To reclaim my bike rack and put a pallet in it? Parking thread

[Palletwars]

Name changed for this. I just typed out the full backstory and lost it so going for more succinct version!

Small block of flats with 4 flats, each with 2 spaces. One has 2 cars, 2 of us have 1, one has none, although does have visits from someone with a long wheel base van that over hangs significantly and makes it hard to get in and out of my space. My second space is up against some bollards so I keep that as my 'spare' because it's much harder to get in and out of, and because of the car opposite and the bollards, you can't easily reverse in (to get out on the non bollard side) without first doing a 3 point turn to be able to swing into it, so I just use the other one).

We also have a small bike shed, with one rack per flat. The flat with no cars has taken over the entire bike store, with multiple bikes in racks, and a big e bike in front of them all meaning nobody else can store anything in there at all. The e bike also often gets left at the bottom of the stairs which if you are coming in/out with anything in your hands makes it tricky to get past without knocking it over.

Nobody is routinely using their spaces, although delivery drivers/postman/communal flat contractors do occasionally park there as there is no visitor spaces. If we are expecting anyone we tell them which spaces are ours, but very occasionally the odd unexpected visitors parks in their space (they aren't well marked so it isn't obvious)

Flat 1 had someone accidentally parking in Flat 2 (with no cars) space for an hour as they didn't realise they were in the wrong one, and was left quite a shirty note, and today they have put a pallet across both their spaces, which has obviously made life much harder for everyone, as now the postman/delivery drivers are just stopping in front of the flat door instead of parking, meaning nobody can get in or out.

WIBU to consider saying I need my allocated bike rack back, and putting a pallet in it? I'm only semi considering it, but I am really struggling to understand why they are so bothered by people using their space for 10/15 minutes when they have no use for it all, considering they are using the entirety of everyone in the flats outdoor storage space for their bikes?!

Obligatory diagram attached (not to scale)

Eh?
Do you even own a bike?
Why do you care about the bike shed?
Why would anyone want to put a pallet inside it?!

If you think the car parking spaces are such a concern, why not talk to your 3 sets of neighbours, and suggest (a) that the bays are better marked/ signposted, and -assuming you all benefit from post and other items being delivered to your flats- and it's made clearer where delivery drivers should park?

They are being a bit stroppy about a small but genuine inconvenience - and your response is to be stroppy about something that is zero inconvenience to you!

I do kind-of understand your irritation. But it usually isn't reasonable to act on this kind of feeling. It just passes on the irritability to the next person in the chain. You never know, your neighbour's parking space irritability might itself be a response to some other small wrongdoing in the block - a misplaced bin or some such.

Oh I would definitely be claiming back my bike rack but I am very petty 🤣

I think I would put a bike in there and deliberately use the bike at awkward times, so if they park their bikes they need to move it.

i would also check to see if there is a CE mark on the electric bike, because freeholders will ban them on insurance grounds - letters will be sent recorded delivery/email, they won’t be able to wriggle out if it.

i would also be asking the freeholders to inspect where they park their bikes in the hallway for damage.

i think in my unused space I would make a lovely flower planter out of pallets and plant Christmas roses and a Christmas tree, and get a nice sign saying peace and goodwill to all

I assume you don't have a bike, but want to make a point about flat 1 being dicks?

Agree with previous posters you could speak to the freeholders about them leaving the e bike in the hall - I would imagine they really wouldn't like that from a fire safety point of view - a)the batteries are sometimes a bit iffy and b) blocking a fire exit is a big no-no especially after Grenfell. We've been bollocked for leaving muddy wellies outside our flat door before.

You’re well entitled to complain if they’re blocking the bike rack, and also leaving the bike in the stairwell, if it’s inconveniencing you. But if you don’t own a bike then it’s ridiculous.

They are also well entitled to complain if someone parks in their spot/leaves a pallet out there. It’s their spot.

Do you use the bike rack?

As I understand it, the people who have put the pallet there don’t have a car. So OP’s act would be equivalent ie blocking her allocated bike space (that she doesn’t need) with a pallet the way they have blocked a car space that they don’t need.

ETA - but I don’t think she should actually do it

The e bike also often gets left at the bottom of the stairs which if you are coming in/out with anything in your hands makes it tricky to get past without knocking it over.

You'd do better to complain about them leaving an e-bike in a communal area. Leaving anything in a communal area is probably against fire regulations, and e-bikes in particular are known to be a potential danger - many train companies won't carry them. Get on to whoever manages the block.

Claim it back, if they say anything tell them they gave you the idea after seeing how they'd put pallets in their parking bays.

If they don't have any cars blocking their parking spaces with a pallet seems pretty vindictive, so claiming back your equally unused bike rack spaces seems logical in a crazy way.

But more importantly get them stopped from leaving the e-bike in the lobby if that goes up in flames no one will be able to get out, there have been people killed like that.

Id be knocking e bike over if its left in the stairs. Im super petty

They own their car bays so if they want to stop cars using the bats, that’s their choice.

however, they need to stop monopolising all the bike spaces and they must stop leaning their e bike in the hall.

they can’t have it both ways.

weather you or other people own bikes is not the issue.

if these people won’t let other people use their vacant car bays even though they don’t have cars - well, they can’t use everyone else’s bike storage - flexibility fits both ways.

Maybe they should convert their car bay into a private bike store and stop monopolising the hall and shared bike storage areas?

To answer a few questions:
I do own a bike, but it's at my parents as there wouldn't be room for it and the kids ' bikes, so makes sense to keep them all together. There are absolutely other things I could and would put in the store (Infront/on top/behind my allocated rack) if I could get close enough to it to be able to use it.

They have been pulled up on the e bike in the hallway before. Me and another flat each had a very small shoe rack outside our doors that were out of the way of the stairs etc, and once the bike got the attention of the property manager, they clamped down on anything in the hallway, including the shoe racks. We've removed the racks, and the bike went back to the bike store for a short while, but is increasingly making it's way back into the hallway more and more often. I hadn't thought about the fire risk, so that's another thing to consider.

To be clear... I'm not actually going to put a pallet in it, but I may well go out and work out how I could make use of 1/4 of the storage space in a way that works for me and request it be cleared for me to do so, because it does grate somewhat that they're happy to dominate the space (that I would use if I could) but at the same time are inconveniencing everyone over a parking space that they have no use for

Get a bike and put it in the rack. E bikes shouldn't be left in communal areas ( fire risk etc).

Exactly that. And I don't necessarily want to put my bike in it, but I could use the space around it, if I could get to it, so arguably having no outside storage is far more of an inconvenience to me than someone occasionally parking in a space they don't use.

I also don't think I should do it. But I want to 🤷🏼‍♀️

tell the factor about the bikes
ask him to spray paint flat numbers on private car parking spaces so all know where to park.

So you mean just be petty and score invisible points, you want to put a pallet in the bike store for no reason whatsoever just because another resident put a pallet across their parking space which isn’t inconveniencing anyone? And nobody else puts any bikes in the bike store anyway, so they aren’t actually inconveniencing anyone there either? How about why don’t all of you just grow up instead? Isn’t that a better idea?

Contact the property management company again and let them know the e-bike is still in the hall. Management companies have to ensure any complaints remain anonymous and they're very strict about health and safety rules and rules around residents not using areas belonging to others.

It is petty but I’d also want to be petty. Why should they have their cake and eat it?
It might cause ructions though. Have you spoken to the other neighbours? It might be better to have a meeting all together and ask for a bit of leeway on all sides. If they won’t, then I’d be asking for my bike rack back.

But it is inconveniencing them when the delivery drivers park outside rather than on the drive for a few minutes. Also the bike in the hallway.

E bikes are fire hazards so shouldn’t be in the building at all!!!

Having bikes blocking a fire exit route is problematic. So I don't understand why you think it would be a good idea to take up space in the bike store by putting a pallet in there, as this would just make it even more likely that people would end up leaving bikes elsewhere.

Unless it's an illegal, souped-up e-bike with a dodgy Chinese battery (the kind with chunky tyres that tend to be used by delivery riders, having been bought online) it's unlikely to spontaneously combust though. Proper, legal, kite-marked e-bikes (as used widely across Europe), which are purchased from reputable bike shops, are actually pretty safe, can be carried on trains, and don't pose the same level of risk at all.

I will never understand why you wouldn't simply give them a quick knock and have a neighbourly chat to get to understand each other better.

Facebook marketplace. Cheapest bike you can find and pop it in your rack!