Am i wrong to park here and would you mess with my wing mirrors if I parked outside your house?

[malificent7]

Long story.
I work in a hospital. Rather than pay for parking, I park on a residential street 10 mins walk away. The residents have their own private parking , garages and visitors parking out the back. No driveways and no yellow lines on the wide road.
I park on the roaf. An aggressive man stopped me one day and told me an ambulance couldn't get past. Plenty of space. I pointed out there was space enpugh and no double yellows bitoved anyway.
From then on whenever i parked on the road my wing mirrors have been messed with. I only park on that street now if all other streets are full.
Am I being unreasonable to a: park there. B: to continue to do so if there are no other options/ last resort?

How has he messed with them? Broken or folded them in?
Sounds like you are parked legally but I couldn’t be doing with the hassle of damage to my car so I’d probably find somewhere else to park. It must be very annoying to have staff overspill parking in a residential road, however legal it is. I know my nearest hospital has had decades of problems with it which has never been addressed by management.

You are allowed to assuming a fire engine can get through.

However I know the estate next to our local hospital had a dreadful time with cars parking there all day every day. They have space on their drives for a car, yes, but if they've got visitors, two cars, arrive back at the wrong time, car "only a little bit" across the drive but enough so they can't get in etc.
Everyone thinks "it's only little me" parking there. But the number of "only little me" people added up into a pain in the neck every day.

The estate now has residents' parking only and it has changed the feel of the state from being a car park with stressed drivers to be a family estate where the children can walk around without the danger that the latest car who is late for their shift won't be watching properly because they think there's a space ahead and they're trying to get there first.

You can park legally but still park like a dick. Are you parking like a dick?

If they're just folding your wing mirror in they're probably doing you a favour.

The residents have visitors parking round the back.
I have no clue who parks on my road as im always at work.

Anyone who lives near a railway station, shopping centre or large employer is plagued by people who clog up their streets with all day parking rather than pay to park in the car parks provided for them.

There are no drives as they have private garages and special parking.

I pay to park at work. Lots of people do. Maybe you should. I don't get the view that NHS workers shouldn't have to pay at all.

Is he just folding your wing mirrors in or actually damaging them, OP?

Are you the only car that ever parks on the street?

what you are doing can be quite annoying. My in laws live on a street very close to a hospital as well and so many people park for the entire day in front of and around their house. They do have extra parking at the back too but it’s taken up with other family cars (multigenerational home). It’s quite annoying if we have to go pick them up for appointments (they are no longer able to drive ), drop off my kid to be watched etc. Thankfully recently the council made parking on that road paid if you park for over 30 mins so it’s less of an issue now.
the hospital should provide you with permit or parking if that’s the only way for you to get to work.

You seem to be legally correct. But I live near a hospital and I can’t tell you the stress it brings me to get parked at my own house. Dramatic I know but it really irritates me. Add to that, students renting a house across the street and I’m near signed in to the hospital myself lol

Assuming you are parking legally and not unnecessarily antagonising those who live there, YANBU. I appreciate that people buying a property near a school or hospital etc need to have an expectation that there will be busy times on their road but I still think the decent thing is to avoid it wherever possible.

I understand why you do it (I am a Nurse too) but I also live by a hospital. Luckily I live at the back of the estate which is a bit too far for people to walk from however the road leading into my estate is rammed with hospital parking. It reduces the road down to one lane for a long way and it a major PITA as it is the only road on and off a large estate. Of course nobody can do anything aside from a sign saying 'no hospital parking' it is not illegal to park there. Still irritates me most days though.

just fold them in, my car does it when you lock the doors, it’s a good thing

We have exactly the same concern as him when our roads become car parks on sunny days. The council ignores our requests for yellow lines but tbh drivers would sooner pay fines sharing the cost between passengers than walk a distance. Park elsewhere OP.

From the OPs description there’s nothing wrong with her parking there. If the residents have a legitimate issue (other than possessiveness of the public road) then they need to try to get the council to put in parking restrictions of some sort. The residential roads near our hospital all do.

Im not an NHS worker but going by friends and threads online, some hospitals are extortionate to park in!

I would get a dash cam with parking mode to catch whoever is messing with my car.

To park at the local hospital is £18 a day here and there really is very little parking.

My parents live on a street near a big hospital and staff do park outside their house and it is a pain because whilst they have drives for their own cars it limits where visitors can park, including the carers that visit a number of their neighbours on a regular basis. An ambulance also couldn't get parked outside one older ladies home when she needed to go in to hospital and she had to be stretchered along the street which wasn't very dignified and made her quite distressed. Hospital staff also park in the space that my parents and their two immediate neighbours use to reverse out of their drives. It's a bit of a blind spot so regular visitors know not to park there, but it's only going to be a matter of time before one of them smashes into a parked car. I'm quite a careful driver but I've almost done it twice - black cars parked there in the dark are almost invisible.

If someone is just folding her wing mirrors in no one is going to be fussed about dash cam footage, apart from the OP. Road side - doing driver a favour as less likely to have mirror caught by passing vehicles. Pavement side - removing a hazard to pedestrians, particularly those with sight difficulties.

Yeah but that's kind of tough, isn't it. You don't have the right to have space for multiple cars outside your property, and you should have known that you were buying a house next to a hospital. Visit at various times of day before you buy!

If I wanted to park my car outside your house every day and then walk half an hour to work, for no reason whatsoever, I could.

@malificent7 I'd just fold your own wing mirrors in once you've parked.

Perhaps consider a dash-cam to catch whoever is doing it.

Some people think they own their street. If you live near a school or hospital, then expect people to park there.

A friend of mine used to live near the main hospital in Oxford. She made good money renting out her parking space to someone who worked at the hospital as she didn't have a car!

You could use something like "Just Park" to rent a parking space?

I wonder are they paying towards the private garages and parking out the back ? Could it be they are pissed off with you parking outside their house while they have to keep the road clear and not park outside their own home.

@GlasgowGal2014 Do you really think that your parents and their neighbors should be entitled to park on their driveway AND nobody park outside their house AND accommodate their desire to reverse out ? ! Reverse in if you are too incompetent to manouver safely out . So an exclusion zone specially for them .?? Go buy a country estate . Honestly the preciousness , expectations and selfishness is rife . How do you think other countries or cities manage ?

Cars that are taxed and MOTed can park on any public road . People DO NOT own the public road outside their house .

YANBU.

I live near a football stadium and hospital and we get loads of people parking here. Match days are chaos and hospital parking is just standard every day.

so many residents get worked up about it!! I really don’t get it - we chose to live here knowing it’s near a stadium and hospital! What did they expect?