To think this is really selfish parking?

[CaptainObviousTwo]

I have spent far too long on a diagram here.

I unfortunately live in a house where the parking is street parking.
The number of parking spaces is extremely limited, and if you don't manage to get a space you have to park around half a mile away as the rest of the road is double yellows.

I've tried to depict it best as I can in the diagram, but the street parking is further complicated by multiple lowered kerbs (entrances to driveways basically) meaning the spaces are such that you can only get two or three cars parellel park between the lowered kerb sections.

Every day, without fail, I come home from work to find several cars (usually the same ones) parked in the centre of the spaces rather than pulled up to the "start" of the parking area - meaning that a space that has potential to get two or three cars parked in, is limited to one or two.
If these cars just pulled forwards/backwards by two or three foot (which there is room to do) then there would be space for another car to park. This would cost the driver absolutely nothing, and wouldn't crowd the area/risk their car/block anything etc. It's just, IMO, extremely inconsiderate parking.

These spaces are limiting enough as it is, as occasionally I'll be late from work and, even if some miracle has happened and everyone has pulled forward to the end of the space, there are still no spaces and I end up having to park a ten minute walk away.

AIBU to seeth about this? More than once I've had to drag a full week's shopping (three or four trips) from half a mile away, and I've seen at least one neighbour have to carry a car seat.

This isn't limited to outside my house either, the last office job I had had exactly the same thing, where people would just park randomly within the street parking, with a gap just a foot too small for another car in front of them - leaving tantalisingly sized gaps which couldn't be filled.

Bah!

[CaptainObviousTwo]

Sorry, not sure if the diagrams make sense but the first one shows how people should park, for optimum parking space, and the second is how people actually park.

[PaintingByNumbers]

print out your diagram and leave it with a note on the offending car windscreen
yanbu but they probably want to avoid people bashing their cars by parking too close

[CaptainObviousTwo]

PaintingByNumbers I get that but honestly the road is busy, having three cars isn't too tight a squeeze, I can't see how its more likely to get bashed actually if they parked nicely they'd be less likely, if you catch my drift grumble grumble

[Spickle]

YANBU it would annoy me too but I am not sure what you can do to resolve it. People can be very inconsiderate and selfish, it's just like a packed supermarket car park where some twat has deliberately parked across two spaces.

[JeffJarrett]

That's the best diagram I've seen on here
YANBU. But people are selfish and people are lazy and don't generally give a crap. It's shit though and I feel for you.

[RhiWrites]

Remake the diagram so the good one has green cars and then distribute it to your neighbours along with encouragement cake.

[DontBuyANewMumCashmere]

As pp - award for best parking diagram ever.
So annoying. I hate it when people do this. So thoughtless and just selfish.

[lilnutter]

Awesome! I bow down to your skill in creating diagrams! Henceforth all diagrams should be presented thus!

Back to issue, I would stick this diagram on the window! Simple, you can't know who is the guilty party, and it will save you knocking doors.
If they still ignore you then it's as a PP said, they want to protect their car from bumps that other drivers may cause.

[onemouseplace]

I know exactly what you mean, because people do it on my road as well. Or rather, what people do which affects me (so I notice) is park and leave half a space before my dropped kerb. Which then means that when the next car needs to park, rather than thinking there isn't room for their car in the half space, parks half across my dropped kerb, making it very difficult for me to get in or out.

I don't know why people do it - I do sometimes leave a bit of space in front just in case someone parks right up my arse and makes it difficult to get out - but I watched someone park right in the middle of a 2 car gap the other day, which seemed entirely senseless.

[bumblingmum]

Excellent diagram!
Yes, really annoying. As other pp said, can you stick a note on that says there is room for 3 cars here, please park considerately.

[BurnTheBlackSuit]

That's the best diagram ever!!!

I can only assume that people don't want to be blocked in at the best and they are just selfish at worst.

[TooFew]

Totally feel your pain. Excellent diagrams...as others have said print them out and distribute. Particularly lovery the suggestion of cake. Who wouldn't park well for cake?!

[MeganChips]

This happens down our road all the time and it drives me crackers.

One of the worst offenders is my next door neighbour who knows damn well how tight the parking is around here so really should know better.

I don't know if it's laziness, selfishness or they just can't park.

[CaptainObviousTwo]

The thing is even with three cars there's plenty of space, unless its an extra long car then there's more than enough room.

Glad my diagrams are Mumsnet approved though!

[SingingSands]

You need to approach the council and ask them to paint parking bays.
Our council did this on a road that gets used for parking for the local train station. It made a huge difference!

[PenguinOfDoom]

Top diagramming!

We have a similar problem on our street - spaces which could easily accommodate more cars being taken up by one car parking right in the middle. It IS thoughtless, but as it's on street, there's not much anyone can do without seeming like a dick about it.

[TheGentleMoose]

Yy to asking council to paint bays - this has worked amazingly well on our road.

[redwinerequired]

I sympathise. Our neighbour does this deliberately so it's difficult to get both our cars on. You can get 4 cars on our bit easily, but she makes it difficult for us when she's annoyed with us about something. Our other neighbour ends up part way over his drive to allow us to get in. Everyone else parks considerably and has driveways except us. She's a cow.

[CharlieSierra]

Excellent diagram skills! Totally with you on this, they do it in my road too. It's particularly enraging when its neighbours who know the score; mine do it and they have a bloody drive. Selfish bastards can't be arsed to park on the drive and then park two cars in three spaces.

[CaptainObviousTwo]

I'm not sure if the council could paint bays as all of the parking is half on/half off the kerb (legally, from what I understand, or maybe its just enforced as there is no other option) because otherwise you wouldn't get two lanes of traffic down the road (its a pretty busy main road).

[chocolateworshipper]

Parking? Diagram?

...swoon...

[Guavaf1sh]

Really really excellent diagram - a thousand YANBUs!

[JigglyTuff]

Completely agree with you. I can see the commuters arrive of a morning on my street and there is one bloke who parks right in the middle of a space that can easily take two, possibly three, cars. I am really tempted to bang on the window at him sometimes

[Monkeyinshoes]

YANBU. I have the same issue as onemouse there's room for two cars to park to the right of my dropped kerb, if they park up to the edges of the drops.

What usually happens instead is someone parks two foot away from the other houses' dropped kerb, then some arse sticks their car behind and part over my dropped kerb.

[justpeachy74]

That would annoy me too.

for the diagram. Good work.,