AIBU for parking in front of my house

[CyanSnake]

I live on a street that is relatively quiet, but almost impossible to get parking on, due to the fact that none of the houses at my end have drives. I’m a key worker so still working; and I got lucky on Friday night in that there was a space basically outside my gate, so I parked there. The rest of the street was as full of Parked cars as it normally was at this point.

As I got out the car I noticed the sign in the picture attached to a lamppost about three doors down so went to have a look.

Now; this was the only sign on the street and by the look of it I assumed it was homemade and someone was trying to make sure they had parking space on those three days - maybe they had workmen coming to do essential work; maybe an elderly relative who is in their bubble but can’t walk very far?

The point was, I ignored the sign as I wasn’t parked in front of it, but three doors down.

Sunday morning I get a knock at the door and open it to find an irate workman asking if one of the cars was mine (there were about five still parked along the road) and “if it was could [I] move the car and learn to read.

Turns out the sign was an official one from the council, and applied to the whole street as they were resurfacing it...

I was a bit shocked to be shouted at so I just apologised and moved the car.

Afterward tho, I began to feel like I wasn’t being unreasonable to have ignored the sign, and so I emailed by local councillor to raise the fact that the sign was not very official looking; I explained what happened but focused on the fact the there were other cars still parked and that it was likely to be a recurring problem if this is what they used as signage.

This post was prompted when he replied this morning with “There is a sign in your picture telling you not to park - don’t know what you want me to do.”

Sorry for the essay - AIBU?

YANBU when they resurfaced my road we had a letter from the cancel weeks in advance, plus official looking notices on lampposts weeks ahead of time. This sign doesn't look official at all. I'd have parked there too!

That definitely looks like a homemade sign.

My road is actually being resurfaced right now. We had notices through our doors about two weeks ago. Official signs with full dates, a reference number and a contact number all went up last week. Certainly no tape handwritten with marker pen.

I would have ignored this too if I had even seen it 3 doors down. We have had mains renewal and resurfacing work near us. Have always had a letter through door advising of upcoming work and proper sign boards on the pavement stating the work planned and the start and end dates.

Shocked that the local councillor was so rude to you. The sign looks home made, doesn't have the council logo on it and, unless the street is only 3 houses long, it's a bit pointless to have one sign covering the entire street, as it's easily missed.

Our local council posts signs every couple of trees / lamp posts when they want people to move their cars because of work taking place.

I agree with all of @Changechangychange's suggestions.

“if it was could [I] move the car and learn to read.

YABVU to have apologised and did what the scrote demanded, after that.

And then the reply from the councillor... do you live in a sitcom?

I'd be furious. That sign looks like someone just made it. I'd also be really annoyed the workman was so rude.

YANBU when they resurfaced my road we had a letter from the cancel weeks in advance, plus official looking notices on lampposts weeks ahead of time. This sign doesn't look official at all. I'd have parked there too!

Me too. We usually have signs going up at least a week in advance, as well as a letter from the railway, or Virgin, or water, or whoever is doing the work.

Goodness knows where they would want us to park if they did resurface (which is needed)... but I would expect more notice than a sign that looks homemade.

I wouldn't have parked there if I'd seen the sign, but yeah its a rubbish sign.

I'd have ignored a clumsy sign like that too.

Our council recycles signs, but they've at least invested in adhesive dates/days so the workers can just stick on what they need. They still look official but they're clearly trying to mitigate wastage which I'm happy about.

I'd also have expected advance notice of works from the council/company digging up the roads...which again would make me ignore the homemade sign.

Yes, we had loads of notice when they did ours - letter through the door twice, posts on village page, PROPER stand up signs on each corner using the word 'Resurfacing' among others and the planned date funnily enough :)

YANBU at all OP.

Something similar happened to me, I was away with work, got home late one night via train and taxi, had a big night out and next morning looked outside and my car wasn't there... in fact no cars were there. It transpired that signs had been put up with 2 days notice to move the cars and on the morning after my night out, during my lie in, they'd used a crane to pick the cars up and put them on a lorry and move them (a neighbour let me know when she saw me stood in the street looking confused). I eventually found my car a few streets away

I would reply :

What I want you to do:
1 Acknowledge that on this occasion the council's communication was poor and your staff unnecessarily unpleasant when they asked me to move my car. Shouting at residents on a Sunday morning is not warranted in this situation.

1. Appropriate signage which provides specific information - for example this sign did not indicate where in the road it referred to, it did not appear to be official and it would easily be missed by people not living directly next to the sign, eg further up or down the street.

1. Appropriate notice eg the evening before may not be sufficient, for example a resident could reasonably have left their car there while in hospital or have gone elsewhere for a few days, and legitimately so, even within covid restrictions. Therefore notice be way of a maip drop, social media etc would have ensured that residents were aware in good time.

By doing this you would avoid unnecessary stress to residents and also reduce delay to commencement of the works as your staff would not have had to speak to, or indeed shout at, residents.

It looks like something I could have made. Or my child. I'd have ignored it.

Half the council workers are self-isolating. Staff shortages everywhere. And outside works tend to be weather-dependent.
So they clearly don’t have the time or the staff to leaflet cars and houses prior to getting work done.
I agree, sign is crap. But there are a lot of things not going well at the moment.

@maddening well put as a reply to the councillor. Ask that you and other residents have customer service- in a way you are the customer of the road. Not sure about leaflet drop but there are signs in a street adjacent to me about a road closure next week that have been there for at least ten days, to give an example.

This reminds me of the beginning of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
Surely you looked in the bottom of the filing cabinet in your local planning office and saw the planning application...
Seriously though all but five cars on the entire road followed the sign which implies there were possibly more signs than this one and maybe you didn't glance up the road (despite seeing this sign) to see if there were other signs of the same ilk. It can't be that hard to understand if most people on the street managed it. The workman is probably having a hell of a time trying to get those cars moved so they can get the work done as fast as possible to be of the least inconvenience to the road, but he shouldn't have spoken to you like that.

My response to the dickhead workman would have been no im not moving my car because you spoke to me so rudely and closed the door

There should have been warning of roadworks. A letter to all residents affected, sent from the council. Who was this woman? Are you actually getting the road resurfaced. That sign is ridiculous.

I’d now be complaining about two things: the cheapy homemade sign and lack of prior notice about the road being resurfaced (what if you had workmen coming in, or had gone on holiday). And secondly, the rudeness and lack of professionalism from your councillor. I’d also be making a point of voting the little shit out in May.

This!

Its not just about domestic car parking - as other posters have pointed out. There may be householders having work done or away from home.

Our council are very good about warning local redidents when planning permission is sought. So I would expect a leaflet or flyer through the door at least 2 weeks in advance warning householders that the council were working on the road. I would also have given the workman a piece of my mind for speaking disrespectfully to a resident.

Are there any other councillors in your area to whom you can complain? Dont hesitate to call the local paper or use social media and name names. Local papers are always looking for a good human relations story.

Yeah I would have ignored it too and thought it was a daft neighbour that had done it.

It wouldn't surprise me if one or two neighbours did try and fix themselves a preferred space with something like that sign.

I would have ignored that too. I thought there were usually notes put through the door and official signs taped to lampposts prior to resurfacing work like this. And I certainly would not allow a local councillor to speak to me in such a disrespectful manner after sharing valid feedback. I would respond explaining that you are extremely disappointed by his dismissive response to a perfectly valid issue.

I would go back as follows

Dear Cllr xxxx

Thank you for your very rude response. If you actually read my email you would see that I was advising you that your signage was extremely poor.

As I advised this was placed outside a home a few doors away, looks very made up and unofficial, and of very poor quality. Neither does it make clear that the no parking affects the whole road.

As to the comment ‘ you don’t know what you want me to do’ I suggest the following

1. Apologise for the poor signage
2. Confirm that you have raised the matter with the appropriate portfolio holder so that lessons can be learned
3. Obtain confirmation that in future the Council will write to all householders concerned to advise them about and works and parking arrangements

Off the point but I'd give my eye teeth for a bit of road resurfacing round our way. You can easily tell local drivers from strangers - locals are always swerving to avoid known potholes - strangers drive in a straight line!

@Sueslip

Half the council workers are self-isolating. Staff shortages everywhere. And outside works tend to be weather-dependent. So they clearly don’t have the time or the staff to leaflet cars and houses prior to getting work done. I agree, sign is crap. But there are a lot of things not going well at the moment.

Any other year road workers would be still out in all weathers. Not all councils have halve their staff SI.

Council workers don't personally door drop everyone. They issue letters that are mailed. Official signs might not be posted up, but there will still be someone able to hit send. It's not like these works happen on the spur of the moment. Whoever is managing this project should have ensured all this was done.

Plus when a road closes I'm sure that local emergency services also have to be informed.

I am surprised anyone bothered knocking on the door. Day one works would have started at one end of the road, hope you remove before they get to your bit, if not towed. That seems to be the norm round here. If your parking where they need to start, thats where moving vehicles starts.