, denoted by the purple paint, it's mostly ignored.

Anyone Can Park Anywhere On A Residential Street

The streets and on-street parking are owned by the City of Great Falls.  It is completely legal for someone to park right in front of your house, even if it makes it more inconvenient for you.

What Can You Do If Someone Is Parked Illegally In Great Falls?

Not much.  You can call a tow truck, but from what I can tell, you'd probably have to pay for the tow, unless you have signs up.  Even then, I'd be worried I'd have to pay.