Neighbours have decided that myself and NDN park some of our cars in another street to make it fairer for everyone. AIBU to ignore the request?

[SumoFarah]

I live on a street with unrestricted parking and few driveways. I know it might sound excessive but my family and NDN family have 7 cars between us. I can’t get a drive out in as the street is really narrow so I would need the space opposite to be empty in order to exit.

A neighbour on the street knocked on my and NDN to explain that our six cars take up too much space and means that:

1. neighbours who finish work late can never get a space so have to park on another street and walk
2. their weekend visitors can never get a space
3. on weekends they sometimes have to park in the middle of the road to unload their shopping and then go and find somewhere else to park

We we’re told that ‘they all’ think everyone should agree to use a maximum of 2 spaces to use as they wish and any further space needed should be used in the free car park about 1/2 mile away.

Also that the two teenagers (one mine, one NDN) don’t need cars as they are still in school so should have no need for cars anyway.

I get that parking spaces are at a premium, and can be frustrating when all the spaces are taken, but I don’t want myself or my dc to walk 1/2 mile in the dark (or the light, for that matter) just to placate the neighbours when there’s a space available. All our cars are pretty much used on a daily basis.

NDN told the messenger neighbour that it’s first-come-first-served. I do understand the annoyance but don’t agree with the suggestion because some houses only have one car and some houses don’t have a car, so should balance out in theory, but obviously doesn’t in practice.

Would I be unreasonable to ignore the ‘request’?

Suggestions welcomed.

Was thinking the same.....

So then why say you're not interested.

A lot of places where there are parking issues do have permits and a limit of two cars per HH, and you have to apply for a temporary permit for guests.
The parking permits are not only linked to the HH but have the number plate of the car as well so you can't just loan them out.

None of which applies to the OP or their situation....

A lot of places where there are parking issues do have permits and a limit of two cars per HH, and you have to apply for a temporary permit for guests. The parking permits are not only linked to the HH but have the number plate of the car as well so you can't just loan them out

One would think OP would have thought to mention this if it applied to them so assuming it does not. Assuming OP lives on a public road with no parking permit requirements so can park however many cars wherever they want as long as there are free spots, and if not will have to park whatever cars don’t fit somewhere else wherever they can find a park. No idea why parking permit rules are being applied to OP when they don’t have this?

Well I'm glad my parents used there common sense and brains. Once we kids all started driving we all had a family chat as 6 cars was a lot to take up the street so 3 of us park 5 mins away where there is parking. It's just not fair to expect other neighbours to not be able to get there shopping or babies into there own houses aswell

Whilst they have the legal right to do so, I do agree that it's spectacularly selfish to leave your drive empty and park on the road.

In fact, considering that a potential public parking space has been removed to allow them 24/7 access to their drive, I think the council should step in and say that you can either have that access to your drive - and use your drive - or otherwise we specifically mark out the dropped kerb as a free-for-all parking space and you can compete with it (for parking or for drive access) along with everybody else; or otherwise simply replace the dropped kerb with a standard height kerb again.

Yes, this rather defeats the object of the people who always splutter "But my visitors need to park!" - as though residents of a street should deliberately leave spaces near their own homes empty in preference of the occasional visitor who very likely will not even turn up for the vast majority of the time anyway.

I think, if a lot of these people are honest, they don't actually want a standard RPZ with any kind of specific regulations for everybody to have to strictly abide by; they just want a 'My house' zone that they alone are allowed to use and control, but nobody else can use it without their express permission.

Basically, like having a private drive on somebody else's land - and letting the council pay for it instead of paying for it yourself.

What would you have done if the adult children had all had their own babies as well - whether they all still lived there or visited frequently? Would you have had all of the parents of little ones parked on the road but then send your own (grandparent-aged) parents off to park their car(s) 5 minutes away?

Also, is/was the parking 5 minutes away well away from other people's residential streets, or was the can just kicked along the road?

No it doesn't, but it doesn't make the previous posters point "twaddle" either as it is how it has been solved in other areas.

It is possible that if the OP and her NDN do not come up with a workable solution, the neighbours that are annoyed could go to the council and ask them to put permit parking in place.

So even though the OP and NDN are doing nothing wrong it is their interests to come to a solution that suits most people before people start petitioning the council.

My household is probably worse than yours. We have 4 cars!!! Sometimes 6 when vistors come.

But we are 4 full time working adults and each have different locations and starting times vary for shifts etc. I absolutely knew this was going to be an issue as my DS/DD got older so we purchased a house with off street parking for 2-3 cars. I then had this altered so we could accommodate the 4th car on our driveway.

Even when we have visitors such as GF or BF they are made to park in overflow parking on the estate which means they have to walk a bit.

Over my dead body are we going to be a house who causes everyone else parking issues. IMO people who park over footpaths and on road bends deserve a place in hell

I don't understand how if there's room to park, there's not room to pull out of a drive (if you created one) - mind you, it depends on the depth of your front garden/width of your house whether it would actually free up any spaces anyway I presume.

This one made me laugh......

Every single house on our estate has minimum 2 spaces for cars. We also have a huge number of overflow spaces. Its a modern estate that has been designed to take into account 2 car families etc.

We STILL have parking issues because all the knobjockeys on the estate think its reasonable to only park one of their cars on the drive as they dont want to have to move a car to let the other out (One behind the other). Lazy bastards prefer to park half on the road, half on the pavement. Causing blockages on the roads.

Forget using the overflow spaces. They are 99% empty as its quicker, easier, lazier to park over the pavement.

My next door neighbours' drive adjoins mine and their solution is to park one of their cars behind the other on their drive, and use my drive to get in and out. It's annoying as they're damaging my tarmac by the way they swerve across it.

But in my opinion that's a minor inconvenience compared with the frustrations of living on a Victorian estate (pre-parking restrictions) and the selfish fuckers who caused endless frustration and safety issues by parking their multiple vehicles on both sides of the roads. If we'd stayed there, my DD would never have been able to make the five minute walk to school on her own, as drivers wouldn't have been able to see her crossing until she was in the middle of the road.

Go back to bed.

None of what has been a solution elsewhere applies to the OP's post, road or situation.

No one cares about "whats ifs".

Perhaps yes, its not twaddle after all. Its utter bullshit and irrelevant.

I think it’s unfair but also, what’s to be done? It’s first come first serve. You can all park legally on the road. It’s one of those situations where no one has to compromise or agree, because there is no actual collateral for you to do so apart from your neighbours being annoyed. (Not judging, it’s a public road, your right to park as many cars as you want there is a legal fact.)

They are well within their rights to seek controlled parking/permitting of the road if they wish.

FWIW, my household has 4 cars. All adults, separate jobs in completely different areas, public transport desert. Sharing isn’t possible due to schedules. At the same time, we’ve always made sure to find a house with at least room for 2 cars and/or plenty of parking on the street. This is at the top of the list for housing.

Our new house has a double driveway for 2 cars but a wide, quiet road and plenty of off-street parking. This has been chosen over bigger houses with less space. I also actively avoid city or town centres and choose to live further out.

Parking IS stressful, which is why I’ve actively avoided any areas where cars are stacked on top of each other. I’ve literally lived in smaller houses and compromised on space to afford good parking. I would never choose to life anywhere with no drive or where parking is stacked like this. Assuming most houses would have 2 cars, currently there’s a surplus of 3-4 cars. If 3-4 cars was enough to mean people have to park half a mile away, then clearly the parking situation was awful anyway and sadly that is just the nature of the area.

I understand not everyone can move, but it also doesn’t take a genius to work out that certain areas are a nightmare for parking. It’s a privilege to be able to choose to avoid the situation, but we also compromise. We found a beautiful, large townhouse for the same price, but it had one space and no parking for 1/2 mile if not for limited street parking. It was refurbished, enormous, and way more modern than our current house. But the parking made it a no go! We are now in a significantly smaller property, but parking is a breeze and it’s a compromise I’ll never regret.

It's not in the least, it's part of an open discussion

Also, it’s just going to get worse. Children will get their own cars. New neighbours will move in and out. Someone could have a guest over multiple times a week. Legally, anyone can park there. That’s a fact. Even if you agree to the two car situation, there’s no guarantee it will stick or that strangers, guests or new neighbours won’t mess it up. Reality is, not everyone will be able to park in that road.

Might sound blunt, but people either need to a) move and escape the issue to somewhere with more parking or b) take actual action and ask the council for parking permits. This might be realistic if there is genuinely no other residential road within half a mile.

Of course - open discussion.

But wholly and utterly irrelevant to the OP.

Amazed that people cannot see that. What happens elsewhere has fuck all bearing on the OPs street parking situation.

I am of the opinion that the poster is more here for the ruck than the actual discussion.

But there already is a workable (albeit not perfect) solution: as many of the residents' (and their visitors') cars as possible are parked on the street and then, after that, people have to use the car park a few minutes' walk away or find somewhere else.

Councils usually consider instituting restricted parking zones when 'outsiders' - commuters, shoppers, people travelling from the nearby station/airport etc. - find their road handy to park on and frequently use up all/most of the spaces, so the residents struggle to find anywhere on the street to park themselves.

I don't see that they'll be interested in showing blatant favouritism by preventing some of the residents from parking there just so that other residents can.

It is possible that if the OP and her NDN do not come up with a workable solution, the neighbours that are annoyed could go to the council and ask them to put permit parking in place. So even though the OP and NDN are doing nothing wrong it is their interests to come to a solution that suits most people before people start petitioning the council

It takes a hell of a lot to get to that point though as councils simply do not want the bother. Once they introduce such a system, THEY then have to police it or introduce expensive tech, neither of which is to their advantage. As another poster said, the main times they do this is commuter areas to prohibit commuters from taking up all the residents parking, versus residents taking up residents parking.

Even then the problem may still continue if it’s a council physically ensuring compliance with staff. I have a friend who has this system because they are located a street back from a major bus route into the city. They have a drive that accommodates 1 car, yet they have 3 cars. They get 1 other permit for named car. The parking inspectors work 8am-4pm in that council area. But, they need to start and end their day from the council building. So, that really limits the chance of them coming around to 8.45/9am to 3/3.15pm. They have all taken the cars to work before 8.45am and get home after 3.15pm so parking without a permit doesn’t pose a problem Mon-Fri. Nor does it Sunday as the parking inspectors don’t work Sunday and they work reduced hours Sat so it’s really only a problem half a day in Sat to find somewhere for one car.

Then for visitors, it’s tricky to get a spot, so if expecting visitors they keep the drive empty and park that one on road and either visitor parks in drive or you call when getting close and they’ll go out and wait for you so they can pull out and you can drive in to the spot they ‘reserved’ on the street for you, and they park that car in the drive. Basically, you only visit out of parking inspectors working hours, so having cars without permits is moot. The council also doesn’t act on residents going Nazi and dobbing each other or randoms in, taking photo’s as ‘evidence’ as in this day and age anything can be AI modified in minutes. The last thing a council wants is to be left liable for enforcing actions on potential fake evidence, which could end up a costly exercise for them!

Residents only parking where each house gets 2 spots? Makes it fair.

You have 6 cars. You park 3 elsewhere. Leaving 3 cars outside your home. The same number as the OP has.