Really shaken up. Did I do anything wrong here?

[seventymodules]

For past two years I have done the school run, I park on a street near the school. There is a detached house with a driveway and a patch of grass next to the driveway. I park in front of the patch of grass, not blocking the driveway whatsoever.

Once I drop my child at school I get collected by my workmate (we are cleaners so have company car) and then work till 3 until I have to return for school run and car.

This morning as I was getting out of the car the lady in the house came charging out, she said 'can you stop parking your car in front of my house?' I said 'it's a public road' and she said 'you park out here 5 days a week, if you refuse to move it I should make you aware that I will be cutting my grass today and any damage to your car is not my responsibility' said with a sarcastic smile on her face, she then walked back into the house shaking her head.

I've left the car but worried now she is going to damage it.

Am I being unreasonable parking it there? It's a public road and not on her property at all.

It's all about being considerate to other which OP clearly isn't Could you explain, specifically, what it is that OP is doing that is not being considerate?

She parks in a legal place
She doesn't block entrance to driveways

So the issue seems to be that the same car is in that spot rather than a procession of them! Which is, quite frankly, just weird!

Our double glazed window pane cracked a d needed replacement when a stone flew up when using strimmer. If there no pavement and OP is parked right up against grass it is stopping Householder mowing grass or risks damage to her car.

@nancywhitehead

Everyday for 2 years outside the same house is a bit much, even though it is legal

Why though? It's a public road. The resident has a big, 4-car driveway and loads of space to manoeuvre. Why is it "a bit much"?

Because the road the OP is parking on is empty enough to ensure that the OP gets that precise spot outside this woman's house every day for 2 years!

What is the OP's fascination with this particular spot?

You haven't said how far you live from the school but unless it's miles and miles you could walk or cycle, which would save you the aggro, save you money, help you abd your DC stay active AND help the planet.

[quote rwalker]@MiddleParking
But apparently people with four car driveways (whatever they are) are not actually people, and one need have no consideration for them.

Well, I wouldn’t say they’re not people. But no, you really don’t need to give their need or desire to potentially park five cars greater credence than your need to park your own one car.

It's all about being considerate to other which OP clearly isn't[/quote]
I don’t agree that we need to be considerate to others to the extent of allowing them five fixed parking spaces and ourselves none. I think it’s actually inconsiderate to want that and far beyond inconsiderate to threaten criminal damage if you don’t get it.

@Crocidura

What if they have a delivery? An elderly/ disabled relative visiting?

They. Have. A. Drive. For. Four. Cars

Haha exactly!

But remember this is Mumsnet.

A drive for eight cars or sixteen would still not be usable because it's on a corner, the width of the plant pots either side could obscure view, etc etc

What folk really mean is I hate reversing and I just want to pull up alongside my house by the kerb

They. Have. A. Drive. For. Four. Cars

Not much help if there are 4 cars on it.

People are so weird.

Keep out of residential areas when parking? 😆 why?! Why would this annoy you? If it did, wouldn’t you question why you felt so annoyed by this and try to deal with that?

@CuriousaboutSamphire

It's all about being considerate to other which OP clearly isn't Could you explain, specifically, what it is that OP is doing that is not being considerate?

She parks in a legal place
She doesn't block entrance to driveways

So the issue seems to be that the same car is in that spot rather than a procession of them! Which is, quite frankly, just weird!

Or that there are almost no other cars parked in that road, but the OP's one is parked outside this woman's house, and hers only?

@Chickenlickeninthepot

It's legally fine but annoying nonetheless. Just share the love out and park in front of someone else's house too .

I'm on a terrace street and don't park outside the same house every day because it's just a bit off to do so. A relative of someone further up the street left their car parked outside my house for 3 weeks while they went on holiday, I was irrationally annoyed the whole time (especially as they'd parked like a twat and took up 1.5 car spaces instead of just 1).

Yes. You were irrationally annoyed. This is such a weird thing to get annoyed about!

Because the road the OP is parking on is empty enough to ensure that the OP gets that precise spot outside this woman's house every day for 2 years!

What is the OP's fascination with this particular spot?

Yes, that is odd for a road near a school

Or that there are almost no other cars parked in that road, but the OP's one is parked outside this woman's house, and hers only? Did OP say that? Or was it A N Other who assumed that?

Does the patch of grass belong to her? Are you actually parked on/over the grass? We have grass on the far side of our fence by the road that is still our property and our responsibility to cut. So if your not fully in the road but actually on her grass then she may have a point. Also I can see that it would be annoying to park there every single day - some days she may want friends to call and be able to park outside her home.
Sorry but these are considerations. Are there alternative places to park so that you can mix it up and rotate where you leave your car?

@SoupDragon

They. Have. A. Drive. For. Four. Cars

Not much help if there are 4 cars on it.

If you’ve got four cars on your drive and you want some more space from the public road too, your thoughts on consideration for others with regards to parking can be safely ignored.

@IntermittentParps

Can I suggest an abacus? Sure, why not. I'm just curious about how people notice and record/remember who parks where.

I would think it's easy if it's the same car all day, every weekday, for two years.

In the OP's case, perhaps the lady whose garden she parks right next to (there being no pavement) wants to walk from her house every so often, & has to walk around OP's car, perhaps in an otherwise empty road. If OP's car was the only one parked in the road & it was only ever outside this lady's house, I can see why that would be annoying. The friend turns up twice a day as well, to pick up OP & drop her off. In a very quiet road, always in the same place, it could leave you thinking, "Why me? Why here? What is it about MY house?".

Thanks to whoever it was upthread who pointed out that people park inconsiderately in the countryside, too. 'Move to the country, then' isn't the answer some posters think it is.

@SoupDragon

They. Have. A. Drive. For. Four. Cars

Not much help if there are 4 cars on it.

No where in the OP's posts states that the person has four or more cars.

Why do folk do this on Mumsnet and introduce random "whatabouttery" arguments to discredit someone's view?

As I said earlier, you could have parking for 20 cars and people would still want to park outside their house.

It's the mentality of "I want to draw up alongside my kerb and the only car I see from my window is mine".

Problem is, even with permits, no one owns that bit outside your house.

Also no one is entitled to a space outside their house just because they made the lifestyle choice of having more cars than driveway spaces

I do sort of see her point.

I live in a small row of houses with five parking spaces out front, and plenty more up the street, all of which are on-road public spaces.

One of my neighbours is absolutely OBSESSED with having his (four!) cars parked in the spaces right out front; to the extent that he will watch for people leaving home and dart outside to nab the space. Wild.

If I ever leave a parking space out front for even a few minutes, there will be a car of his parked in my place when I return. Every. single. time.

Of course he is within his rights - but with a load of shopping, and an irate toddler, or if I ever need to transport anything heavy (like our elderly dog)...trekking down the road aint always fun 😂

@CuriousaboutSamphire

Or that there are almost no other cars parked in that road, but the OP's one is parked outside this woman's house, and hers only? Did OP say that? Or was it A N Other who assumed that?

Process of logical deduction.

Otherwise, how does the OP manage to park in exactly the same spot, every day for 3 years, 5 days per week?

In a road busy for on street parking, there would surely be some competition for such an amazingly desirable spot.

We're getting residents only parking soon. I cannot wait! The actual school run traffic isn't a problem, but the people who park up all day and use our turning bays as parking are too much. Luckily our Councillors agreed.

I do feel sorry for the school run people as we are the closest non-main road. The school will probably have to put something in place

What is the OP's fascination with this particular spot?

@CirclesWithinCircles Who knows? Perhaps it's just habit so she doesn't have to think each day about where to park each day? I would say it's largely irrelevant.

The point is she's perfectly entitled to park there and it's a really strange thing for someone to get annoyed by a car parking on a public road that they don't own.

It also sounds like the resident was very confrontational and quite aggressive in the way she approached OP. No sympathy from me.

@Ginuwine It's the mentality of "I want to draw up alongside my kerb and the only car I see from my window is mine".

Couldn’t have explained it better!!

Curious- I didn’t miss that you are trade, I am trade too, we just have a difference of opinion.

Process of logical deduction. You mean assumption!

And, as I have said upthread, the same woman parks in front of my house, every day of the week. Rarely needs to park anywhere else because the others who use some of the other spaces also tend to park in the same space each time. Creatures of habit!

So I wouldn't leap to the assumption that you did, based on what I am looking at outside my house right now!

one of my kids lives in a development with semi-detached houses. Both houses have a drive for two cars parked in parallel at the side. Yet my dc's neighbour chooses not to use his drive but parks on the grass verge outside my dc's window - all day every day. Technically I guess he is not doing anything wrong. But it is extremely annoying because a visitor to my dc's house has nowhere to park as obviously cannot use this neighbour's drive.
There is literally nowt so strange as folk.

I would find the same car parked in front of my house 5 days a week irksome. Even if done legally.