Can I put something ramp like in the road?
 

Im moving house on friday and the new place does not have a drop curb. The pavement is narrow as is the entrance so the only way in on the bike is straight up the curb. So that doesn't sound to bad right?

Its on a fastish country lane near the edge of the village, on the inside of the bend. Traffic comes round the bend at a steady 30-40mph with the occasional idiot. The scenario i can foresee is a car or a lorry in the lane closest to the house are just exiting their left bend as they pass my house. (if you can picture that) The bend for them is blind, they wont see me waiting to turn right across their lane into my house. Or if i am coming from their direction i will have to stop broad side to traffic to get up the curb.

So can i put something there? By the curb in the road? So if i do have to gun it out of someones way i don't destroy my rims/ crash. Also my girlfriend has just started riding, 3 days in on her cg125 so far, so although the front wheel is a little bigger the curb will be a big deal for her for a while.

I thought a block of wood cut into a wedge lengthways and again at both ends in case a car drove over it. Painted white so people can see it?

What do you think?

Re: Can i put something in the road?
 

I'd just stick a bit of wood there and not worry about it too much. Or pay for a drop kerb. Or accidently grind a fat chunk out of the kerb that's already there.

Even simpler would be to practise getting the bike up the kerb that's there.

Re: Can i put something in the road?
 

For me getting up the curb is not the problem. Its just if some idiot comes round the bend at 55 one day there's not gonna be much time. I cant modify the curb its a rented property in a smallish nice looking village. Probably the best way to make enemies when we move in! lol.

Re: Can i put something in the road?
 

I would put a block of wood cut into a wedge for your slope. when your going out/in to the drive way, and pick it up and then place it in the driveway afterwards.
a few times later, if noone says anything, leave the wood there full time....sorted.

Re: Can i put something in the road?
 

I'm my first house for my car, I welded up two metal wedges and screwed them to the kerb stone :)
Council wanted £1300 for a dropped curb and only their contractors were allowed to do it.

Re: Can i put something in the road?
 

Wouldn't be suprised if one or two of the contractors where relatives with someone on the council. Nowadays robbery comes in more than one form.

Re: Can i put something in the road?
 

I got told the same thing as Phil and the council said it was due to Public Liability cover.

"You may then appoint a contractor to carry out the works who must have the necessary Public Liability Insurance cover as detailed and be accredited as safe and competent to work on the highway in accordance with the New Roads and Streetworks Act 1991".

Cost £60 for someone to come out and see if I can have it dropped and then he told me it will be around £800.

Public pants down and charge what you want cover more like.

Re: Can i put something in the road?
 

Lad across the road dropped his kerb at one of his drives himself.

Someone grassed him to the council who inspected it. Said he had not done a sufficient drop on the pavement and told him to do what he didn't think he could which was to continue the drop the width of the pavement.

Re: Can i put something in the road?
 

On the one hand no you can't, on the other hand yes you could and I've seen it done but you're not supposed to.

Re: Can i put something in the road?
 

Aye, ten years ago, the council wanted 400 quid to drop the curb, and another 400 to rip up the grass in front of the garden and cover with tarmac.

They gave me permission to drop the curb, but with that sort of money involved, I thought they could bog off.

The bloke who came round reckoned they'd be 'catching up' with all the people who had dropped the curb but carried their driveway out to the pavement, to have them resurface it with council approved stuff. What a crock o plop!

I just said, I think I shall carry on pushing my 'bicycle' over the pavement onto my property, its cheaper!

Nobody actually gives a stuff, about me driving over the curb with the Landy, as pretty much everyone round here needs to to it with their own cars, due to lack of parking on the road and big lorries passing down the street.

Re: Can i put something in the road?
 

The only problem with not having a drop kerb is that any old Joe Bloggs can park in front of your house without risking a ticket and can also block you in.

Re: Can i put something in the road?
 

depending on your kerb. but just a brick or piece of 4x2 is often enough to provide a hop up. I had a similar thing at my old house, made something quite nice but it got pinched.

Re: Can i put something in the road?
 

Some people have done it them self's, very lucky to get away with it.
i was told if you do it your self,
1, they will fine you for damaging council property.
2, they get YOU to pay for it to be fixed !!!!
But this really depends on where you live, my area you cannot get away with anything,
Got told I could get fined if I parked one wheel on the curb, even though its bloody tight road and a bus route aswell.

Re: Can i put something in the road?
 

To be fair to councils here for a minute.....

They have thousands of miles of tarmac and structures to try and keep up to scratch. They have their own set of standards based on good engineering experience of what is a cross between cost-effective and not breaking up every time there is a storm (lets ignore for a minute that they're not actually doing a great job of fixing the pot-holes formed in the last winters).

If they let everyone just do their own dropkerb there would be all sorts of build ups, with poor joint's all over the place. And kerbs installed without whichever kerb-brace they have decided should be used. We'd have pavement and kerb-lines breaking up in about twice as many locations as there already are (because a lot of people park on the pavement)....... then they'd get moaned at for not doing their job.

As much as I moan about highways depts in the councils I deal with (and I have to get much bigger things than drop kerbs past them - think 3.5m retaining walls holding up the road) it's a thankless task, that the actual department doesn't have enough money allocated for.

To the OP, just put a wedge of timber in the channel. If someone moans it's a lot easier to put right than damage to a kerb. If you want (have land-lords permission) to apply for a drop-kerb I'd say £400 is about right. If they're telling you £1200 shop around as there is usually more than 1 approved contractor and it will depend on their workload.

Re: Can I put something ramp like in the road?
 

I lived in a rental house without a dropped curb. It was a low curb, but still horrible to drive up and down it. I think it messed up my tracking (car) and also tyre pressures over time. I ended up putting some bigs of wood out on the road which the local kids found hilarious and used to kick about. PITA.

Re: Can I put something ramp like in the road?
 

Thanks guys i will keep it simple to start with with a bit of wood, and if there doesn't seem to be a problem from anywhere after a few weeks i will probably screw a wooden wedge in. I'm moving in on the 15th now. When i do move in i will take some pictures of the road to show what i see as the problem. The biggest thing I'm worried about is getting run over trying to get the bike in. Second biggest thing is whatever i put in the road causes someone else an accident and it gets blamed on me.

Re: Can I put something ramp like in the road?
 

When I lived in a 2 up 2 down and parked in my shead I borrowed some pot hole fix tarmac and made a ramp with that.
But I denied all knowledge when we got chucked out.(noise ) .
Landlord did try and sting us for it as part of the damage for the place . We only paid for the sink and celling . :smt019

Re: Can I put something ramp like in the road?
 

MrTommyH and I are in the same game, regulations set by the council are there to stop the rednecks fecking up the public highway, you or I may put a piece of wood there but without the highways act there was nothing stopping people coming and sledge hammering the feck out of the kerb stones in order to make an access. This is much better for everyone that the act was brought in and enforced.

The long way (proper way) would have you applying for a section 278 to convert the footpath into a vehicular access. The short way round is a timber wedge, just be aware a street sweep may take it away.

For reference provided you employ competent contractors to do the work and get it done swiftly with next to no disruption to traffic flow chances are it'll be completed without incident but its not a cheap fix. Highways works are expensive. Putting in a drop kerb and ripping out the existing pavement in order to resurface it with the steeper inclined vehicular access will cost you a lot more than £1200 my thoughts are that if the council say they can do it for that then I'd be quite pleased.

Re: Can I put something ramp like in the road?
 

The other thing to be aware of is that if ite corners as dangerous as you suggest they may say no on safety grounds.

Our house doesn't have a dipped curb on our drive either. My dad filled the curb with concrete so it was a small ramp on curb, nothing huge or extremely noticeable.

Few month later my dad got done off the council for it.

Whoops.

Re: Can I put something ramp like in the road?
 

Edit: Ah, re-read and now deleted my post. Sorry

Re: Can I put something ramp like in the road?
 

Is there a drop a little father away drive up that and save you loads of agro .
Probly safest as your not on the corner .

Re: Can I put something ramp like in the road?
 

Sorry mate but you are in a catch 22 situation. By placing anything in the gutter you are technically obstructing the highway and by riding over the pavement you are commiting an offence. A proper council approved drop kerb is the only legal answer and if it is likely to cause a traffic hazard may be refused on safety grounds either during its construction or by you turning in and be bloody expensive if granted due to them requiring to block part of the road during its construction.