I've become a parking wanker - AIBU re school car parking.

[Hidinginthebath]

I bought a house right next to my children's primary school. I thought it was an excellent idea. But now I'm not too sure!

It's a new build and it's in a row of houses. It was wasteland/garages before with no access. It's a cul de sac. The developers built a shiny new road with private car parking spaces for each of the properties on the left of the row and visitor parking for about 2 cars on the right, which is right next to my house. We each pay £500 a year service for maintenance of the common areas, binstore, a back passage way, and the private road.

AIBU to be slightly miffed that school parents are now using it, basically as a schoolcar park? We have told them directly it's a private road and have been met with shrugs and even a 'there's no sign' (it hasn't been put up yet!).

AIBU? Am I a parking wanker? I wouldn't mind so much if it was a public road and I wasn't paying a hefty sum for it (for me, a LP with 3dcs)

Block them in.
Repeatedly

Get organized with your neighbors and block the cf's in.

You’re directing your ire at the wrong people here, without a sign in situ i’d just think you were the crazy cf who didn’t like people parking outside their house, ignore you and continue. You need to get onto whoever’s responsible for the signage - they’re the ones who haven’t done what you’re paying them for.

In the meantime get onto the school and ask them to notify parents it’s a private road - i’d pay more attention to a notice from the school than some random having a moan.

Nightmare OP. Could you speak to your local PCSO? They may agree to do a few patrols around school drop off time and deter parkers.
I'd also park across the whole road, (and sit in my car) obviously move to let residents in but I'd sit and smile like a crackpot at anyone else trying to get past.

We have a business a few doors down, with its own parking. The staff have been told on numerous occasions not to block the driveways of the surrounding houses, but one was still continually blocking either us or ndn in. Ndn has 2 young children, one of whom requires medical treatment regularly. Entitled twunt blocked her in - I went into the business on her behalf and asked them to move , was told " I'll move when I'm good and ready" Neighbor was upset, had to call a cab ( capible of taking a wheelchair) was late to appointment. My DH arrived home and we decided to bracket the twunts car and go out for a looooooong walk with the dog. Twunt was apoplectic when we returned, couldn't see the irony ........

I am not sure if this is legal but...

Don't bother with a private property sign, get a 'car park sign with attached charges £5 an hour (or part of an hour). Take it in turns with your neighbours to staff the car park at school run time.

I bet they will find alternative spaces pretty quickly, and if they don't, you and your neighbours can have a night down the pub!

Park your car sideways across your road at shool drop off and pick up times.
That will teach them CF

block them in

Get a sign! How are people expected to know otherwise!!

As an aside - i really feel for you having bought a newbuilt house with maintenance charge/a private road. That is the biggest con of this century i have to see. I realised when buying my freehold that getting a leasehold in the first place wasn't the biggest con in the century. It was the maintenance charge that some people have to contend with! (Luckily we don't, since we got done re leasehold we potentially could have got done on that too).

We have "parking wardens" kids from year 5/6 with bibs and clipboards out with the headmistress in the mornings taking down the registration plates of yellow line offenders, messages on the weekly newsletter, name and shame photographs taken by residents of bad parking.....

Still the same old people park in the same old places. That kind of person just doesn't give a shit unfortunately. They'll even park on the zigzag lines there to keep their own children safe, just to be as close to the gate as possible. Twats.

Bollards all the way.

I lived on a private road that led into a park, so loads of dogwalkers, joggers etc would have used it if it weren't for the barrier. A barrier is the answer.

My parents have had this for the last 13 years, and have accepted it's never going to change. Signs are up, cones have been placed. They once even put tape across the spaces. All to no avail. All of the neighbours are equally frustrated. My dad used to block people in, but some would become aggressive and he's getting older now so it's not advisable. Police say it's a civil matter so can't intervene. Only suggestion was a barrier, but not all residents were in agreement with contributing to its cost/maintenance so they now just have to put up with it. The house was built before the school, so totally unavoidable.

You need some of these:

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-Joke-Fake-Parking-Tickets-Very-Realistic-Top-Prank/292742640439?epid=512544040&hash=item4428d23337:g:2DwAAOSwHaBWjuXL:rk:6:pf:0

Without a sign up you just sound like one of those people who sticks penis drawings on cars who park outside of their house. Once there is some official notification of the restrictions (a sign) you can rightly call them CFs, but until then they have no real reason to just take your word for it.

Also, blocking people in is illegal. It's actually not illegal for some CF to park on your drive, but it would be illegal for you to block them in if they did so. Nuts but there we go.

I’ve lived near a school for 9 years and have accepted the dodgy parking on blind corners of our estate which is a danger. My current annoyance is a woman in an Infiniti 4x4 who comes round the blind corner on the wrong side if road nearly everyday and parks on the zigzags. She’s nearly taken me out in my car a few times.

Oh god my sympathies I feel for the people who live on my kids schools road its a nightmare

Pot of white gloss paint and write
PRIVATE ROAD
RESIDENTS PARKING ONLY
across entrance

There are companies that provide signs, if someone parks there then you take a picture of it, send it to them and they fine the person. You got half the profit i think. So could help reduce the costs for the communtiy fund

Gertrude I can't believe anyone could be that awful. I hope karma gets them one day.

Just be a bit careful here op - I truly sympathise - but where I live there was an assault outside the local private school in a squabble over inconsiderate parking. You dont want to put yourself at risk.

Not the same, but my gs2's primary school took selfish parking pretty seriously. You were not allowed to park on school land because of the layout, it put the children leaving the school at risk with lots of cars flying around. Letters went out to no avail.

Cue the summer term when the lazy cf's went to collect their children, going into the car park clearly marked as staff only blocking people in and reversing putting the children at risk. The Chair of the governors calmly locked the gates on all of them. When challenged, he pointed to a sign saying gates would open again at 4 pm leaving them hanging around for 45 minutes, all politely and firmly delivered. No amount of pleading would change his mind. That soon stopped it.

They probably think it serves you right for getting a new build near a school. There was probably more parking before the houses were built. More housesake make parking worse. Personally I wouldnt buy near a school, certainly not one with parking issues.

I would add u would never do this and that are being unreasonable!

Sorry I would never and they are!!!!

Not super proud to admit it, but when we lived somewhere with one communal entrance/exit that would be routinely blocked by cunts parking on very obvious private property (so I had to climb over their bonnet to get to my flat) I used to write stuff like “Don’t fucking park here” on A2/A3 paper and parcel tape it over the windscreen.

If they aren’t blocking anyone in then what harm are they doing? It’s literally 5-10 mins.