AIBU to block in school mums parking on my driveway?

[Applepiesmum]

i live down the road from a school and during the school rush parents park everywhere it normally worse in the afternoon at 3pm

I work from home and usually park in the visitor pay outside my house so my partner can park on the driveway he gets home 3.30-4pm

however recently people have been parking on my driveway last week I caught someone pulling in knocked on their window and they argued with me saying they need to pick up their child eventually they did move but moved to where they were just half way blocking my drive way and halfway blocking my neighbor so no one could access it!

I didn’t bother confront them again but in future I’m just thinking to block them in… is that too petty

I have reported it to the school but all they’ve said is they’ve already asked parents not to block residents in so I’m not sure what else to do.

(if I did block anyone in it would only be for 30 minutes to cause a bit of stress and a lesson learned)

This sort of thing was happening to me (I live in a small village). In the end we had to spend ££ on an electric gate to a: stop school mums parking or turning on our drive and b: to stop thefts on our property. It's worked for both.

@Applepiesmum

You wouldn't be in the visitor bay if you parked over your drive, so why not just park on it? Seems so simple...

Perhaps have a look at installing a lockable bollard on your driveway OP? You shouldn't have to but should stop CFs parking on your property. Would mean you would still park in the visitor parking. 🌹

Where's the diagram?

I don’t feel like I need to justify this at all but there’s enough visitor bays for all the houses on my road
Then why do you take one instead of your dh just parking in one when he gets home?

Then it's tough, if they have an appointment then they shouldn't block someone's drive, personally I wouldn't give a damn about their 'appointment'.

It’s not even about that but what you say are contributing factors.

A lot of the car driving mums and dads I know live a 5-10 minute walk from school so it’s easier for them to drive there. The closer the possible of course. I’d sort of have sympathy if it was the nursery/reception class but lots of these kids are older. Their parents are awful. Think they have a god given right to park there and then a few of them started fights on the street! Just what I want to hear. Pick up your brat and go home, don’t stay and hang around!

Our street didn’t want the restricted parking and walk to school scheme but it’s a godsend.

Do it

You WNBU at all to block them in.

But as PP have said, you're also a CF for parking frequently in a visitor bay.

If CFs are parking in her driveway they are hardly going to leave the visitors bay free.

A housing estate near us has these visitors bays parking spots - and they are reserved for residents and their visitors, not the general public.

People kept parking there, despite the signs and threatened fines, because it was a short walk to the train station so now they've put in a big locked fence and gate so people can't walk through.

Does anyone remember the thread about a family picnicking on someone's (enormous) driveway? See if they brought flasks and butties OP?

I like the idea of an electric fence, pity it’s illegal. Sadly my home doesn’t have space for a drive or else I’d lay one. Just to watch the drama unfold! Joke…

Actually, it depends on who owns the land the visitors spaces occupy.

in our street, the school tried to claim they owned the visitors spaces and that they were for the use of parents, not for people living in the street.

which was complete tosh. I was able prove in 5 minutes that the visitors spaces were owned equally by all residents of the estate (which does not include the school, which was built much later on an entirely separate tenement of land) and thus the school did not benefit from any right of use, far less have ownership. Sadly for them, this was part of my line of work at the time, so it was childs play (pun intended) to prove they lying.

this was a state school, btw. With a catchment area of 400 metres, so no excuse for anyone to “have” to drive to the school.

some people are just lazy gits.

@Timetochangetheoil

Can you imagine the meltdown on here if school hours were staggered? Of course, the owners of twins would be happy but the rest would be beyond enraged!! You'd just have parents parking up for even longer to ensure they could collect their princess, as well as their prince, from as close to the gates as physically possible.

I have no skin in this game, no schoolkids, other than attempting to traverse local streets surrounding two local primary schools. It's a nightmare, double parking, parking on pavements, parking on the yellow lines etc. etc. etc. Unable to see the lollipop people due to planet-killing SUVs the height of a large van parked on the zig-zags.

I really don't get why these parents can't park a 5/10min walk from the school, spreading the parking burden over a wider area, and get their kids a bit of exercise at the same time. They are lazy fuckers imo, and anyone claiming their timetable is so tight as to be unable to fit in (max) 2x 10min walks is obviously not organising themselves properly.

Howling at posters saying 'Oh, we travel 22 miles, we just couldn't walk!!' Don't be obtuse, no-one is suggesting that. However, a 10min walk is entirely feasible and beneficial.

What if the OP had an appointment but couldn't go because they're blocked in 🤷🏻‍♀️

Works both ways.

If CFs are parking in her driveway they are hardly going to leave the visitors bay free.

I'd forgotten that Op's husband gets back around pick up time.

Yeah, unfortunately on my street many if not most people seem to still work outside the house so their driveways are empty at 2. Still doesn’t make it ok for others to park on them though!

What like parking on someone’s drive?

Balls or not it’s illegal.

I can’t believe this has become about the visitor bay… I don’t feel like I need to justify this at all but there’s enough visitor bays for all the houses on my road

funnily enough, there is a couple in my street (which also has a school and visitor bays) who do this. They have two cars, and whoever is back first always parks in the visitor spaces rather than their drive.

we all think this is the equivalent of a dog cocking its leg and everyone agrees it is antisocial

just park on your own drive if it’s empty. No reason not to.

Slightly veering off subject but an even worse CF driveway parking story! Local newspaper and FB pages of local area reported how a day tourist to the area (beach is a 5 minute walk from the road) parked in someone's driveway but then also plugged their electric car into the electric socket on the property!!!!!!! The owner of the driveway/house/electric socket came home and blocked them in. The ensuing argument and shouting match was a sight to behold. Fucking outrageous!

OP, Id be blocking them in personally but if you don't do confrontation just get a chain or lockable bollard over the drive. More cost to you but it's peace of mind. and a finger up to the CF!

I feel like really the schools need to try and take control of the issue. Not sure how. More funding for morning clubs maybe? Or staggered start times for different years? Again I am aware a lot of the striking action happened due to underfunding so parking for parents is probably bottom of a very big pile.

I think schools have enough to do trying to educate the kids without having to educate the parents as well. It’s not actually the school’s job to ensure that parents have the right amount of work/life balance so that they’re not tempted to park dangerously. That’s the parents’ job to sort out.

I do it.

I get people parking across my drive and sometimes on my drive. I park as close as I can possibly get from them. People rarely do it more than once. Except my dickhead neighbours!

I wouldn’t block them in. I would get cones and stick them out with a visible camera. If they go to the trouble of moving the cones then I would get a sign saying it’s an offence and they will be reported. Then I’d report them if it continued. You need to complain to the school also and send them pictures of the offending cars.

I am in favour of people blocking selfish parkers in yes.

I walk my son a mile and a half to school, or we get the bus. What I notice is there is an abundance of parking spaces just a 5 minute walk away from school, including a huge free car park less than half a mile away, but right outside the school it is mayhem, people parking over driveways, people parking completely on the middle of pavements, making it so unsafe that I can't walk with my son through the residential roads, in bus lanes, on corners etc we take a longer footpath instead. It really blows my mind that people refuse to do any walking whatsoever.

But another thing I have noticed is the residents cars parked on the road and pavements, leaving many, many empty driveways during this chaotic time. I really think it is incredible selfish when people do this. You say your husband is due home 03:30-04:00, I'm sure the visitors space would be free for him after the school pick up mayhem, or shortly after. You are contributing to the problem.

The visitors space isn't there for random parents at a local school though. They don't have a right to park there.