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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Another parking one...

45 replies

superfringe · 15/02/2016 18:29

Hi - first time poster long time lurker here...

I live on a new housing estate, mainly 3/4 bed houses with 1 tiny garage and 1 space on the drive. Most people (including us) have 2 cars, so as the garage is tiny, one person has to park on the road. I have a polo and it won't fit in the garage so it isn't that we have two massive cars!

It's always a struggle to find somewhere as most people seem to park where they take up 2 spaces. It's also on a bus route so we have to leave enough space for the bus...

I got home tonight to find no spaces whatsoever on our street. I get home first so I park on the street so OH can have the drive, as the later it gets the less spaces there are. We have in the past had to park a few streets away, without complaining might I add.

So tonight I parked down a side street, on the road outside someones house. There was space behind me for 2 to 3 more cars.

A lady came out the conversation basically went like this:

Lady: 'Can you not park there, that's my husband's spot'
Me: 'I'm sorry there are no spaces anywhere else, it's just for tonight, there is space behind me so I'm sure he can park there'
Lady: 'Well why can't you park there and he can park where you are'
Me: 'Well I'm already parked and I have left plenty of space'
Lady: 'We bought a house so we could park on the road outside, maybe you should have bought a house with enough parking too'
Me: 'Well it is a public highway so you have no more right to park here than I do, our neighbours are parked outside our house'
Lady: 'Is it a public highway? (sarcasm) well I have asked you nicely so you are just being selfish now'

Then she went back inside and slammed her front door shut.

So AIBU in thinking that she was quite rude a bit entitled? I don't think I was rude to her - I didn't raise my voice or anything, and she just got gradually more angry with me.

Feeling quite upset now as I like our street and until now (4 years) we have had a really good relationship with our neighbours :(

OP posts:

ADishBestEatenCold · 15/02/2016 23:28

"Missing the point of the thread but can you not pack on your drive and your husband park on the road blocking the drive?"

this

Am also wondering why someone would sell/buy a house with a garage into which you can't fit even a small car?

Blondeshavemorefun · 15/02/2016 23:34

rem seeing on location location ages ago a small garage and phil trying to get a car into it, which he managed, but couldnt open the door to get out of car

Paddletonio · 15/02/2016 23:47

There are parking spaces on our estate which don't fit a small car - they aren't wide enough to get a polo parked and still be able to open the door to get out if someone is in the next space - so ridiculous! So I sympathise on the small spaces.

The neighbour was being entitled. It's annoying for her, maybe, but she's got no rights to the space so needs to wind her neck in.

buddy12345 · 16/02/2016 07:48

does any one know the max age children to park in mother child in asda car park

miwelaisjacydo · 16/02/2016 07:58

You don't live by me do you OP? 🤓

Parking is such a bitch with us too. People are creatures of habit and some just can't cope with anything out routine. Some of our neighbours get their knickers in a twist of you parking their spot. It's a public highway you can park where you like.

That said there is an old lady by us who constantly blocks us in at night. It's fine for me as by the time I go to work the car infont of me or behind has moved. DH on the other hand has had several mornings where he has had to get me out of bed to move my car so that he can get to work. He leaves before 6!!

SoupDragon · 16/02/2016 08:01

How on earth can you get away with selling s garage which cannot fit a small car in?

Storage. I think it is more common to cram a garage full of "stuff" and leave your car on the driveway now.

Noodledoodledoo · 16/02/2016 08:23

When we were looking to buy we looked at some new builds and there is no parking regulations at all but most had switched to car port style spaces so they couldn't become storage garages!

gingerdad · 16/02/2016 08:32

It is one thing that really bugs me on new build estates they should be forced to have at least two outside spaces for each house.

Near us there is a new build low cost / housing association estate. The builder argued and won that 29 spaces was enough for 42 houses/flats as they where low cost and people would have a access to a car. How wrong they where. Trouble is you try parking the extra cars. It's caused chaos in all the streets around.

For me we sacrificed detached for more off road parking. And I would rather move to a smaller house with enough parking than a bigger house with out.

The lady was being totally unreasonable as it's the public highway. Was told off once near sister in laws for parking on the road outside someone's house after 6pm as its their parking place. Can you guess where I now park everytime I visit the sil

thebiscuitindustry · 16/02/2016 09:43

Your neighbour knows you are right and she's snappy that she didn't get her own way. Perhaps if she had asked you politely with a "please" you might have considered moving the car, but you're under no obligation to do so. It can be annoying to not be able to park on your own street when it's really busy, and you've taken your turn doing that - but I can't see that one or two spots away makes much difference. Just ignore her comments.

UterusUterusGhali · 16/02/2016 09:51

Ignore the lady. She's being silly.

I live in a new build and have a tiny garage too. I could fit my very old (build 1980) car into it and just about get out, but once I got pregnant I had to climb out of the window to get out of the car.
I can't use it for cars now. It's a joke.

GruntledOne · 16/02/2016 10:54

We have got to the point where I regard it as a total bonus if I can actually use the space outside our house, it makes me childishly happy. And I try to avoid moving my car again for as long as possible.

Seeline · 16/02/2016 11:08

It is one thing that really bugs me on new build estates they should be forced to have at least two outside spaces for each house.

Government policy is to have maximum parking standards these days, so the fewer parking spaces the better. they think that this will reduce car ownership so helping pollution levels and congestion.
What they haven't seemed to grasp is that people will only possibly drop the convenience of having their own vehicles IF there is a really good, cheap public transport system in existence. Planners hands are usually fairly tied when it comes to parking provision.

emilybrontescorset · 16/02/2016 15:49

Blimey I would hate to live somewhere like that.
We had the driveway on our old house extended to enable us to fit both cars on.

My present neighbours are really considerate and use their drives or park outside their own properties.

I always check out the parking situation before moving into a property.
I go and have s look at various times of day to see if there are any busy times and see if there looks to be too little parking.

Not helpful to the op I know.

As an aside I am amazed at the number of so called bedrooms which cannot house bedroom furniture.
Again a no go for me and I always tell the builder/vendor they are having s laugh if they think I'd fall for that.

SevenOfNineTrue · 16/02/2016 16:13

I am always amazed at the amount of people who think they 'own' the parking spot on the pubic street outside their property.

Blondeshavemorefun · 16/02/2016 16:19

im trying to imagine a pregnant lady climbing out of a car window .........

agree parking is fundament and when i brought my house 16years ago it had to have a drive big enough for 2 cars - tho not much help to op - sorry

but can the late one back park across your drive and block you in?

jadorecakesnbiscuits · 16/02/2016 16:37

Next time she says something just look in her direction but not at her, look around a bit and walk off. That's my style

Original poster

superfringe · 16/02/2016 19:40

Annoyingly we bought our house off plan before it was built and we're told we'd have a driveway and garage, we naively assumed we'd be able to fit a car in it! If you put the wing mirrors in you can squeeze it in (very hard to get out though!) but you need someone to watch you back in.

We've thought of the me parking on the drive and OH blocking it but our neighbours opposite do this and they are always back from work before us, so there's never room to do this :(

The council also had the wisdom to approve a bus route on our narrow little road so they are threatening us with double yellow lines :)

OP posts:

Original poster

superfringe · 16/02/2016 19:43

*we were

OP posts:

ManneryTowers · 16/02/2016 19:44

She was being unreasonable!

KayTee87 · 16/02/2016 20:00

She was being unreasonable, quite often people park outside our house (I think to use the nearby train station). We have a driveway so it's not really getting in our way. A small unreasonable part of me is slightly annoyed to see cars lined up outside our house but I realise I've no right to annoyed so would never say it out loud to anyone haha

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