...but surely this is something most of us hate to see. I walk on this street near where I work a couple times per day. Granted, the sidewalk isn't much to speak of, but cars park like this all the time. Sometimes people park utility trailers or campers covering the entire sidewalk. If I see someone doing it I will let them know they should leave at least enough room so someone in a wheelchair wouldn't have to go out in the road, and this has been fairly effective, but for most this seems to be acceptable behavior around here.
Can you document this and present it to your town council? Give them your pictures and a brief write-up, and suggest a solution.
It looks like this is a pretty ambiguous sidewalk and could easily appear to be the verge of the street (rather than a sidewalk). A defined pavement with curbs would be a far more effective sidewalk, with the added benefit that anyone parking on it would clearly be in the wrong and could be ticketed or towed.
I agree with you wholeheartedly! I just moved into this town a year ago and there is a lot of room for improvement, but also some good to be said about some of the local planners. I really need to get more involved.