Cars being keyed / wheelie bin

[Sara249]

We live on a main road. When we have family to visit, they have (legally) parked outside our house with two wheels on the curb and two wheels on the road. As buggy users ourselves with young kids, we are sure we always leave enough room for prams.

a few months ago, my parents stayed over and noticed their car had been keyed. I wanted to think it was perhaps just an accident and someone had scraped the car going past. But then a few weeks later, my sister stayed and parked in the same place (but again leaving space for a buggy) and her car had been keyed. So now we thought this must be deliberate. A week or so later, our car was on the curb this time as we had my parents staying to help with the baby and we woke up to our car being keyed. So that’s 3 cars now that have been keyed, all having parked on the same place.

this has made us feel pretty cross and upset, as our guests are always parked legally. It’s a busy main road but street parking is legal and we don’t have alternative parking for them.

this morning again my mum had stayed to help with the baby (we have a newborn and toddler so hence us having a bit more family help at the min!) and had parked on the road, and we woke up to a wheelie bin sat on her car roof and all the rubbish had fallen off onto the ground on the road.

my husband found it at 7am and took it down, but did take a picture.

it’s so frustrating as clearly this local person HATES us parking on the pavement, but it’s not illegal for our guests to do that. And what they are doing in response with the keys and now this is illegal and is surely criminal damage.

we have no evidence of who has done it though but my hunch is it’s clearly the same person each time.

part of me wants to continue to park there, but I equally don’t want any trouble with this anonymous neighbour as with 2 young kids we don’t want a local enemy! But a petty small part of me wants to set up a camera on our drive way (on our property which directly backs onto the pavement) and try and see if we catch the person doing it when our guests next park there. But this feels like the smaller person route!

I will just get our family and guests to park on a side street off the main road and walk to our house, but it is slightly frustrating we feel we have to do this as they often have lots of bags and stuff to stay over.

would you try take it further and get evidence etc? Or just choose the easier option and stop people parking there?

also please let me know if you agree with this neighbour, happy to hear the alternative view but we genuinely think we always leave enough room for a pram and / or wheelchair. And clearly this person isn’t a wheelchair user to have got the full wheelie bin onto the roof.

Call the police and get a camera, it's a criminal incident.

The locals clearly don't agree with you parking on the pavement. 4 times and you can't take the hint....

"The locals clearly don't agree with you parking on the pavement."

Far more likely it is one particular neighbour /household being possessive of the space as op has said other cars park on the pavement in her street

Get a camera up asap, OP. Surprised you didn't do this the after the first or second time it happened.

Get a ring door bell ASAP OP. People in my street do similar when people steal "their" parking spot (terraced houses with no drive way and public road) they also crack eggs on people's cars and sat traffic cones on their bonnets.

I was always of the understanding that you couldn't park on the pavement unless a sign was up. Plus it wrecks pavements.

I get why people do it, cars are getting bigger and more of them and roads can be so narrow but you just ..don't.

It might not be that though if it's just you being targeted. I'd absolutely put a camera up.

I can imagine anyone requires you to park on the pavement. Not having enough space on the road doesn't mean it is ok to park on the pavement.

People are weird about parking. In my relatives street someone has stuck a sign in her window telling people it's her spot and to be considerate. It's a public road.

I've had her sat in her car in the middle of the road before giving me evils when I've parked there briefly.

Exactly that. It’s nothing to do with the way OP parks (although she wasn’t completely clear if others in her street park the same way, she just said others). It’s clearly personal against OP.

Unless the only way of allowing access for traffic to pass along the road is to park partly on the pavement then get off the bloody pavement. Most of the time its just lazy driving. And while we're using bold its kerb, kerb, kerb. Thank you, and goodnight.

@Sara249 is anyone else having issues or just you? Because that might not even beabout parting then

You say it’s a main road so surely it’s wide enough to park with all 4 wheels on the road without blocking emergency vehicle access.

Are you parking on the pavement because your car is too wide to park normally? What is your reasoning for pavement parking?

I don’t understand why you didn’t stick up a ring doorbell or similar after the first time, or even the second? Why didn’t you?

Are you sure it's the pavement parking that's a problem and not the fact that you are taking up an extra space? Or someone's perceived space? (I.e. it's not allocated parking but they've been parking there since the 80s so it's "theirs"?) I have a neighbour like that. It's not even a narrow road, there's plenty of room for everyone. But one time after I moved here I happened to park where she does and omg the dirty look she gave me! So now I just avoid that space.

or indeed carry on parking there knowing that every time previously your car or a family members has been vandalised!!

It’s just so frustrating that they’ve damaged all of our cars and now the wheelie bin

bizarre that it happens every time you park there… once, twice, three, four times and yet still you carry on parking there!

weird that they were able to drag a wheelie bin on top of a car without causing anyone to take a look at all the noise!

and only your car despite all the others also parked on the road as you say in exactly the same way as you

Where did you get the info that it isn’t illegal to park on the pavement?

You say you leave enough room for a double buggy but what if someone is coming from one direction walking and someone else the other direction with a buggy, can they both get by or does someone have to wait or step into the road?
Personally I fume if I have to wait or wiggle along because a car is taking up pavement space.

I'd be tempted to buy an old banger and leave it there just to annoy them.... but I'm very petty.

Who parks there when your/your parents car isn’t there? I’d put my money on it being them and they’re just not happy you’re parking in ‘their’ space full stop. Nothing to do with the pavement parking.

or stick up a weighted basketball hoop

It’s actually illegal all over Scotland now, not just Dundee.

Parking on the pavement is really dickish behaviour. Absolutely unreasonable.

I was soooo pleased when my street - cars parked up on the pavement on both sides - went to paid residents’ parking on one side of the road. Drivers are very thoughtless about anything but their precious cars.

@Sara249 do you live on my road? Cars get keyed all the time. I think it's kids its a main thoroughfare and seems most likely be the inconsiderate and thick just disaffected and liking to damage stuff. Same impulse that sees everything graffiti and bus shelters smashed.

It's likely not the parking. In Manchester there's a lot of pavement parking as roads narrow and pavements wide enough. My friends road has such wide pavements you can park 2 cars abreast on them! Most pavements aren't that wide but enough thst you'd want to keep over a bit give a bit of room for buses etc.