Parking AIBU?

[Parkingpoff]

I live on a very quiet road. Only people who usually park here are residents, their visitors, trades etc. There are no parking bays, no allocated spaces, no yellow lines etc.

People in this road, mostly get to park outside their house. However, as there are no bays, anyone can park anywhere. On the odd occasion I have to park further up the road or around the corner.

My neighbours are obsessed with parking directly outside their house. They watch ‘their’ space like a hawk and rush out and tell whoever has parked outside theirs, they have to move! They knock on doors to find out if someone’s visitors have parked outside theirs and tell them to move! They do this to all neighbours! Everyone tends to avoid ‘their’ spot, as they know what they are like!

This morning, I had a visitor. Neighbour stormed out and demanded they could not park there and to move. Long story, short, visitor refused. It quickly escalated, into shouting, swearing, threats.

Is it unreasonable to park in a courtesy parking space?

They sound batshit! Don't engage, its a public road and anyone is entitled to park there. Rhis kind of behaviour really pisses me off!

They sound nuts. I'm assuming they're of a certain generation where they're in all day and can go out and tell people to move at any time? I'd just keep saying no and not moving as well but in a way I would also feel sorry for them that they don't have much else to fill their time except to get obsessed about a parking space. My grandad got like this and it turned out it was early signs of dementia - becoming obsessive is a really early sign that usually escalates and combines with anger. I would guess your neighbours are of an age where this is a risk in which case I'd be firm but also slightly considerate and not deliberately park there to annoy them unless they're too young for dementia to be a real potential issue

What do you mean by ‘courtesy space ‘?

Your neighbours are unreasonable, territorial and aggressive over space they have no right to.

Actually, I would try and come to an agreement with other neighbours that you stop pandering to this and all give them the same message: it is a public road, any taxed insured vehicle can be parked in a vacant spot.

They are not that old! In their 40’s, One works, the other doesn’t and is always home, ‘guarding’ the space!

Lots of houses have drives. There are generally lots of parking spaces on the road. Which is kind of their argument ‘why park outside mine, when there are spaces further along’. ‘Courtesy’ is their line, it’s a matter of ‘courtesy’!

Or ‘why park outside mine when you could park outside some other neighbour you are not visiting ‘

LOL at the MN instant ageism on this thread.

I'd park there whenever it's free until they surrendered. But I'm stubborn like that.

And it’s extremely discourteous of them to be banging on people’s doors and demanding that people move a perfectly legally parked car.