Parking at school pick up

[IncessantNameChanger]

I parked up today on my normal street for pick up. School is two miles away and I need to be home in time to be there for my sons taxi drop off. Hence, I don't often walk to pick up only dropping off.

I parked on a cul de sac. Not blocking any drive. I did not mount any kerb. I was half a foot from the kerb.

Yet the man that lived in the house, walked round my car twice with his mouth hanging open staring at my car and his kerb. I looked at him with a wtf? Expression but got no reaction. So I asked him. He went inside.

His house is 20 years old if that. The school was built in the sixties. Yet he was looking very stunned and shel shocked. A parent had parked legally and consideratly on a public road 5 metres from a school boundary line ( top of playing fluid is one house and one public footpath from his boundary line.

Can anyone tell me what I did wrong? His jaw was on the floor. A very disproportionate expression for a taxed car to park on a public road. No parking restrictions, no dropped curb, no white line, no yellow line. My car was a good two foot back from the start of his 5 car wide drive. To hit my car he would had to drive over his Bush. A builders SUV was parked behind me. But with a man in who got no reaction at all.

I have spent the day sitting by my mums coffin and I would swop this man's shock and horror for my problems in a flash. Also why no use his voice? He was starring and starring at me and the car but could not verbalise wtf I was doing wrong.

In addition to that, the home to school distance where you’re eligible for free transport changes from 2 miles to 3 miles once the child is 8.

Exactly, @Wimpod . Except your wee stick figure should have been pushing a pram or wrangling a toddler by the hand.

I live at the end of a cul de sac near a school. There is a path to the school playground 50 feet from my front door. Parents park like absolute dicks. Not overhanging drop kerbs but right up to the start of the entrance on both sides, and opposite. Impossible to get out. Think that the turning space at the end of the street are extra parking spaces.

And on two other points - yes we knew the school was here when we moved. But when my child started at the school 15 years ago, there were 250 pupils. There are now 400+ pupils. And there IS a car park, at a wee parade of shops about 3 minutes walk along a SAFE road. Do the parents use it? Do they buggery. Far too focussed on getting as close as it humanly possible to the entrance.

Poor guy probably has to be dealing with dickish parking every day.

I can easily imagine why it would bother people having school parking going on outside their property twice a day especially when the property is close to the road. Banging doors, radio playing, performance parenting, noisy children, engine idling etc etc. also not everyone keeps the same hours as those on the school run and could actually be still asleep.

Properties may have been bought after a school was built, but traffic volumes has increased massively and more and more parents take their children to school by car. A school near us, decided to open another entrance at the end of the very large field, so local residents who thought that they had bought a property over half a mile from a school entrance and were never affected by the school run, have suddenly found one outside their homes. The parking is in the main diabolical, not always courteous or the Highway Code followed, double parking is not unusual. It is not surprising that local residents do get fed up. So whilst you may have parked nicely, not had your engine running or music blaring, been performance parenting, previous school parkers may not have been as courteous.

I live by a school, people park outside my house all the time and it only pisses me off when they’re inconsiderate. From what OP has described she hasn’t been.

We all have to park on the street outside someone’s house sometimes, it’s life. I don’t get why some people take such issue with it.

Some cul de sacs have quite a narrow entrance road. I know the one by our school does. Anyone parking on the 'straight' bit 6 inches away from the kerb would cause issues for anything bigger than a small car trying to get past. The residents of the road are forever calling the school because the disability taxis cannot get around them. Do you think that is why he was shaking his head at you or is the road wide enough?

It's nine years old. Given that he has parking for five it's more likely he was worried my car would drop his house price value.

There is so many places to park where I park. Its a dead end road of 4-5 bed houses. If I park on the same road but 100m closer to the school its packed up with parents half on the pavement with 3 bed terraces, but I think that doesn't raise any eyebrows weirdly.

I park in various spots on the cul de sac so I have only parked outside his house once before. I prefer to park where its not busy and walk further. No one parks there due to his spikey overhanging Bush. I can imagine his face now when the school sends out the inconsiderate parking reminders. I always thought it was parking on the junctions or over a drive for 2 minutes.

Kind of makes me see why some parents are getting their kids to jump in on the hoof on the school road. No parking at all. I'm half expecting a picture of my perfectly parked car in a half empty street to pop up on FB village posts tonight.

I did see a neighbour standing outside his house yesterday where no one ever parks and wondering why he was just standing there. Getting enraged that people park a junction away from his house. Maybe they need to lobby to make the big houses with massive boundary lines a private road.

When you have parking for 4-5 cars maybe you don't want anyone parking on the street.

It's an ancient Inn stop on a major port road to London built by the Romans. In the middle of nowhere. There's no car park. Just a few pubs from the age of the arc, an estate, and new houses plonked in where ever it was legal to build on a old field. Oh and A road to the coast. two schools. A tiny infants and a massive juniors. I hate village life today 🫤. I will get over it tomorrow.

Are there any parking permits or double yellow lines outside of his house? If not and you are not obstructing his drive then it's fair game. If he gives you any shit in future tell him your family will come and park their cars down there all weekend and when they go on holiday.

but apparently he didn't say anything. Looks like he was ready to say something IF the OP had parked like an arsehole.

Nothing happened. Non story.

Don't be disingenuous and pretend parents parking blocking residents and drives all over the country is not pretty much the norm

The only idiot in this scenario is the half-wit, who chose to buy a house near a school and lacked the foresight to know people would be parking bumper to bumper outside his house twice a day.

YANBU and I'm glad you called him out.

OP you did nothing wrong. He doesn't own the road but thinks he does.

@GulesMeansRed

Think that the turning space at the end of the street are extra parking spaces.

This is my pet hate. I'm in a cul de sac near a school. I couldn't turn around the other day and ended up sort of stranded in the turning bay. The other parents had to wait until there was adequate space for me to maneuver.

I live near a tennis club. It’s deeply irritating when I go to the supermarket, come back and then can’t get parked to unload but i take a deep breath and get over myself cause it’s a public road and I’m not a twat.

No one parks on the turning spaces as the cul de sac is four roads in total so you can turn in the junctions and the only two turning spaces are at either end as very obvious turning spaces. There's no one doing that ever. They are always clear.

The issue today seemed to be just parking legally and consideratly on a public road. There was no obstructions. You could get a fire engine down and turned round easily.

Some people think they own the road outside their house maybe he is one of these people.

Some people just get really rilled up by school parking. My neighbour has had frequent run ins with parents as it makes it harder for them to get their car out for that 10-15 mins, despite no lines on the road and it being legal to park there. They live on a school road so I’m not sure what they expected to happen when they moved in?!

Are you in Barming?

No, it's two lanes easily wide. Normal street width really. There's just no exit at either end. You pull into a very bog standard side road with white middle lines and hive way markings. There was nothing further along in front of me but his drive and his neighbours drive. You can't block him really unless you had a bus parked up. There was no drive on the opposite of the road. I can't think how I could park more within the legal and socail rules.

If I knew why he was frothing I would have moved 5 metres away. It's all the staring open mouthed, walking around the car aghast but walking off when I asked what was wrong that confused me. I had clearly pissed him off but not with any valid reason to his level of reaction.

He was making a face like I had run his cat over. Unless I did run his cat over but he could spare the time to pull a face at me. Before he dived inside.

I think I'm going to park with the throng tomorrow. Join the rest and get as close as humanly possible as that seems more acceptable. I can't park any further away either. I'd be on the A road. I could park on a country lane in the heath but its narrow so that's very dickish parking. Possibly more acceptable to park like dick than near a house.

He was just trying to intimidate you. I expect he does it to lots of parents (mothers) who park there. That’s why no one usually does.

Ignore him.

Why would you choose a cul de sac beside a school to specifically avoid parking/traffic issues.

That would be extremely I’ll advised.

If you live near a school you expect busy (and unfortunately sometimes annoying) parking twice a day for a short period. Provided there’s no illegal parking, you live with it.

From, someone who lives near a school.

He did it to make you feel how you feel.

You were perfectly legal so couldn't actually say something. But he's hoping to silently intimate you into not going back.

So park there tomorrow and when he comes out staring at your car smile and wave

Sorry about your mum

Good idea. I might stare intently into his sodding Bush, pulling a bum face and pointing tomorrow to wind him back up. Or take a photo of my parking and ask on the FB village group if they can critique my parking. But really I will leave him to froth. Things like this don't normally get under my skin so much. It's the asking him and him walking off that did it. It was all kind of look! Look at this! I can't belive it! What exactly? Well nothing really. Sorry I can't actually say. I'm going to hide instead

Without seeing the area in question its impossible to comment on your parking. Just because something is legal doesnt make it an issue. The school i pass each morning has a junction where fat lazy wankers park every day to save them a 5 minute walk. The yellow lines only stretch a couple of ft past the junction so its perfectly legal for parents to park pretty much covering the junction. So that turns the junction into a one car width junction. It is also the junction every single child that walks to school has to cross. Its a nightmare and extremely dangerous for the children. But the fat lazy wankers parents are parking legally.

This may have zero bearing on your situation but to just discount this persons issues because you are legally parked may be hiding some of the truth. Does it turn the road into a single carriegeway? Is there already someone parked on the other side of the road and turning it into a chicane? Does it restrict visability for anyone? Does it restrict access for say a fire engine.....etc etc. You can park legally by the letter of the law and still be causing issues.

Lucky you being in a position where you can make that choice. Not everyone is so privileged.

OP, you didn't do anything wrong so try not to let it bother you.

I'm over it now.

It's all fine saying you would never drive your child to school. But I didn't choose to have a disabled son and however much I could insist he goes to a local mainstream school that would come from a purely selfish standpoint that would damage him and undoubtedly piss off the other 29 parents in the mainstream class. I didn't choose to have him after neurotypical kids so he goes to school 25 miles away. If I was perfect, I'd walk the 100 miles a day but alas, dd exists. I could drop her at 3am and maybe get the 25 miles by 9am? But it's the getting back home. I'm lazy like that I guess. I could walk dd back from school but I'd miss his taxi and policy is to call SS if there is no adult to receive him. Unfortunately we don't all live perfect neat tidy lives. I walk her in, drive to pick her. I park in residential streets. Again ideally the prep is on a country lane but I can't afford the fees. What I'd like and my choices like many don't marry up.

You don't need to justify yourself to anyone.