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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Parking one. With diagram.

71 replies

NameChangedForTheDay · 27/11/2019 09:49

Okay. So lived in my street about ten years. Neighbours opposite about the same length of time and are very lovely. All the neighbours are lovely in fact, and considerate.

Recently a car has been parked outside my house on some days. Which doesn't bother me, I don't own the spot outside my house and have a driveway like the rest of my street. However the way they park is causing a small issue.

Last week I came home to see the person who had parked outside mine walk off, out of the street. I didn't recognise them.

The issue I have is they park in a manner which means when I come home, I can't turn into my drive easily. They park fairly close to the edge of my drive, so I have to over compensate and swing my car in a bit, but at totally the wrong angle and have to reverse out and straighten up and pull back in again.

This is as opposed to just turning off my street and straight into my drive in one move when the other car isn't parked there.

This pulling in and out is also sometimes problematic as there's cars parked outside next doors' that can reduce visibility.

Later when I'm wanting to leave, I have to reverse out a bit, change angle and move forward and then back out again onto the road. Again, as opposed to just reversing out and pulling away in two swift moves.

It may not seem an inconvenience, but I come home at lunch every day to let my dogs out and feed them and literally have 30 minutes to sort them out, grab myself some lunch, give them some fuss and get back to work. So a few extra minutes faffing either side of getting home and leaving knocks time off how long I have at lunch.

I saw my neighbour a couple of weeks ago and mentioned the awkward parking and said I wondered who's car it was. They piped up and said it was their DIL. She parks there and walks to the train station to avoid paying to park there. She doesn't live with my neighbours, she lives elsewhere in the town.

Neighbour said they'd ask DIL to move her car back a little bit so as to make life easier. Great stuff.

Sadly nothing changed. Assumed maybe neighbour forgot to mention it to her. Last night I got in from work to see DIL returning from train station to car and I asked if her FIL had spoken to her. She said yes. So I said, is that okay, to move your car back a little bit next time please.

She said she's not wanting to park on the junction. I said I didn't want, or expect her to, I just wanted her to move her car back by just a foot to give me clearance to enter my drive easily.

She shrugged and said it's a public road and she can park where she likes!

Yes, it is a public road, but for the sake of your in-laws' neighbourly relations you'd surely move your car back a foot?

AIBU? How would you broach it now, if at all?

Parking one. With diagram.
OP posts:
Doormat247 · 27/11/2019 10:15

Park on the road - I'm having to consider this myself as have a similar issue where there are cars parked each side of my drive and one directly opposite (who doesn't even live on the street) so I can't get out of my drive without doing a ten-point turn as it's a narrow road.
Like yourself, I'm worried about my car getting damaged/pranged but it might be your only hope of getting rid of her.

Sounds like she's a bit of cow, so likely to park over your drive or block another neighbour. Another consideration is to park right up to her bumper and if there's room, have someone else park behind her up to her other bumper - then don't answer the door when she comes knocking.

NameChangedForTheDay · 27/11/2019 10:18

No @TheOrigFV45 my house exterior wall runs along the length of the driveway I share with my next door neighbour. It's a narrow drive and myself and next door park sort of staggered so we can open our doors. Hard to explain. But that's how we work it.

If I have a passenger, they get out before I park up.

OP posts:
NameChangedForTheDay · 27/11/2019 10:21

Sadly can't resort to petty measures @Doormat247 if someone parked in front of her it would be blocking mine and my NDN's drive and her in-laws' and their NDN's drive.

Also my own car got pranged on main road by some arsehole. So don't want to park there.

OP posts:
drinkygin · 27/11/2019 10:23

It’s very unlikely to get pranged in a small close though isn’t it.

NameChangedForTheDay · 27/11/2019 10:24

My car has been pranged twice in the close and neighbours further down the road had their car "pranged", which wrote it off!

OP posts:
supercee · 27/11/2019 10:25

Well you've got 3 choices -

Speak to neighbours again about DIL response and hopefully they'll appeal to her better nature.

Park outside your house where the DIL parks but so it's across your drive. The chances of being pranged again (even if you do it for a few days to show DIL) is pretty slim I would imagine.

Put up with it.

FAQs · 27/11/2019 10:26

Nice diagram, very clear. Re reversing it, my drive is very narrow if I reverse in and just move it to the left so I can get out ok. If that makes sense, it does in my head.

supercee · 27/11/2019 10:28

Or say to neighbours if she continues to park so close you won't have any choice but to park there yourself leaving her with no gratis parking space and the £10 a day station beckons for her.

NameChangedForTheDay · 27/11/2019 10:33

@FAQs NDN parks next to me, in her side of drive. So I need to park close to my house wall to give us space. :)

OP posts:
Doormat247 · 27/11/2019 10:33

Not quite sure what else you expect people to suggest - you won't park in front of her car/your own drive, you won't park where she is parking, you won't reverse into your drive, you don't want to be petty with her, etc.
So your only options are to talk with her again (doubt that would go well) or just accept the situation.

justilou1 · 27/11/2019 10:34

You could always brighten her day with a painting

Parking one. With diagram.
Parking one. With diagram.
NameChangedForTheDay · 27/11/2019 10:38

Well based on replies @Doormat247 I might park in that spot just on the mornings she's due (once I've worked them out), she goes to train station before I leave to go to work.

@justilou1 😂😂

I will probably leave a note or speak to her again too.

OP posts:
BlouseAndSkirt · 27/11/2019 10:39

Who in your close is going to orang your car? You only need to block ‘her’ space for a day or so, and then on occasional random days so that she can never be sure.

At lunchtimes if in a rush I would just park across your own drive rather than manoeuvre.

I wonder if you can get the council to paint the white lines across your driveway. They usually extend a couple of feet either side. Say commute parking is making manoeuvring difficult.

I wouldn’t speak to your neighbours about it again: it isn’t their responsibility and you will cause tension with them.

Technically she is in the right though I do agree she is being inconsiderate.

alwayscauseastir · 27/11/2019 10:50

Leave your car there on an evening so she cannot beat you to the spot in the morning. Tuck your mirrors in. I think it's the only way you would stop her. Or park over your drive overhanging the place she would park.

Derbee · 27/11/2019 10:50

If she parks and goes to the train station before you leave for work, I would just move your car from your drive to the parking spot early in the morning. You’d only have to do this a few times, and she’d start parking elsewhere

Derbee · 27/11/2019 10:51

Although you seem resistant to all suggestions, so you may just need to live with it

katysukaty · 27/11/2019 10:54

We had similar problems in our narrow residential road, our driveway being of minimum width. The road got an increasing amount of commuter parking, to avoid railway station charges. Impacted a lot of neighbours & the council eventually brought in no parking between 10 & 11 am on weekdays. Effectively stopped it, its been rigorously enforced. Has its downside if you have work men/visitors.

If you have neighbours who have also had problems (you mention some cars have been pranged in the close?) then may be try the council.
Agree with PPs, at lunch time park in the road/across your drive. (albeit if we parked across our drive we would make it difficult/impossible for the opposite house to get in or out of their driveway).
I feel the pain as we still get issues getting into and out of our drive by people parking very close to the edge of our driveway. (outside of 10-11am).

GiveHerHellFromUs · 27/11/2019 10:57

It'd be a shame if her car got pranged, wouldn't it?

You do seem adverse to the idea of actually doing anything, though, OP.

How limber are you?
Reverse in then climb over to the passenger door.

NoSauce · 27/11/2019 10:58

I don’t know why you posted this thread OP.
What did you want from it, just to vent? As every suggestion is rejected.

adaline · 27/11/2019 11:00

Can't you just park over your drive when you come home for lunch? It's only for thirty minutes and would save a lot of hassle.

Sparklfairy · 27/11/2019 11:02

Get a cheap dash cam and park on the road. Any prang would be caught on camera and you've solved your little bratty CF problem Smile

Winterdaysarehere · 27/11/2019 11:03

When we had inconsiderate van drivers dumping their vans in our st my dh emailed the company...
They park elsewhere now.

Teachermaths · 27/11/2019 11:04

Park over your drive if you're just nipping back for lunch etc.

You really should be reversing on to a drive and not into the main road.

AloeVeraLynn · 27/11/2019 11:07

I guess just crack on and cope with it since you're not willing to follow any suggestions..

GinDaddy · 27/11/2019 11:08

Well said @NoSauce

OP @NameChangedForTheDay are there any suggestions on here that actually are useful, or are you just angry this person exists?