To think neighbours should sort their drive out?

[parkingpillocks]

We live in a cul de sac where everyone has a driveway for one or two cars. There's an area for visitors to park (not marked but just a stretch of road that isn't blocking a driveway) that can take four cars.
Anyway, the neighbours at the end house have a bit of land that goes from the front and around the side of their house, that could take 3 cars. However, because they have a bit of lawn and a poxy shrub in the middle of it, they can't get the cars onto this bit of land so they use up three of the parking spaces in the street, meaning if anyone gets visitors they have to park elsewhere.
Aibu to think they should get rid of their bloody shrub and sort their drive out now they have four cars in the household?

So do they park one or two of their 4 cars on their single/double drive? Or is the drive clear and all their cars are on the road?

If the latter, YANBU. If they are parking as many cars as possible on their existing drive, YABVU expecting them to get rid of their front garden.

At one stage my NDNs had 4 cars when their dcs still lived at home. Nobody expected them to get rid of their front garden and pay ££££ to block pave the drive and get a dropped kerb. The dcs parked on the (public) road. Dropped kerbs cost a ridiculous amount of money.

I have no idea how people manage to get so worked up about shit that doesn't affect them in anyway.

It's funny, first I thought the OP was being unreasonable. But then I thought about it a little more. And I realized that it is quite possible that the other people are being very entitled. If they respond as if they have a right to those spaces, then that is not fair. So I think she should put it to the test, and park there herself, and so should her neighbors. If her driveway-deprived neighbors are at all annoyed by this, shame on them.

We’ve just paid £5k for a small drive also- well it’s not as much a drive I guess as our front garden- it depends on the condition of the space, it has to be in fairly good condition for a simple layer of tarmac (which I agree is the cheapest option) to be put down. Our shared drive is nowhere near good enough for it and we’re desperate for a cheap solution there

I have no idea how people manage to get so worked up about shit that doesn't affect them in anyway.

Bit of a stupid point because it would affect you if your visitors couldn't park near your house. Depending on mobility and how close the nearest alternative parking is it could actually be an annoying issue.

I think as long as neighbours don't feel entitled to the spaces you can't complain though. If for example you park your car there and leave your drive free for your guests would they be annoyed?

I know you're peed off but you don't need to refer to their plant as a proxy shrub. Are you actually referring to their garden? If so, why should they get rid of it and create a drive?

Do they have a drive at all, and use it?

Well this got awkward

To answer some questions...they have a drive, but they have four cars.
I'm not referring to MY visitors specifically, just visitors to anyone in the street.
Yes, I have a drive, in fact we extended our drive to fit four cars on so that WE wouldn't clutter up the street when our dc got cars.

I think that one household having 4 cars is a bit unreasonable to be honest. Are there 4 adults who all need cars to drive to work? If the parking is so limited, it sounds urban so would have thought public transport would be an option for some of them.

I do think that one household taking up 3/4 of the communal spaces is unreasonable too. If they don't want a car park around their house, maybe they should rethink their car ownership.

Obvs the spaces don't belong exclusively to the OP, but I don't think op was suggesting they did. Just that 1/4 for all other households isn't fair.

Yabvu, it’s their drive, to do with as they like.
How would you react if one of your neighbours told you how to organise your kitchen?

Isn't the space for any one to park on? Don't they have as much right to park there as everyone else? Or do you feel your visitors have more right so they should turn their front garden to driveway to reconginse that entitlement?

I’m waiting for this diagram 😂

I agree with you OP. The fact that they own 3 cars that they have no space for is antisocial and I too would be annoyed.

You extended your drive because you are considerate. YANBU to feel miffed that they haven't, but they don't have to unfortunately. And it is expensive to do it.

I'm actually wondering if you're talking about a close friend of mine, as her kids now have cars and those two cars are parked on th communal space not blocking anyone.

I just can't imagine any of her neighbours thinking she should turn her front garden into a driveway for them. The neighbours I've met seem very nice and not arseholey in the slightest

It's not about MY visitors, there are 20 houses who get visitors, and this family use 3 out of the 4 spare spaces on a permanent basis.

I can see both sides but I do think they've every right to see the garden ( I want to see the diagram too!!)

Sooo....my views are clouded by thinking having 4 cars in a family is a horrific drain on the earth's resources (sorry but I do).

But if they park as many cars as they like on their actual drive, they can part the others wherever so long as they don't see them as exclusively "theirs".

If they don't even use their drive then they ABU.

I can see how frustrating it is (I find it odd when people park all over the public street and have kept their front harden rather than covert it into a drive, although I know how expensive this is so it’s totally U) but there isn’t anything you can do is there? It all just part and parcel of being neighbours.

If they’re a mix of parents and older teens they probbaly only think it’ll be for a few years so no point investing in getting work done

I think the easiest thing to do is for any of the people in the 20 houses to park on the road in advance (when this family move a car to go out) when expecting visitors so that their visitors can use the drive.

I can see it’s annoying but they’re not doing anything wrong. Anyone is allowed to park on a public road. No one has a right to park in a particular spot or in a particular street - unless it’s a residents’ parking area or other type of restriction.

I understand where you're coming from but there's not much you can do. It could be that they don't have the money to extend the driveway.

I don't understand, how is it permanent? Are the fhree cars not road worthy so they just sit there?

Op, if you don't like it go and ask them to pave over their front garden. Really it doesn't matter what we think. Some will agree with you. Others not.

Really what matters is do the people you're whinging about agree with you? And the only way to know that is to ask them.

I would try to do it politely though and refrain from using rhe word poxy.

It's not them, it's you!