It’s a parking one….

[Peaceandquietandacuppa]

Wanted to share a bonkers parking situation and get some perspectives!

Live on a narrow terraced street with parking restrictions/ resident permits.

Diagram has: black cars parked up both sides. Colourful cars are the ones in the road. Road has a dead end marked at the bottom so only one way to exit.

Blue car neighbour’s daughter decides to leave car in the road because they are fed up of not finding a space. There is a local landmark where people visit every week and neighbour is pissed off about it.

Green car neighbour is trying to go and pick up her son (goes to a special school which is a drive away). Is going NUTS as I would be! I thought she was going to hit the neighbour who was laughing at her, so I was trying to protect her from getting arrested and talk reason to them.

Red car is someone in my house trying to park (we have one car, I don’t drive) , ends up giving up and parking 2 streets away. My relative turns up and also start shouting when they realise why they couldn’t park 🤣

Other colour cars are waiting around bemused. There were also people parked up who ironically couldn’t get out and would have freed up about 4 spaces.

I was trying to calm green down as she was panicking, trying to plead with the blue neighbour, why are you punishing your neighbours who hold permits for other people’s actions. I called the police who weren’t interested sadly. The neighbour and his daughter were standing there laughing and saying “we’re making a stand”

So we just had to knock around and find some people parked to move their cars, eventually got Green out of there to pick up her kid..

Im still so shocked and angry! After a few people managed to get out and some spaces freed up, we shouted through their window, “you can move your Fucking car now idiots” and they came out and moved it.

Note there were spaces further up the road near the dead end (hard to show on diagram), but my relative couldn’t get through to get to them. And blue were deciding not to use the spaces further up out of principle…

Any tips if it happens again?

and the YABU:

YABU - they should make a stand about people parking on our street, even if it massively inconveniences their neighbours as well

YANBU - they’re selfish idiots and should use the proper channels

Blue car is absolutely ridiculous and selfish

However...I take it people who do not live on the street visiting the landmark every week do not have permits, so should not be parking on your road? If so, can you not report them weekly and get traffic warden round to ticket them?

I dont think so...I wouldn't want people without permits parking on my permit only street either.

The neighbour went about it very wrong but I can see why she is totally fed up and frustrated

Can you speak to the Imam? Like you would if it were a school or church etc? See if they can put something in the newsletter. Nightmare though

I googled to confirm but it sounds to me like blue car is breaking the law.

Obstructing a public highway is an offense under Section 137 of the Highways Act 1980 in the UK. It occurs when someone wilfully obstructs the free passage along a highway without lawful authority or excuse. This can include actions like blocking the path with objects, or hindering movement on the highway. The offense is punishable by imprisonment for up to 51 weeks or a fine, or both.

Blue car is an utter imbecile and should have her license removed. I would report the behaviour now even though nothing can or will be done about it, purely because I suspect this behaviour will be escalating.

I hope contacting the mosque about the parking situation helps but if it's anything like our local schools, no matter how many pleads they send their community nothing will ever change 😏 Everyone thinks "oh I'm only one car, what difference can that possibly make!" and then 20 cars later... It's often not even selfishness, just utter ignorance.

I walked past an acquaintance while on the school run the other day trying to get out of their driveway, and when I walked back more than 15 minutes later they were still trying to get out. That's despite regular emails from school reminding parents not to park on that road and school even putting up signs every morning and afternoon saying "don't park here".