Neighbour complaining about my parking

[nightmareparking]

Diagram attached, it’s shit sorry!

I moved into my flat in October. It’s a block of flats. There is off street parking available, but it’s not allocated to anyone and is on a first come first served basis. Some families have several cars and others, like myself, only have the 1.

Shortly after moving in, I encountered difficulties with parking. I usually finish work later, and by the time I get home, most of the spaces are taken. I began parking on the street adjacent to the flats, but it got damaged in February (likely by a group of kids as other drivers in the village have experienced similar issues). Subsequently, I resumed parking outside the flats again.

Occasionally, I find myself parking on the corner (highlighted) when there are no other spaces available. I understand that reversing past can be challenging for some people, but with careful and slow driving, it is possible. I have done it myself. When I returned home on Sunday, the son of my neighbour approached me and asked if I could avoid parking on the corner because his elderly dad has difficulty reversing past. I apologised and explained that I typically park there because there are often no other spaces available when I get home. I also mentioned that I can no longer park on the street because my car was damaged the last time. He agreed and asked if I could avoid parking there when possible.

I returned home this evening and he approached me again voicing his complaints. I proposed that his dad could park on the corner if that worked better, and I could take his spot (highlighted) at the front. But it seems he wants / needs to park closer to his flat. I’m feeling a bit lost about what to do and he refuses to talk to the other neighbours, even though they have several cars. It feels like I’m being pressured to park on the street. I’m 26 and he’s in his 40s (I know him a little through a friend), which makes me feel a bit intimidated.

Should I just go ahead and park on the street, even if it risks my car getting damaged again? AIBU to park on the corner if there are no other spaces available?

Or a fire engine - it looks very tight.

@Tbrh those aren’t parking bays, they’re actually cars. Sorry if the diagram was misleading. I thought I made it clear that the boxes represent cars since I mentioned I parked at the end and my neighbour parks at the front, and I highlighted both spots. I also mentioned in my OP that there was no allocated parking.

To clarify, there are no designated parking bays / allocated parking spaces. All vehicles park parallel to each other. If there aren’t any other spots available, I park behind the last car on the corner.

I’m confused by people saying the diagram and photo don’t match though. I’ve drawn it exactly as the set up is.

cross posted with OP who answered my question

Usually in car parks etc there is a good reason that some areas are not used as marked bays. It allows for better visibility and manoeuvring. Usually they squeeze in as many bays as possible.

All very well saying they should not be driving then ( due to someone parking inconsiderately ) but some drivers will only have vision near legal minimums. I believe you can drive cars with vision only in one eye for example.

I think they are being unreasonable. If the father is struggling to reverse safely around other cars then unfortunately he perhaps shouldn’t be driving.

Continue to park where you do, but bump up on the kerb, so your car is less in the road

@SuperTrooper14 there is no management company as such. There are 10 flats in total. Some are privately owned and others are owned by housing associations.

I think people think a satellite image is clearer as it’s not very clear from a drawing how much space there actually is. You will probably always draw with your bias.

Could emergency services get past your car without damaging it?

The whole set up seems wrong. Does everyone reverse out onto the road? There's no turning circle.

I think you probably are causing a problem parking on the bend but is it likely that someone else will park there if you don't?

Does everyone park their car in the same direction? Ie toe or tail to the kerb? Or does anyone park parallel to the kerb?

Why doesnt the elderly dad reverse into his space?

The dad needs to reverse park. If he can’t do that then he shouldn’t be driving. The son needs to get a grip and stop harassing you. Next time tell him that as you live there and have only one car, you are entitled to park there. If this family have more that one car, I would also say to him that you have emailed the landlord requesting each flat gets one parking permit. That will give him food for thought as all the flats with multiple cars will then have to find alternative parking. In fact, I would email the landlord requesting this. The interfering son doesn’t need to know the outcome of the email, just that you are in the process of getting a parking space whilst others will have to move.

I personally think you shouldn't park there....you're limiting access for emergency services and it looks very tight from your photo. That said your diagram isn't great so it's hard to say.

I’d be pretty snippy with him- it’s the only park available, I’ve offered to swap spots, you ignored that so you don’t have any other options for me?? I didn’t hear you offer to pay repairs and a hire car if it got damaged parking on the street, my final suggestion is your dad parks on the street or you start harassing someone else to give me their spot. Bye.

Would an emergency vehicle easily be able to get through where you park?

@Mia184 yes an ambulance could get past. A few weeks ago, there was actually one here for my other neighbour and the ambulance was able to get past fine.

There isn’t enough space for people to turn around, leaving us with 2 options: to reverse in and drive out (which I’ve done before) or drive in and reverse out. My neighbour prefers the latter and will also park at the front, outside his flat, so he has to reverse past everyone’s cars when he leaves.

Looks quite narrow to me to get round the bend with a car there

Yes, unless they reverse in and drive out instead. I have done this myself a few times, but usually everyone just drives in and reverses out. In all fairness, the street adjacent to the flats isn’t that busy normally. We live in a small village, not a busy town / city. It is likely that someone would park there if I didn’t, they have done before when I managed to get another space.

Exactly don't let the patriarchy bully you! I bet he wouldn't say this to other men.

Then you really shouldn't park there if it makes it difficult for others.

I suspect he’s only talking to you because he feels like he can intimidate you. Ask him politely and breezily if he’s spoken to any of the other neighbours to see if maybe they can help.

If this is the only space that's left when you park, there is a reason for it. It's because it's not a space otherwise it would also be taken when you get there.

In these situations I ask myself "Am I inconveniencing myself to make things more convenient for someone else?".

As a one-off scenario, I might be willing to do so. Nice to be nice and all that. For a long-term issue such as this, I would not. The fact is, you're not doing anything impermissible. Just because the neighbour is elderly, parks at the furthest away space and refuses to enter/exit in a different way, it doesn't make it your problem to fix. If the neighbours son was to approach me again I'd concisely point out that you have offered a couple of options that could help the neighbour and if they choose not to take any of them up, it's really not your problem. I'd tell him not to raise this with me again.

@Fallenangel10 well, no, not really. The space is the furthest from the flats and everyone prefers to park closer to their flat / front door. There have been a few occasions where I’ve managed to get another spot and someone else has parked on the corner instead.

I’d say -I have nowhere else to park (I tried and my car was damaged by vandals). Moreover, and most importantly, other neighbours routinely park in this space too, like me, so it is an established custom.

We have to say no sometimes. I, like you, woukd prefer to avoid it, but I have to force myself to say no sometimes.