Motorcycle parking- are they CF or AIBU?

[ringletsandtwiglets]

Parking is difficult at home- narrow street with double yellows on both sides by my house, some on-street parking further down and a little car park behind the house with room for 11 cars. There are around 30 houses that could feasibly use this car park, so it's almost always full.

I've come home today with a bootload of stuff to unload, pouring rain and wind, and someone has parked their motorcycle in one of the precious car park spaces. The neighbour has a front garden with some hardstanding which is normally where their bike goes, which is currently empty. There were no other spaces in the car park or on the road, so I've had to park three streets away instead.

It's made me narky! AIBU to be pissed off and to ask the neighbour not to use a car parking space for their bike?

They are entitled to use the space. You don't own it and they have used it to lark there (I assume) fully taxed vehicle.

Unfortunately you don’t own the space on the road outside your house or anywhere else on the street.
Unless you own your house and can afford to put hardstanding in your front garden and pay for a dropped kerb, there’s nothing you can do.
I do sympathise.
I used to live on a road very similar to yours and would usually not be able to park anywhere near our house. Unloading a baby and shopping, particularly in the rain , was an absolute pain.

Oh, I know I don't own the spaces, and accept that it's part and parcel of living somewhere where I can never have a drive. Our house doesn't have a front garden, but the terrace opposite all have little ones, not big enough for driveways.

Thanks for making me see sense. I'll keep my grumbles to myself :)

Feel free to grumble

They are entitled to park there , you don’t own the spaces blah blah. That’s all true but I’d honestly be pretty annoyed as well in your circumstances. They have an alternative place to park a bike and it’s taking up massive space on its own whilst you are getting soaked trying to unload car 3 streets away. But sadly they haven’t done anything wrong so no I don’t think you can speak to them about it. I wonder if they are “saving” the parking space for a car they know is due later so they can move bike out and that car has a space?

I think they’re saving the space for a visitor so when their visitor gets there they can park there and they move their bike to the front

Biker here. There'll be a good reason they've parked there rather than on their hardstanding: Garden might be slippery, parking space offers more protection from the high winds, they got cramp or felt ill riding home & needed the easy parking option (bikes are v heavy & difficult to manoeuvre at low speed) etc etc.