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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

...to resent being asked to move DD1's car? (Long explanation, sorry!)

30 replies

WendyWeber · 25/08/2007 17:58

We live on a terrace, almost opposite a side turning which has gable ends of 2 other terraces on either side. There is usually enough space, along our road and the side road, for most of the local cars to park in the evening and at weekends - during the day 6th-form students from round the corner take a lot of the space and that can be irritating when you come home in the rain with a bootful of shopping but otherwise we all get by. And both are ordinary roads - nobody owns a space.

One of the gable ends has its front door on the side and there is an unmarked parking bay there with space for 3 cars; the resident of this house tends to look on all 3 spaces as hers. DD1 has been away for 2 months and her car has been left in various spots during her absence after I've have taken it out for exercise; for the first 2-3 weeks it was in one of these 3 spaces, and this woman was definitely not happy about this because she wasn't informed. (Or asked for permission, possibly )

On the other side there is no bay, just the full length of house+back yard, with space for 5-6 cars. The resident of that house normally parks her car in "her" space, beside the very the end of her back yard wall. DD1 came back today, took her car out and then innocently left it parked in that space.

The rest of the length of kerb alongside the house was empty - but when this woman returned she left the car with its engine running and came over to ask me to move the car so that she could park in "her" space. I wasn't quick-thinking enough to say I hadn't got a key, or ballsy enough to say "why not just park behind it?" (this is a fit young woman, not someone old or with any physical problems) so I very grudgingly moved it.

Thing is both these women have a thing about "their" spaces and often stand around outside discussing them so I know side-front-door woman (who is a nosy old bat) has told back-yard-parker whose car it was - she wouldn't have known otherwise.

It would be very childish of me to start parking in "her" space occasionally, wouldn't it...?

OP posts:
NAB3 · 25/08/2007 17:59

Yes, but this woman has no right to dictate who uses a communal space.

Kbear · 25/08/2007 18:00

ridiculously childish but very satisfying!!

snowwonder · 25/08/2007 18:01

next thing you know she will get some paint and mark the road and write her number in the middle of it.....

you should be able to park wereever, in my job, if someone needs to park outside there house we get the council to mark the bay disabled, but it isnt a simple thing to do, but as you say she doesnt need to do this,

maybe she likes to be able to see her car,

if it was me i wouldnt have moved unless i knew i was in someones spot

cece · 25/08/2007 18:02

Be careful my parents had a similar problem and eneded up getting a stone thown through their bedroom window People get very upset about parking

Original poster
WendyWeber · 25/08/2007 18:07

She used to use 2 No Waiting cones, snowwonder!

She doesn't any more, I think she might have been told not to, but she def still considers it her space. Her DH is a farmer and drives a socking great rusty old pickup, "his" space is behind hers .

cece, you're right of course, people do get very worked up about parking (like me, this afternoon )

Anyway I'm glad you would all feel the same!

OP posts:
alicet · 26/08/2007 13:05

Have to say it thoroughlly annoys me when people think they can claim any area of a public road as their own. We have one space on our drive and tend to park outside our house with the other car. Sometimes someone else has parked in that space so we have to park over the road. Fair cop I say! Can understand this would be more irritating if there is more of a parking problem in your road but it still doesn't give anyone the right to park in 'their' space - if you want your own space pay to live in a property with off street parking!

You would be very very petty to park in 'her' space if its further from your house but have to say I would be very tempted!!!!! Certainly I would have no qualms in parking there is it happened to be the nearest space to my house.

Bouncingturtle · 26/08/2007 13:10

Was at a friends yesterday, and another friend, E, had parked on the road outside the house opposite. We'd all gone out for the day, when we got back, E had a note left on her car telling her to not park there again!! Apparently the owner of that house had knocked at my friend's house, another friend, L, was there and she told us some old guy had asked her to move the car. L said no it's not her car and since there is no residents parking then she is parked perfectly legally. Silly old git. I honestly don't understand why people get so het up about this. We have a simliar problem on my street, we do get people parking outside our house, but as long as they don't block our driveway, it really doesn't bother me!

southeastastra · 26/08/2007 13:12

i get het up about it, but wouldn't knock and ask anyone to move. i'd seethe about it though. totally irrational

WideWebWitch · 26/08/2007 13:19

This drove me MAD when we livd in Bristol. Parking is something that almost always gets people really het up, with good reason imo!

I would be very petty and write to the council/land reg for confirmation that ALL of these spaces are public spaces. Then I'd go and see them and smile really sweetly and say "I was worried we were parking somewhere we shouldn't so I checked and look! They're public spaces so anyone can use them! Isn't that a relief, so we haven't been doing anything wrong at all!"

And I would park there whenever I damn well felt like it.

Miaou · 26/08/2007 13:20

This happened to dh and I when we were at University, WW. We couldn't park outside our (terraced) house as it was double yellow lines, so we would park our car up the side road at the end of the terrace. Chap and his wife moved into the end terrace and he came knocking on our door asking us to move our car from outside his house. We pointed out that there was nowhere else to park and we had to park somewhere, plus he had no rights to the space outside his house - at which point he got abusive! So we rang the police. They had a word with him and pointed out that in theory they could ban everyone from parking outside his house (including him) as he was on the corner and you are not supposed to park within 15 feet of a junction He never brought it up again!!

cylon · 26/08/2007 13:21

yes it owuld be childish of you.
however, best not to move the car if there is obviously space,

orangehead · 26/08/2007 13:41

this got me thinking about my parking prob. i live on quite a long road that only has 3 houses on one side, so there is enough parking space for about 25 cars. the houses are terrace and no driveway. but as we live right in busy town centre loads of people park on our road, several times i have came home to find there is no where to park at all on my street. anyway a few times this one guy has left his car outside my house for about 3/4 days at time, leaving me no choice but to park at end of street. the prob is im a single mum and my eldest 5 has very bad asthma and at times i have had to take me to hospital late at night and our street is not well lit, i was so furious that if my son had an attck again late at night i would have to take two young kids by my self up the road in the dark on a ill lit street instead of just being able to jump in the car. so anyway i left a note on his car, it was a nice note just explaining the circumstances and apologizing for leaving a note on his car. anyway he not parked there again I have wrote to council who said at the mo not doing resident parking as trying to bring in new system which will b about 6 mnths but they will put me down for new system. What do think was I unreasonable to leave note?

cylon · 26/08/2007 13:48

sounds perfectly reasonable to me oraneg

suedonim · 26/08/2007 13:52

Very childish - but fun! Also I'm actually rather exercised as to what sort of farming takes place amongst terraces of housing???

Original poster
WendyWeber · 26/08/2007 13:53

Not at all unreasonable, orangehead - you have a good reason to need to park there and obviously he thinks so too as he hasn't parked there since. Trouble with residents' parking schemes though is that you're still not guaranteed a space anywhere, let alone right outside your house. Is your DS's asthma bad enough that you might be able to get a disabled badge and your own space?

Thanks all for further comments! WWW & Miaou, I have been contemplating doing something like that (obsessive? moi?) but DH would not approve - he is one of those madly considerate people who will move a car 15 feet, from cold, without being asked, when it's been left outside someone else's house because there was nowhere else at the time

Anyway if it happens again, esp under those circs (ie plenty of other spaces) then I will refuse - politely of course. It probably won't though

(Incidentally DD1 thought she was being helpful by putting her car at the far end - leaving plenty of space for everybody else - what a kind girl!)

OP posts:
Original poster
WendyWeber · 26/08/2007 13:55

LOL, sue!

We have a few farmers amongst our neighbours, actually; I think they're family farms, with not enough housing for grown-up offspring with kids to live on the premises.

OP posts:
orangehead · 26/08/2007 13:58

thanks not thought about the disabled badge, will look in2 it

suedonim · 26/08/2007 15:03

That's a relief, WW. I was imagining some sort of illegal farming going on in your street.

FioFio · 26/08/2007 15:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

bumperlicious · 26/08/2007 15:37

WW very childish - but I would do it -have done it myself in fact!

bigknickersbigknockers · 26/08/2007 16:12

I'd love to know exactly where you live WWeber, lots of nosey old busy bodies in this town you know. I would politely refuse to move it next time, just say your daughter is not here and hasnt left the car keys.

Original poster
WendyWeber · 26/08/2007 16:27

Near the fire station, bkbk

OP posts:
Original poster
WendyWeber · 26/08/2007 16:30

fio, shhhhhh!

I love how parking threads get everybody going

(Wish I had a drive though...)

OP posts:
Tinker · 26/08/2007 16:34

Childish but satisfying. I used to do this in our ex-vile neighbours spot (when we knew we were moving ) Neighbour on the other side was always leaving notes on windscreens. And would be out instantly to move her car to her slot once it was vacated.

bigknickersbigknockers · 26/08/2007 20:37

Ah wendyweber I can imagine the parking problems up that end of town, dont be walked over though, spaces on the road are first come first served.

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