to think that if you live near a city centre you should expect this

[mileend2bermondsey]

I currently live about 10 miles from a big city which I work in. To save money on parking in the city centre at on average 8gbp per day I drive to the outskirts of the city, park on the closest street that does not have yellow lines and walk just over a mile into work. I was chatting to a friend about it who said I was lucky my car has been nicked (dodgy area) then goes on to say she'd be fuming if commuters parked on her street. My opinon is that if you chose to live on one of the first streets without parking restrictions, there are bound to be people who will park there to save money, same with living near a train station. I used to live in a terrace opposite a shopping precinct, during business hours you couldn't park on the street for love nor money. It was part and parcel of living in that particular location, I got on with it until I could move and consider such factors when moving since. I certainly wouldnt blame the drivers or key their cars over such a 'slight' as my friend thinks may happen.

Post 08:57 @Jassy

I don't think the OP IBU nor is anyone wishing to park in a non-restricted area. But I also agree it's not as easy to move to a house with a drive etc because of affordability. However, just because people can't afford, or don't want, to move to a house with a drive, it doesn't mean they're entitled to the equivalent - ie a space in front of their house. They also wouldn't be entitled to take a grassy area as their own just because they didn't have a garden.

Who gets to decide what is a nobler purpose - being able to park close to your front door or being able to save nearly £200 a month (I find it hard to believe people on this thread are so very considerate of others feelings they'd willingly be that much out of pocket every month even though they wouldn't have to). No one gets to decide, do they, so we go with what we as an individual think is right.

Besides, thinking practically, why would OP or anyone else go into a street and take a guess at wether or not someone else needed to park there today. You'd never know! I don't think never parking in a non-restricted zone just in case some homeowners were gonna be coming back shortly, is fair or realistic.

People moan that petitioning their local council for a RPZ doesn't work but if they don't try they'll never know.

As for those advocating dog poo throwing, keying card and letting down tyres - WTF is wrong with you all? I'm assuming if your child's property was vandalised in the name of something is trivial as parking , you'd tell them they probably deserve it? Grow up!

As I've said (repetitively), moving isn't really an option - I'd have to move miles away to get the mythical House With Drive Under £900K. Which would mean leaving school, nursery, the friends who are our support system in lieu of family, and all the things we love about living where we live.

Totally not worth it, and the parking is only a major problem for me while on mat leave, when wfh, or in harsh weather. Other times, the commuters have to circle the block an extra ten or fifteen minutes hoping someone else leaves while I skip off to the station on my own two legs. My heart does bleed for them.

So I'll just keep cheerfully judging the tightarse mememe commuters and enjoy the other bits of living where I live. Unless you've got £300k you can spot me for a house with a driveway?

Also how is wanting to hog the public highway in front of your house NOT an "I'm alright Jack" attitude?

People moan that petitioning their local council for a RPZ doesn't work but if they don't try they'll never know

I've spent two years so far working on it, alongside a large number of neighbours - does that count?

I suspect the council likes the commuters coming in as they probably frequent local businesses on their way to and from their cars. Local residents are nowhere near as important.

I live in the same road as a school and I have no probelm with parents parking outside my house for drop off and pick up times.
It's what happens when you live near a school.
But I would be really annoyed if someone were to park outside my house and leave their car in the same place for hours and hours.
That's taking the piss.

Especially if it were on a daily basis.

Go on then Jassy I'll give you that one

When our roads need repairing, or resurfacing, we expect the LA to pay for it. In other words, we expect society to pay for it.

There is no moral justification for then expecting to be able to tell society they cannot use that road in the same way we'd like to.

I lived in terraced roads for around 9 years. I couldn't always park in front of my house. I didn't have a problem with that. What i did have a problem with was some of my arsehole neighbours who would have a go at me for then parking in front of their house.

If I'm told not to do something that I'm perfectly entitled to do I'm the kind of person who will deliberately make a point of demonstrating I'm not intimidated. So I'll do it more.

I think it depends for how long. Its no big deal if they park for a few mins to drop off kids to school or pop into a shop or a restaurant. But if they do leave their suvs for whole day, especially blocking residents pavements and driveways -- its horrible.

All these people saying apply for residents parking - it just pushes the problem further out ...
And they can be a pain for the residents - they have to apply (and pay!) for the permit, restricts when they can have visitors, etc etc.
Unless it was just enforced for a few hours say mid morning - to stop all the day long commuter parking ...
I think if you are leaving your car all day in a residential area and you find you have to get there early or you can't find a space -or you struggle to get a space at all...you need to appreciate that is causing even bigger difficulties for the local residents and park further out.

Collaborate, the people parking in my street are commuting from a different LA - so they don't contribute to the upkeep of our road at all, as their council tax pays for repairs in their area!
And of course it would help to vary where you park OP, don't be dense, you would be pissing people off on a rota basis then which isn't so bad as daily.

Collaborate, the people parking in my street are commuting from a different LA - so they don't contribute to the upkeep of our road at all, as their council tax pays for repairs in their area!

While the responsibility for maintenance and repair of local roads rests with the LA, funding for it is supplied by central government.

Taken from here: www.loc.gov/law/help/infrastructure-funding/englandandwales.php

The maintenance of local roads remains the responsibility of local authorities in each area. The Department for Transportation provides policy, guidance, and funding to local authorities to help them with their road networks. This funding covers operational costs, maintenance, and the development of new major transport schemes.[28] There is no single point of funding for local authorities to spend on roads; instead, road funding is taken from a number of available sources, including government grants, locally charged council taxes, and other fees and charges. The cost of road maintenance in 2011/12 was £1.63 billion (approximately US$2.7 billion).

And of course it would help to vary where you park OP, don't be dense, you would be pissing people off on a rota basis then which isn't so bad as daily.

You say that OP should alter her behaviour because it pisses people off. The attitude that some display of feeling entitled to park outside your own home to exclusion of others pisses me off.

That's life.

I don't live in England or Wales, but thanks for the info. Should people make minor adjustments to behaviour to be kinder for others? In my universe, definitely. And I don't get to park in front of my home or anywhere near it, so not sure why people keep repeating this.

Your own quote actually says the finding comes from various sources including local council taxes Which was my point.

If parking is unrestricted on your road, anyone an park there whether it's outside your house or not. They can park there for hours if they want. They can leave their car there for days. You might not like it, but thatfactis neither here nor there. It certainly isn't 'taking the piss' because there is no obligation whatsoever to let you have priority over a space.

Our neighbours over the road park outside our house all the time, even though they could park outside their own property, they prefer not to. It makes me wish they would fuck off, but I'd never say anything. It's up to them.

I think you are taking the piss. Very inconsiderate.

It's only taking the piss if there is any actual obligation to do otherwise...which there isn't. It's a free space for anyone to use. Living right beside it doesn't entitle you to it any more than anyone else.

By the same token it's taking the piss to imagine you get first dibs. You don't.

If it's a public road without parking restrictions then you are free to park there, assuming you don't block people's driveways etc.

I agree being able to park outside your home would be great, but as you don't own the area of pavement/road outside of your street and if there are no parking restrictions in place, then I'm afraid you don't have the right to be rude or damage/smear dog shit/let down the tyres of people who park legally. I understand it is very inconvenient and irritating (I had this when I lived in Edinburgh). I would never damage someone's car or smear dog-shit etc. I think that is really terrible behaviour and am quite surprised that people would actually be so crass.

If it's a real problem, speak to your council about getting parking restrictions put in place.

Presumably in a resident's area, residents' cars will stay there for most of the day or just leave occasionally during the day if those residents don't work, but then people who go to work don't usually leave cars there in the middle of the day. Whereas residents who work and take their cars end up leaving their spaces until they return from work.
Meanwhile, people who leave their cars there for work will take up those empty spaces until they leave work and get to their cars, at which point working residents are returning with their cars. It sounds fine to me.

It's worse in a shopping area where people want to park at all times during the day.

but then people who go to work don't usually leave cars there in the middle of the day

That's highly dependent on where you live.

Round here, commuters park to get the fast train into London. Local people who work take the same trains, so their cars aren't absent during the day.

Not everyone drives to work.

Sorry, I meant they don't return frequently in the middle of the day.
If residents leave their cars there the whole day, then they don't have problems with finding parking. :)

No - agree about that! But it does make 'available' spaces for commuters even fewer and further between than if everyone who went to work took their cars with them during the day. I suspect if that happened there wouldn't be as much of an issue with those of us who need to eg nip out for the nursery run then come back relatively quickly to work from home.

I sometimes feel I know the commuters so well I should invite them round for Christmas drinks.