What counts

All of these were photographed in New Orleans. Curb ramps count too.

A box truck stopped in a painted bike lane on a downtown New Orleans street

Bike lane

Getting around it means merging into moving traffic, which is the one thing the lane exists to avoid.

A silver SUV parked across a residential sidewalk in New Orleans

Sidewalk

A wheelchair or a stroller cannot step around it. The only way past is out into the road.

A car parked across a marked crosswalk at a New Orleans corner

Crosswalk

You cross blind, stepping out past the bumper before you can see what is coming.

A delivery truck parked into the corner beside a fire hydrant in New Orleans

Corner

Parked into the daylighting zone, so the driver turning and the person crossing see each other far too late.

Why a phone call?

Because it is the only route the city publishes. A parking complaint in New Orleans means calling (504) 658-8100 and describing the car and the corner to whoever answers. No portal, no inbox. A phone call is a much higher bar than a form, so the call is the part we automated: Lazer spells the plate out letter by letter, says the street the way a local would, and takes down the reference number that comes back.