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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

car parking again!

27 replies

flossish · 11/02/2008 23:06

We live on a small road which is very near a shopping centre, and is quite narrow, pretty much one car fits down it on our part of the street. It is on street parking for our side of the road. We need to apply to the council for residents parking again. it has been refused before. I accept that people park up here during the day as a free car park. I accept that sometimes this means we have miles to walk with our weeks shopping and two children. We should have been richer to afford off street parking .

What is really doing my head in though is the increasing number of people with huge f* off, I can't even call them cars because they are not, parking on the street and taking up more than one space. A couple of weeks ago I had some mitsubishi monstrosity parked outside my house taking up 3 spaces (I am not exxagarating it was like this www.mitsubishi-cars.co.uk/newl200/key_features.asp?strCar1=OK1.

Another day a huge van parked up outside the house for the whole day, completely blocking out my sunlight. I literally had to have the light on all day.

And last week a man in a very expensive brand car (is it rolls royce with the sticking up emblem on the bonnet?), a long estate car anyway was trying to park his car in a space which wasn't big enough. As I walked past I saw his car was denting a large hole in the car behind him, one of my neighbour's cars. When I tried to point it out to him he got agitated and aggressively waved me on. Such respect for others property.

I just felt like having a little rant. I know they all have as much right to park on my street as anyone else. I know all that. But its still nice to have a moan about it!

OP posts:
Original poster
flossish · 11/02/2008 23:07

oh, and no he didn't own up to the damage.

OP posts:
MsHighwater · 11/02/2008 23:08

You could have called the police on him if he was damaging your neighbour's car.

Original poster
flossish · 11/02/2008 23:11

I could have done had I successfully remembered the reg number. He was gone after a quick trip to the shops. The space really was too small for him!

OP posts:
2shoes · 12/02/2008 08:43

always makes me lol when people moan about people parking in their street. do they never park in other peoples streets?
as for big cars/vans. i drive a massive big renualt master W.A.V would you moan about that too?

Pixiefish · 12/02/2008 08:45

why can't people pay to park in a car park!! parking on aresidential street is a bit selfish IMO

Original poster
flossish · 12/02/2008 09:18

Actually 2shoes, we don't. I can think of once in the past year. And I don't at all. Because of the parking situation on my street we can't have a second car. There is simply nowhere to put it.I manage two children on the bus. And yes, I probably would get annoyed about you parking on my street with that car, because it is only a small street!! Why are you always so aggressive?

OP posts:
Original poster
flossish · 12/02/2008 09:20

Oh, and there are free car parks nearby. But only for 2 hrs. Usually people park their cars here for the day while they work. If we want to park near our house on a weekday we often end up staying out to pass the time as there will be nowhere on our street to park.

OP posts:
whichwitch · 12/02/2008 09:43

We seem to see the same - well its a free country and I pay my car tax lines trotted out on every parking thread - I think these must be people who have never been affected themselves and so (probably quite naturally) do not think it an issue. I believe that as we live in a busy and crowded society we all need to have consideration for each other and sorry for me - this includes not having the I am OK so who cares attitude to other people is part of this. So if you block other people into their drive, restrict their safe access along their street and generally make their lives difficult because you do not want to pay for work/holiday/shopping parking then you are being thoughtless and selfish - unless of course you would be quite happy for this to be done to you sorry that is my opinion.

2shoes · 12/02/2008 11:37

why do ask "why are you always so aggressive?"flossish
You posted in AIBU I was just stating my veiw. it might not be the same as yours.

Original poster
flossish · 12/02/2008 14:50

There are ways of stating views IMO. Anyhow never mind.

OP posts:
2shoes · 12/02/2008 15:14

so now who's being aggressive?

Bangandthedirtisgone · 12/02/2008 15:22

I think it was passive-aggressive, my favourite type

Um, right, the OP. Yeah, it sounds annoying, isn't that life though when you live somewhere like that? I rented terraced houses for years and didn't expect to be able to park anywhere, it was a bonus if I could.

I do get why it's annoying though, so moan away. I think the comment about big cars though was slightly inflammatory. For some reason, people like to drive these big cars. Live and let live eh?

Original poster
flossish · 12/02/2008 16:27

Yes like to drive those big cars! Whatever. But don't park them on a not very big street meaning two other people can't park at your expense!

OP posts:
Bangandthedirtisgone · 12/02/2008 16:29

Oh right. In that case the showroom should issue them with a little map showing them all the places they're not allowed to park in case two cars want to park there instead.

bookwormmum · 12/02/2008 16:32

I get irked when someone slaps their car across the frontage of my house and the one next door. Parked decently (imho) you can slot two on the raised pavement in the same space. Loads of people just plonk their cars there and don't worry. I shouldn't really moant though since we have one car (a Vectra) on the driveway and two on the street (we can get two cars on the driveway at a pinch). It's one of these streets where there are about 60 houses/maisonettes and 8 driveways. It is frustrating having to park miles from my house at time but we live ina crowded society. People have to park somewhere....

Poledra · 12/02/2008 16:35

So, because I am about to have my third child and have to drive a big car to fit them all in, I shoudn't be allowed to park where 2 smaller cars might get in??
I don't like it when vans park outside my house and block my light either, but that's my tough luck. I do get pissed off when they come out of the pub along the street and sit with their engines running for 10 minutes while they make a phone call mind.

Spillage21 · 12/02/2008 16:35

Here in south-east London we live very near a super convenient train station for London Bridge. Had lots of commuter parking and also people from neighbouring areas who couldn't be ars*d to pay their CPZ either. It was seriously abused to the point you didn't dare go out during the day because you'd end up parking miles away (not funny with small kids and shopping). Anyway, council have introduced CPZ and hey presto, LOOOOADs of spaces. The free parking was seriously abused and adversely affected the residents lives...

And my point is....umm...I dunno. CPZ was welcomed with open arms tho.

misdee · 12/02/2008 16:36

i underatnd flossih,. my sister used to live near the hospital and often had people [parking on the street outside her house blocking access to their driveway. i only ever parked there when my sister lived there and ihad to go to the hospital. i try and use the car aprk where possible but its often full now at appointment times, so i do use a side street nearby that isnt a residential area. same at harefield for peters appointments.

we did have a parking problem here as we are 5mins walk from the train station into london. but the council recently put double yellows down the bottom of the street when the main problem was and it sorted out the parking situation. fortunatly we all have allocated parking bays outside but they often get taken up with people going into town as well. its a PITA.

bookwormmum · 12/02/2008 16:39

If the car is as big as the space then use it all by all means. It's when you get an (old-style) Micra or Metro taking up 15ft of pavement by itself... parked smack bang in the middle...! . I like things tidy.

Poledra · 12/02/2008 16:41

OK, totally agree with you there, bookwormmum. My other pet hate is when the spaces left between cars parked on our street are huge, but not wuite huge enough to fit another car inbetween (unloess you drive a Smartcar, that is)

Poledra · 12/02/2008 16:42

quite

bookwormmum · 12/02/2008 16:47

I wonder about that sometimes - it may be that someone managed to squeeze their car out from behind a car but the gap then left isn't big enough to get another car into.

Original poster
flossish · 12/02/2008 19:27

poledra - I'm not specifically posting about larger cars in general. The two mentioned were devoid of any evidence of children. No booster seats/car seats. Look at my link! That isn't just a large family car.

OP posts:
2shoeswithheartson · 13/02/2008 08:42

they might have had 3 teen and a dog. Like my bil does.

Original poster
flossish · 14/02/2008 10:16

WTF? FWIW she wasn't old enough to have children that old. I thought it was widely aknowledged on MN that F* off huge cars are evil?

OP posts:
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