To park in front of people's houses?

[MsMarvel]

This always seems to crop up from he point of view of the homeowners (and generally are told are unreasonable...) But never seen it from the point of view of the driver.

I travel for work, and am often in small towns / villages. The sort that have quite an expensive car park, and lots of residential streets.

To save money I generally park on the residential streets and walk back into the centre. Today I'm on a street that is very much dropped kerbs for drives, and small sections of raised pavement in front of each house.

BUT

There are no lines or markings, I am perfectly entitled to park here.

AIBU to do it anyway knowing that I am probably pissing people off? I will be gone by around 3.

I live in a town about 5 miles from the city centre where I work. To take my car into the city it would cost me almost £10 per day to park plus fuel costs. To take the train it costs £2.60 per day. I would love to drive to work everyday, it would save me ALOT of time, but unfortunately I don't earn enough to be able to afford this. I live too far from my nearest train station to walk there (it would take around 30-40 mins to walk there and I do not have that time as I have 2 small children to be home for), it's right beside mainly residential streets with no parking restrictions, there are no car parks (paid or otherwise) near the train station. What do you suggest I do if I don't park in the residential streets with no parking restrictions?

I fully understand the frustration but surely if you choose to live near a train station where no other parking is nearby you have to expect this? Bad parking however is never acceptable!

I used to live city centre with on street permit or meter paid parking and often had to park 10 mins away from where I lived which is why I now live further away from services/amenities to avoid that and to be able to have a driveway.

YANBU as long as it isn't blocking someone's actual driveway, meaning they can't get their own car in and out of their property. I think that would be pretty selfish. As long as you aren't blocking anyone, then go ahead.

So what happens if these people are parking in front of the house of a parent with three pre schoolers who gets back with lots of bags and finds they can't park outside their house and have to park a long way away and safely get back to their house with said children and bags? Are the people who think they are entitled to park wherever they like not caring about the potential danger they are putting those children in or the stress and inconvenience they are causing that parent. Surely it is understandable for that person to be angry they can't park outside their house? Those people saying they should have more important things to worry about in life, what is more important than worrying about your kids safety?

I used to live by a street that was 15 mins walk from the station and people would park along to avoid paying for parking in the car parks by the station. I found this selfish because it made driving down the road dangerous and hassle - it became a one way street for long stretches, forcing you to try and get into a (rare) empty space when you met someone coming the other way. This often meant having to reverse back for ages (normally someone else had driven up behind you at that point as well) or squeezing into spaces smaller than you needed to let someone pass. I scraped my car doing this on more than one occasion - which obviously costs ££ to fix.

Why was it fair that I had to drive under dangerous conditions (dangerous because sometimes people would drive down the stretch at speed because they knew it would be a pain to meet someone and have to reverse etc - several near misses and accidents occurred there while I lived there) just to get into my own home and also to pay for repairs for scrapes all because people just wanted to get out of parking their car at a cost at the station car park?

In a dream world, sure, I'D like to avoid paying car parking costs too but in order not to be a tw*t I've always paid them! It irritates me when people say 'I don't want to pay to park in a car park and I'm legally entitled to be a twat park and inconvenience nearby residents' when the vast majority of us manage to suck it up and pay for a car parking ticket even when we'd obviously rather not!! Who wouldn't want to park for free? Fine if it genuinely isn't causing parking problems or driving problems for people using and living the surrounding area, but if it is then I think you are selfish.

Re a comment that Andreofogg made below in response to another poster (his comments are in quote marks)

However, it could be argued that in areas where houses are fairly closely packed together (many urban and suburban areas), on-street parking should be for those who have business in the immediate vicinity. Extra residents cars, visitors to the residents and businesses, tradesmen and other service providers.

"Oh come on, how much bureaucracy do you want? Residents' and traders' permits in a controlled parking zone, yes, but their visitors? How would that ever work?

OP It will end with a controlled parking zone, then you will have to park further out, and that will end with another controlled parking zone, then you will have to park further out . . ."

Correct.

The main problem is that the vast majority of councils never thought ahead re the infrastructure. I think they all expected people to use public transport instead of cars.

I am now in receipt of a parking permit to visit my parents who live in a CPZ. I did not have to pay for this but my parents had to make the application on my behalf. It is only valid for a max of 4 hours Monday through Friday.

I did not want to apply for such a thing in the first place because CPZs do move the problems elsewhere but it was getting silly where my parents live (and they do live some distance from both town and station). It got to a point where it became dangerous to pull out of their cul de sac because of parked cars obstructing the view when pulling out onto the main road. Only at that point did the council intervene and ask the residents about a CPZ.

Perhaps the companies who own the station car parks and car parks as a whole should be brought to book instead. Its a captive market and they take full advantage offering also "premium parking bays" for which they charge extra.

KinkyAfro,

re your comment-
"We've just put big stones in front of my mums".

I note your above comment and would say that if she has put these stones on a what is council property she may well be asked by the council to remove the stones.

I don't understand it. I park anywhere that I'm legally allowed to and it never really occurred to me that it might upset the people inside. I even drive an old car.
I don't give a toss who parks on my road either, as long as I'm not being blocked in.

Podge....it doesn't bother me but I can see how some people might find it intrusive.

Wow raven
Are you ok? You seem incredibly wound up by nothing

And re They're also the same people who sling cans and plastic bottles out of the window when they're driving along, they're the same people who text when they're driving, and they're the same ones who speed and drive up peoples arses because they have the temerity to drive at the speed limit

That's not remotely true now, is it... Bit rich for you to accuse people of being ridiculous and then post something like that.

The things you have listed are illegal and dangerous.

Parking in a street is just... parking in a street.

If you are so possessive of the space outside your house, why not move to a gated estate, or somewhere with residents parking?
Clearly it can't be that important to you, or else you would have done so.
Maybe you are one of those Grade A arseholes who just likes to go around being professionally offended and furious with the world, when you could quite easily solve the problem by moving, rather than expecting the rest of the world to bend to your very weird view of what is right and wrong?

I always park in a residential street, then walk 25 mins into work. It saves me £5 a day in car parking. I also find that many people that live in said street go off to work in their cars, leaving spaces there all day (until about 6). I try to vary where I park, so I don't piss off one person in particular.

If you live in a street like this, you'd be aware of the parking issues before moving in.

I used to live in a third floor flat, with double yellows outside, so always had to park at least one street away and struggle with shopping etc. But you work round it.

No one can expect to be able to park on the road outside their house.

YANBU but this has reminded me of my DM the other day who said (on looking our the front window) - 'who is that cheeking sod who has parked outside our house'
Me 'um Mum that would be me. That's my car'.

Our cul-de-sac has a dropped kerb the whole length of it and one of the restrictive covenants when we bought the house was to not park on the street hence the dropped kerb.

However people park there all the time, half on the road and half on the pavement making it dangerous for both pedestrians and other car drivers.

It is annoying.

@Attila they helped my mum put the stones back after the grass was re-laid. The stones have been there for years with no issues. They have made the driveways wider by cutting back the grass verges which has helped but now people park on the road pretty much over their own driveways

Mia

I have 2 children, one a toddler, and I'm rarely parked by my house. That's just life.

There's a hospital nearby and the staff park on our road. I don't begrudge them saving money.

raven I find your anger difficult to understand.

Kinkyafro,

That's good. I was only asking because people have put objects like this on grass verges (that are council owned) and they have been told to remove them.

Thanks to twats who parked in our roads to reach the local station on foot , we are now residents only so have to PAY to park in our own roads so sorry , cannot weep for those in their wide roads in front of their owned homes .

If it was happening everyday for years I would be angry. But YANBU .. public road.

If you want to park close to your house, buy a property with off-street parking or a garage.

Re objects on council own grass verges, they are such a selfish irresponsible thing. When you try to avoid something and end up damaging your car because of them, it's really stupid. White stones in the snow? You have to be pretty thick to think it's acceptable.
Most cars park on the grass verges around here, to keep the road clear. Interestingly enough, there are not being damaged, the area is really green, and the traffic is fluid. It's only an issue with lorries/ skip etc.., and they are not a regular occurence.
It's even worst when the irresponsible residents who believe they own the place send their visitor just a bit further, because encouraging parking in front of someone else's house is fine, blocking the road is fine, but that little bit of grass that you can't even see from your house because of your hedge, that must be protected.

but where do your visitors park? 15 minutes away in a public car park, or in front of your neighbours house?

I am much more negative towards idiots who put big stones/ any blockage on the grass verge preventing people to park. They don't own the place

I own my verge. Despite the fact it's outside my wall I own the land to the roadside. Despite the fact I had a sign to that effect people STILL park in it. The verge is pretty much wrecked. Looks atrocious but to be honest no point paying to have it sorted because some dick will just ignore the signage and park as they want.

Our problem is on the larger road leading to ours - next station over have suddenly started charging for parking so all those people who can't bring themselves to pay for parking park on both sides of the Main Road; across corners, right up and over dropped kerbs, 2 feet out from the pavement etc etc. We've had bin lorries not being able to get through.

Still. We're going permit holder only. I look forward to it immensely simply to be able to go about my day without being blocked in by commuters.

Each to their own though, yes we care how our street looks and we'd rather look out at some greenery as opposed to mud. I'm sure if someone had damaged their car we'd have had a knock on the door....hasnt happened in all the years the rocks have been there though. People will never agree on a topic like this, it's been done many times over the years. In this instance I'm glad to be in the minority as all our neighbours are polite, ask if we don't mind if they park out front...just a little consideration goes a long way

Some people can't afford to buy a house with a drive or a garage

Then you deal with the parking situation at the house you can afford!

You don't appoint yourself the local parking hitler and enforce your own made up rules about who can and can't park where!

I can't afford a house with acres of garden. That doesn't mean I get to barricade the entrances to the park next to my house to stop other people using it, just because I would prefer they didn't and I don't want to look at them