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.

Oh, OK @WallaceinAnderland - you quoted my post which was specifically replying to another poster who did suggest she put the registration number on here. So when I said to that poster:

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

and you replied to it with something about a picture, I have no idea why you did so, since clearly the identifying thing I mentioned was the registration number.

What a waste of pixels.

@SheilaFentiman You added to a string of quotes, which included mine so that's why I responded but I can understand the confusion. Don't worry, it's something or nothing really and I don't think there's a shortage of pixels 🙂

The vehicle is under 7.5 it is called a Luton van. Not sure why people are saying I’m some sort of troll. I have a full time job so not always able to post so sorry if I’ve not responded.

When the vans opposite it makes it difficult for me to swing out as it is a tiny one car road. I try and reverse in but it still makes it trickier driving out.

I initially posted because I’d politely rung the company as the van had blocked my Neighbours drive and I’d had to help guide him round it. The driver then started making what I felt were threatening gestures to my daughter, walking over, staring up at our house, staring at my daughter and waving up at her & I was worried it was the start of a personal vendetta.

I did say I know legally this “family man” can dump his van in my street as he does from Friday afternoon through to Monday without it moving and then in the afternoon the rest of the week, but it was a really selfish thing to do as he does not live in the street. As my neighbour pointed out there are plenty of other nearby roads where he could park if at the end of the road where there are no houses and no one to annoy.

Anyway, I am currently at work and 1 of my neighbours messaged me to say she parked in a way she thought the van wouldn’t park up as not enough room. However the van has parked behind her car and is now blocking a neighbours driveway.

If he blocking at driveway with a vehicle parked in the drive? That is an offence and the police should be called. Or is he parked opposite the neighbour's drive?

Yes the van is hanging over neighbours driveway whilst neighbours car is in the driveway. When it happened last time and I rand the company they didn’t want to know. Didn’t ring the police but it’s down to my neighbour to do this.

TBH it is all getting quite stressful! I don’t want to be the official spokesperson for the street but I’m the youngest out of my neighbours by about 50 years!!

I think for your own health, try to let it go. Don't take the role of being the neighbourhood watch, being the youngest or whatever doesn't matter.

When I first moved somewhere one of the neighbours had too many cars and would keep parking outside my house (in a no parking zone). It used to wind me up, a bit like this has done to you, but I let it go as there are other more important things.

Only partially parked across a drive I'm not sure if the police /council would do anything. Some workmen did this to me when working on a neighbour's garden for months, annoying as it was I had to let that go as well for my own wellbeing.

Maybe apply to your council for your road to be residents only parking?

Also check if you have parking enforcement in your area as they’ll come out and ticket the van for parking over a driveway.

Whether it's causing an obstruction often depends on driving ability.

There's a van constantly parked in our road and only one neighbour has a problem with it.

Coincidentally they're a pretty shit driver.

The road is residents parking for one hour on weekdays between 10 and 11. This is normal where I live. It was designed to stop commuters parking all day. The van always arrives after 11.

I feel for you. On my road about half the people have driveways and half the people don't and have to park on the road. Up the road from me, a man has a big driveway where he parks a transit van and an SUV. Then he parks a huge 7.5t van outside out other people's houses further down the road, despite there being enough room to park across his own driveway. It's shitty, selfish behaviour. Especially as about 10 metres further and he could park round the corner which is outside nobody's house! But he'd rather block people's light and make it hard for them to park. Even better, he's normally blocking the spaces outside an elderly disabled lady's house so she has to walk further. We probably need to start coordinating to block him - but then that's obviously inconveniencing us as we want to park in our own driveways. I just don't understand how some people can be so inconsiderate.

otherS I don’t understand it either, how some people can be so selfish and inconsiderate. They literally don’t care about inconveniencing others.

If it was me driving a huge van I’d park it somewhere that would cause the least inconvenience to others. Or he could leave the van at the depot where according to their website there is loads of parking. The irony!

Are you someone who parks a works van in another street rather than your own?

What kind of company is it? Is it logistics or construction?

It’s plastered all over the van that it’s an electrical wholesalers van!