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Original poster

Why are people such idiots over parking?!?!

72 replies

autumngirl714 · 01/03/2025 10:31

So this is the situation.
I live in a flat in a small building. We used to be able to park directly outside of it but the council deciddd to put double yellow lines there (without any warning!!) which means I now have no where to park my car.
Next to our building is an avenue of about 16 houses, each has a long driveway, some have that and car parking spaces. Not all houses have cars.
I've started parking my car on this avenue, outside a house which never has a car up the drive or outside.
In an ideal world I would park outside my place, but I can't.
I'm a single women in my thirties, I don't want to be walking 10-15 mins down little roads in the evening to get to my car. I feel safer here. I can see my car from my window so if the alarm went off I can see it.

Anyway, the person whose house I've started parking outside put a sign up yesterday (no parking, this is a private driveway). I parked up last night and she came and stood outside her front door. Maybe a coincidence but it felt like an intimidation thing.
The thing is, I park on the pavement. Not her driveway. I've never gone over it and I've never turned up it. I just park on the public driveway.

My mum is a bit of a parking police kind of person and is mortified I parked outside someone's house.... but it's like, what else am I supposed to do?! Anywhere i park will be outside someone's house!
Do people really think that only they are entitled to the public pavement outside their house? Do people think it's actually fair I get rid of my car so they can have an empty pavement?!

Sorry, rant over 🙈

OP posts:
amicisimma · 01/03/2025 11:10

As a Londoner I find the idea that a person should consider valid their opinion about any car parked legally on the public highway, without causing an obstruction, quite amazing.

Tarmac is tarmac, paid for out of all our taxes. We are all as entitled as any one else to park (legally and non-obstructively) on any piece of it for as long as and as many times as we like.

CaptBirdsEar · 01/03/2025 11:11

I am amazed how many people are telling you to randomly park and not in the same place.

What planet are they on?

Original poster
autumngirl714 · 01/03/2025 11:12

Yes you're right, I could alternate the houses etc moving forward.
I think, in my area at least? There's this really entitled attitude that people seem to think that you can't park outside their house.
I used to park elsewhere, where you could fit two cars. The owner then started parking right in the middle so they could only fit their car there.

I'm just like.... what else am I supposed to even do?!?!

OP posts:
BeaAndBen · 01/03/2025 11:12

autumngirl714 · 01/03/2025 10:44

Diagram!

Excellent diagram! 🥇

You are doing nothing wrong and she’s a nutter.

GretchenWienersHair · 01/03/2025 11:18

roseymoira · 01/03/2025 10:50

How annoying for the homeowner to constantly have the same random car outside their house. Not illegal but inconsiderate.

Don't always park in front of the same house

Why? I genuinely don’t understand this. If there’s a space without parking restrictions, anyone can park there. If every parking space was reserved for the house that it was in front of, no one would be able to drive to anywhere except around the block and back to their own front door.

Adropintheocean1 · 01/03/2025 11:18

God people are dicks. I live on a really busy road, lucky enough to have a drive way. Sometimes people park with their bumpers over hanging it a little where they’re squeezed onto the last remaining space next to the drive. I don’t care!! I get it.. as long as I can get in and out my drive it’s just not something I’m going to get all uppity about. If she approaches you just kill it with kindness op, big smile oh I’m so sorry, I know isn’t it a pain? They’ve put double yellows outside our block… thank goodness you have a drive way, so did need to park on the street too! 😃

Original poster
autumngirl714 · 01/03/2025 11:21

@roseymoira but how is it inconsiderate?
They own that bit of road just as much as I do. They have a driveway (which they don't use) so I'm not impacting them in any way.
My place is in the other side of the road (not parking though).
I don't understand why they are any more entitled to it than me.
I just can't understand this attitude.
If they had no driveway then I may understand more, but they do. Why would anyone want me to have no where to park so the bit of public road and pavement in front of their house, which they don't own, is empty.
I just can't get my head around this.

OP posts:
IAmNeverThePerson · 01/03/2025 11:21

Excellent diagram. Crack on with parking there.

RubyTuesday48 · 01/03/2025 11:25

autumngirl714 · 01/03/2025 10:44

Diagram!

Fab diagram and you 100% are doing nothing wrong.

Gizlotsmum · 01/03/2025 11:27

Just a random thought ( and might not be applicable) do you leave/return particularly early or late? Is your car disturbing them? Which would maybe lead to the frustration

Goldbar · 01/03/2025 11:27

amicisimma · 01/03/2025 11:10

As a Londoner I find the idea that a person should consider valid their opinion about any car parked legally on the public highway, without causing an obstruction, quite amazing.

Tarmac is tarmac, paid for out of all our taxes. We are all as entitled as any one else to park (legally and non-obstructively) on any piece of it for as long as and as many times as we like.

This. We live in an urban area with a high degree of communality in terms of local facilities, and an understanding that living close by a large number of other people requires give and take on both sides.

The idea that someone would treat as a private asset a public good such as on-road parking would have people laughing their heads off (before they ignored that person and parked where they wanted anyway).

If you want to make a point, pop a petition through their door demanding the removal of the double yellows in front of your building, and ask for their support if they want to see the back of you and your car.

Nanny1983 · 01/03/2025 11:28

Tell her she could see it that it makes her house look more occupied than it does if there is no cars outside the property , especially as your car is outside her house every night so it looks like someone is at home and may prevent a break in .

MargaretThursday · 01/03/2025 11:30

Savemefromwetdog · 01/03/2025 11:05

If your area is anything like here, they’ll apply for residents parking and no one will be able to park without a permit. There’s almost no street parking in my town now - they are building new flats with no parking spaces, not sure where they think people will park. As if just not building spaces will make people abandon cars.

I was thinking that.

If you vary which house you park outside then you're less likely to annoy one who will rally the residents together to do that.

Boredforlife · 01/03/2025 11:33

Is it outside your house by any chance 😂
killjoy

tallhotpinkflamingo · 01/03/2025 11:34

TY78910 · 01/03/2025 11:02

Sounds like the sign isn't about you as you are parking on the opposite side of the road? Have you ever noticed anyone parking on her side of the road?

I agree that nobody owns streets and if it's legal and safe to park, then you should be able to park there. However I do also agree that residents get annoyed when random people start claiming spaces as their permanent parking spots long term.

We live in a close and some people with multiple cars in their households, including vans started to park opposite our houses as they exceeded their parking allowance in the flats car park. We did get in to a bit of a disagreement as technically we don't own the spots, but once one person starts parking there, everyone will and that would make it difficult to get in and out of our drives if the whole street was packed with cars. We reached an agreement that it's ok to occasionally park there, but not make it their fixed spot as it's was inconsiderate.

Show quote history

The car is on the same side of the road as per the diagram.

tallhotpinkflamingo · 01/03/2025 11:35

Be passive-aggressive and park one house in front or one house behind

Doggymummar · 01/03/2025 11:39

My car is yellow and my neighbour says it brings down the neighborhood, we are also the only renter's in our street of 24 houses too. He asked me to put a tarpaulin on it. I refused.

JackieGoodman · 01/03/2025 11:40

As long as you're not parking v close to the edge of her drive (as that makes it difficult to enter/exit) then you are fine. I have a neighbour parks v close to mine and it's not impossible but definitely makes it harder (I wouldn't put up any signs though Grin)

LittleGreenDuck · 01/03/2025 11:49

Doggymummar · 01/03/2025 11:39

My car is yellow and my neighbour says it brings down the neighborhood, we are also the only renter's in our street of 24 houses too. He asked me to put a tarpaulin on it. I refused.

Brilliant. You need to put a shout out for anyone with a brightly coloured vehicle to all park them down the street on the same day.

Extra points for a luminous orange camper van or a lime green motorbike.

Seriously though, what a nause. Who does he think is impressed by a row of black and grey cars?

FriendlyEeyore · 01/03/2025 11:51

I hope you ignored the sign and her intimidation and parked there anyway. I find getting your phone out and filming these people is a good deterrent. And if they kick off you can make some money by posting the clip online. Win win.

PuppyMonkey · 01/03/2025 11:52

My neighbours have put a sign on the wall outside their house saying “no parking.” It is by no means legally enforceable and makes DP and I Grin every time we walk past and see someone has ignored it.

YouWouldntKnowWhatIMean · 01/03/2025 11:57

It's the same round here OP! Everyone on my road has either a double/single driveway and a space on the pavement outside their house. The space is a "nice to have" for visitors or if all the vehicles in a house don't fit on the driveway, but it's a public road! Honestly, people are constantly arguing (my NDN actually called the police when someone refused to move from outside his house after shouting at him!!! On speakerphone so all of us who'd gone out to see what the fuss was about heard the person on the other end telling him to calm down and they can't do anything as it's a public road 🤣). One woman further up the road actually has a go at the house opposite her if they use the space outside their house, as she is incapable of reversing onto her drive (like the rest of us manage on a daily basis) and therefore needs that spot free so she can reverse off!! I think she needs to give up her car if she's so crap at parking it, but the levels of entitlement are off the scale.

You're doing nothing wrong! People need to get a grip and realise they own the house and land they paid for, not the entire street they live on!

PhilosophicalCheeseSandwich · 01/03/2025 11:58

I used to park on a long residential street when I worked in a town centre, but I tried to park in different spots every day so any inconvenience I caused was spread evenly. Sounds bad now I've written that down, but I was allowed to park there! I only once got a snotty note on my windscreen, which I posted back through the door of the house I'd parked outside (no driveway, no dropped kerb).

BionicEar · 01/03/2025 11:59

you are entitled to park on the road as it is a public road.

The only thing I think might be worth checking is that your car doesn’t overhang the drop kerb at all of the drive. This is because it can make it difficult for driver to get on/off drive to turn with ease. It is more difficult to do this if cars are overhanging even slightly, especially if it is a narrow drive and there’s another car on the other side.

KittenPause · 01/03/2025 11:59

Park outside other houses not just hers

I'd be a bit annoyed if it was always outside my house