Parking issue with commercial van - feeling anxious

[Bitofapickle22]

So I live in a quiet residential street. We all have driveways so no issues parking. About a week ago a large commercial lorry started parking in the street. It is huge. One of my neighbours saw the driver park it and then walk off to a street a few minutes away. I’m assuming he can’t or doesn’t want to park in his street so parks it in mine.

When it parks opposite my driveway it makes it harder to reverse in and yes to be honest staring out my lounge window at a huge van is an eyesore and I hate it. I shut the blinds but it’s bloody annoying.

Yesterday we had to help my neighbour out his drive as he couldn’t see round it.

I rang the company and politely asked if the driver could park more considerately. The bloke on the phone said the driver had moved to the area and would now be parking in my street and there’s nothing I could do about it. I explained about blocking driveways making it difficult to get in and out. He didn’t care. Said it’s taxed and insured and we’d have to get used to it. Said he’s known the driver 30 years and he is a “family man”.

Again today I hear it parking up opposite, the loud reversing noise. My DD who is 13 and off school sick looked out the window and the driver saw, came over to our house and started waving up at her. I am now thinking he’s obviously been told that I’ve complained and this is the start of some sort of personal vendetta.

I am a single parent and am now worrying what this bloke is going to do? I shouldn’t have rung. I’m so anxious about this. I just want a quiet life and now not only do I have to deal with this lorry 7 days a week and trying to get round it but the driver and the company know where I live.

Trying not to catastrophise but I have so much other stressful stuff going on that it feels like I’m spiralling.

Do you own a van? You seem very pro vans

Parking legally in an available parking space is not 'male entitlement'. There is nothing wrong with what he is doing if he is within the law.

OP is the entitled one in this situation, thinking she can dictate who parks on a public road. Would you call that 'classic female entitlement'?

Then he can park it outside his own house which is nearby. I'd bet that his neighbours have either told him to do one, or he doesn't want to look out on a lorry/van/truck from his own window. Creepy AF going up to the house and waving to a child looking out of the window too.

Well it is back again today. I didn’t want to have to go the petty route but tomorrow my neighbour and I will be parking in “his” space. We don’t want to have to manoeuvre around it all weekend.

Yes the van is taxed and insured. Yes it is parking legally. But I’m surprised people think it’s morally acceptable for someone to dump a huge commercial van in a residential street he doesn’t even live in. Why should me and my neighbours have the stress of driving around it in a narrow street just so he can avoid parking it where he actually lives. Or he could leave it at the depot, their website shows it is a huge depot!

I wish I could post a photo of it you would see the tiny street I live on with this great big hulking vehicle parked up. The van clearly identifies the company so don’t think I can.

what size is it actually OP? Put the reg number in online, it will tell you.

Post a photo but use the pen tool first to scribble out any identifying info.

Yes please to a pic of the van so we can better understand the size of the issue (literally).

Also why don’t you and your neighbours just park on the street until he gets the message? It’s not escalating or being aggressive, it’s just parking, perfectly legally. As he’s already pointed out to you. That’s surely the easy option?

👀 can I dm you?

Don’t see why you can’t given that the company think the behaviour is fine?

Just blur out the company names using the edit function on your phone

How big is it?

Can emergency vehicles get past? Is it near a junction?

I'd be checking with local councillors or fire service etc as well as size/ tonnage to see if he's breaking rules.

I also noticed a video on fb of a commercial vehicle driving aggressively taken on dashcam and the comments all said do an anonymous Google review. I checked and there were loads giving them 1star and saying the guy was a bully. Not good for business.

Maybe it’s not a suitable road

But I’m surprised people think it’s morally acceptable for someone to dump a huge commercial van in a residential street he doesn’t even live in.

I'm surprised you think it's morally acceptable to tell people where they can and can't park. Parking there yourself is fine, you would be doing exactly the same as him, parking legally in an available space.

How big is it?

I totally sympathise but would just start parking in front of my own house to make sure he couldn't.

Who knows. OP has been asked many times yet is unable to answer. She can easily see the registration plate, it’s very easy to look online and find exact type/size of vehicle 🤷‍♀️

How does it obscure view if its on the other side of the road? I think this thread needs a map 😁

Yes and funnily enough OP can't take a picture of it either.

It’s all very odd. She can even just put the reg on here and we’ll do all the investigating to find out how big it actually is. 🤔

Why would she do such an identifying thing when she is already nervous of repercussions?

If you think she’s a troll, report the thread.

Because she said so?

'I wish I could post a photo of it you would see the tiny street I live on with this great big hulking vehicle parked up.'

Eh?

1. You mentioned her posting the reg, which is the post I replied to.
2. "I wish I could..." is a common way of expressing a thing you feel you cannot/should not do. E.g. "I wish I could post a photo of MIL's awful dress" is clearly not written by someone who doesn't know how to take and post a picture but who believes it would be identifying and/or unfair to post one.

Isn't that then deemed causing an obstruction? We have similar annoying problems here where vans (belonging to residents) park dangerously close to t- junctions and block the view of drivers.

I didn't mention the reg and she could post a pic by covering the identifying marks.

I don't think OP is a troll, I think she has exaggerated how bad it is because she doesn't want him parking there.

People have asked what size is it, can an emergency vehicle get through, etc. and OP has declined to answer which is fine, but leads me to think that the van is less of a problem than she's making out.