AIBU to refuse moving my son's car from a public road?

[Deactivated000]

Our house is in a corner plot at the bottom of a cul-de-sac. We have converted half of our front garden into an additional drive so we now have parking for 3 cars, which we have.

Unfortunately our working hours can cause us problems when it comes to parking our cars as it’s a long single drive so cars are parked behind one another.

My DH and I both leave for work at 3.30am and sometimes my DS doesn’t get home from work until 11pm, so to save as playing musical cars at 3.30am (and potentially waking the neighbours) my DS parks on the road opposite when our shifts do clash. However, the people who live in the house were my DS sometimes parks in front of have been asking us to move and park somewhere else saying that they have family coming over and need the space, there is space for 4 cars, they had 1 car of family visiting. The last couple of times they’ve asked us to move we have, but now I’m really annoyed about it and have us much right to park there as everyone else as it’s a public road.

For clarity, we can’t park on the road in front of our house as we are in the corner and would block neighbours drives.

As long as he’s parked legally and is not causing an obstruction, ignore them.

I think it's a class issue. Lower middle-class people afraid that their road is going down market with cars strewn all over the place.

Are the visitor's legs broken?

What is it with people insisting on parking RIGHT next to the door they're visiting? Sick of it! It's the same in the development I live in. Visitors park right up on the pavement and block driveways all the time, just to park right next to the door. Had a gutful of it this summer with people visiting family.

No he doesn't need to move his car. You were only being mindful and considerate in the first place, and you're still getting crap from people!

First come first served on a public road. Ignore them completely.

Why on earth should he?

If people want a 4 space driveway, they should bloody well buy a house with a 4 space driveway!

Why would your son, a permanent resident on the street, move his legally parked car to accommodate the neighbour's guest? If their guest is disabled and requires a spot right in front of the house, the neighbour should move their car if necessary to make space for the guests - that's being a good host.

Do not make your son avoid the parking space in front of your neighbour. Any concession just makes entitled people more entitled.

Do they know why your son does it? It might be worth explaining to them why he does it (to avoid a much bigger problem with 3am car maneouvres) but after that, I would just say he doesn't have any other option and then ask your son to park in the least annoying place in front of their house (if any would be marginally less annoying). I wouldn't get defensive about it either, you're doing what you can to alleviate it but they don't own the space in front of their house.

nails it

I used to live next door to a guy who would put a cone outside his house. They had four cars. Made the driveway bigger to accommodate 3 but if someone parked too far forward it would make it difficult for him to get off and on so I understood but it was a bit hmm of him. Now I live on a crazy road where you park on the road at your peril 😂

I would love to go back to the 70s when every family had 0, 1 or at most 2 cars.

Could you ask which of the 4 spaces their visitors prefer and park in one of the others? Or just park in the one furthest from their entrance so the visitors can park closer? On the face of it they do sound unreasonable.

So they are grumbling because there’s a car in front of their house between 11.000pm and 7.00am.
All because they have ‘people visiting’

Did I get that right?

Because if that’s the case, it’s completely bonkers.

We have one car, which lives on our drive. Our neighbours are still obsessed with the possibility that we may have a visitor who parks on the (public, open parking) road in a position visible from their house. They monitor constantly against this risk, and pounce if it takes place. One of them shouted at the midwife who came to do mine/ my baby's day 3 check. Which is a long way of saying that I think the 'someone has parked on My Road outside My House' people would have been no happier in the 70s!

Tell them you can park where you want.

Some people need to jog off with their stupid parking demands, it's a public road.
Their relatives might have to walk a short distance, they need to get on with it.

That's awful that they shouted at a midwife doing a visit and parking legally! I'd be very tempted to report them for anti-social behaviour.

I used to work for the NHS assessing and delivering equipment for elderly and disabled people and the shouters are not uncommon! It used to be difficult in uniform because you can't just let rip as I might would have done as a private person. I had to stick to voluble apologies and promising to be as quick as I could. It wasn't just the issue of being officially complained about but giving more trouble to the person I was visiting and also their relatives all of whom already had enough on their plates. Most of them were around the same age as my client group and I used to hope against hope that I would get one as a patient, but I never did.

The road is not an extension of their private drive, so no, yanbu. They don't own the road, and assuming that he has parked in a place where parking is legally permitted, then they can't demand that he should move.

My dd usually tries to park on the road outside our house when she is home, so that she doesn't block me from the drive where my car lives. There are frequently people parked in that space though, so she has to park elsewhere. And that's fine, because it isn't her personal space!

If your son is parking legally, not blocking anyone and on a public road, he should just ignore them. It's perfectly sensible for him to not go on your drive in these circumstances.

Every road has one person living on it who thinks they own the road outside their house (as evidenced by the 19% who think yabu)
I'd ignore them op.

I take it that you’ve explained why you do this? Not that you should have to, but if people understand the ‘why’ they’re generally more amenable.
If that’s failed, do a couple of noisy 3.30am car shuffles and perhaps they’ll catch your drift!

So he’s parking there from 23:00-7:00? Is this when their guests arrive and can’t find a parking space?

Ouside there own house i think they do have more right to the space than you. Having so many cars in one household is your problem not the neighbours.

Time for your son to develop a drinking habit @Deactivated000. "Sorry I can't drive for at least another 5 hours (whatever time he needs to leave), I've had too much to drink." Every single time they ask. CFs.

If your son can move and park around the corner, why can't the neighbours occasional guests? Are the guests disabled or elderly? I don't get this thing where people feel the space outside their house is theirs. It's not. Am all for being considerate, don't block people in, don't block light by parking a huge van outside theirs or whatever but this seems a bit much.