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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To expect commuters to park in a carpark rather than outside my house?

177 replies

feelingabitfestive · 15/12/2008 09:57

bought my house a couple of years ago. Like every other house in the street, everyone with a car has to park on the street. None of us has a garage or driveway. This didn't bother me much when we bought the house, as we only have one small car which we use at weekends, the rest of the time dh and I catch the train to work.

What does annoy me and sends my blood pressure spiralling is the fact that commuters take full advantage of the fact my street is a 10 minute walk to the train station, by parking up every morning. There is ample station car parking but it costs about £3 a day, hence why people park for free in my road. Every morning commuters in their cars arrive in droves to park for the day. What upsets me is the fact that DH and I made the choice to buy a house near town, so that we can walk to the train station. We could have bought a nicer, cheaper house outside of town and do what everyone else does, ie park in my road, but we didnt. I feel angry that the commuters who park in my street are benefitting from living somewhere nicer than me ie outside of town and yet benefit from my street.

Was on the train coming home last week and almost lost it. There were 2 blokes having a chat. First bloke says to his mate "do you want a lift home, I'm parked in the station carpark?". His friend says "no thanks, I've parked for free in xxxxxx road, it's very convenient". I end up confronting the bloke and getting myself in a sticky situation.

Everyone else including my dh tells me to just accept this is the way things are, but morally surely this is wrong!

My first time posting here

OP posts:
staryeyed · 15/12/2008 10:43

I used to live about 2 minutes form a tube station and people used to have the nerve to park in our private car park. Each space even had the door number of which house it belonged to.

gabygirl · 15/12/2008 10:44

It is annoying. I know how you feel. I live 500 yards from a football stadium and most Saturdays and Tuesday nights my road is parked up from top to bottom. I'm the only house in the road who hasn't turned my front garden into a parking space - I'm hanging on to my little patch of grass, but don't know how much longer this is going to last.

But YABU in the sense that the commuters do have a moral right to park in your road.

If it bothers you so much then get on to the council about having controlled parking put in.

UnfortunatelyMe · 15/12/2008 10:46

Parking for the day here is £9 so people walk for 15/20 mins to the stations and who can blame them. Then its the 3 grand for the train pass.
Why dont you move to nicer area then come park on your old road.

feelingbitfestive · 15/12/2008 10:46

Thought I'd posted in my sleep (coz I could have). I live near a football ground and a train station and it used to drive me mad! Fortunately we now have double yellow lines on the road outside and our residents parking is tucked out of the way - so problem solved. It is annoying isn't it?
Great name

KatieDD · 15/12/2008 10:48

I had somebody park half on the pavement and half on the road right outside my front door so I couldn't get the pram out, I was literally trapped inside my own house and the police bless them were very nice but far too busy to do anything. The police recommended that I did whatever I had to in order to get out and if that involved dragging the pram over their bonnet damaging the car then so be it.

nappyaddict · 15/12/2008 10:55

Can you ring the council about illegally parked cars? The other day I was walking back from toddlers and there's this house having work done. There were vans parked all down the drive but the last one was half on the drive and half on the pavement so I had to walk with DS around the van on a busy A road and back on the pavement the other side. I was really pissed off so I rang the council who said they'd deal with it. They said if it were to happen again to take a photo of the vehicle with registration plate clear incase when they got there it had gone.

DeckHallsWithFIMBOughsofHolly · 15/12/2008 10:57

Unfortunately our roads have still to be adopted by the council.

edam · 15/12/2008 11:09

Nappy's reminded me, worst obstruction of a pavement I've seen wasn't even a car - it was a bloody builder's loo! House had a big drive covered in builders' vans, skips and cement mixers so they just dumped the portaloo on the pavement.

I was going to report it if they hadn't shifted it by the time I went back to get ds from school, but they had.

PurlyQueen · 15/12/2008 11:18

We live two minutes' walk from a tube station. We had the same problem as you during the week with commuters parking their cars.

The council have introduced a controlled parking zone. My DH often grumbles at having to pay £75 for an annual permit (mine is free because I have a Smart car but at least it means residents can park near their homes during the day.

hollyivypoppy34 · 15/12/2008 11:21

oh sympathies on this -we're the only road that doesnt have residents parking and are near a station, school and major sports ground so its not just a matter of not parking near my house - you can't actually park anywhere (esp on match days) if you go out at the wrong time.

hollyivypoppy34 · 15/12/2008 11:22

would happily pay for a controlled parking zone but it seems to be quite difficult to persuade council to do this

hollyivypoppy34 · 15/12/2008 11:23

sweet little bunny - I do live in the suburbs and parking situation has got slowly worse since I've lived here...

piscesmoon · 15/12/2008 11:36

You have my sympathy, I know how annoying it is, but they have every right to park there.

Nighbynight · 15/12/2008 11:37

I used to live in a charming village in the country, and guess what people would always be driving out from the towns and parking there to walk their dogs, who would then shit in our village!

yabu, it is a public road, why shouldnt they park there.

edam · 15/12/2008 11:53

A friend of mine used to live almost opposite a major rugby ground. When she went into labour, she had to have a police escort just to get out of her road!

MinesApint · 15/12/2008 12:02

YABU - it's a public road and as long as they are not obstructing a driveway they are perfectly within their rights. I hate the fact that huge feckin' lorries hurtle down my road; but then I did chose to buy a house bordering a major trunk road so I have to lump it.

I am very interested to know how the man you confronted on the train responded to you - please share!

wideratthehips · 15/12/2008 12:19

it would annoy me if the road ended up looking like a car park and there was never any spaces for the people who live there. a few years ago our street became permit only and you have to pay for that and have permits for visitors. i don't know if it made any difference but i'm narked at having to pay for it! also live in the city boundery so we have to pay higher council tax with a sub to the city council.

MaryBeWaiting · 15/12/2008 12:22

I can't afford the £6 a half day it costs to park in the public car park. I hate the fact there is no room in the company car park for me. So I park 10 mins away and walk, where it is free. If its any comfort, I arrive after 10am and am always gone by 2:30.

dexter73 · 15/12/2008 12:24

My husband does this as it saves us over £900 a year! If there are no parking restrictions then people are free to park there.

spookycharlotte121 · 15/12/2008 12:25

I live round the corner from a very busy hospital and rather than pay to park people use my road as a car park, I also live opposite a school so you can imagine what it is like at pick up and drop off time..... It can be very inconvenient and I now have to do my shopping in the evenings so that I can park outside my own house and not have to walk miles with 2 babies and loads of frozen food.

I also live right by a football/rugby club so come saterday its bedlem again. I have got used to it now and as soon as I have the money to sort my garden Im going to hire a skip and clear my driveway, the previous tennant decided it would be nice to leave it filled with crap!

edam · 15/12/2008 12:26

A friend of mine in the next road is sick of commuters parking on the street. Even though she has a drive, she gets lorry drivers knocking on the door to ask her to move the car outside so they can get past.

Ladyface · 15/12/2008 12:51

This used to happen in my road too and there is a free car park at the end of my road, 5 mins walk from the tube. It was always empty. When we first moved we had some work done to the house. I would have to take my car down to the car park, with newborn dd, so the workmen could park their van on the driveway as there was no room anywhere near my house. Now is it residents permit holders so you don't get the street full of cars just sat there from 8-7.

flowerytaleofNewYork · 15/12/2008 13:03

YABU. From what you say it's not actually inconveniencing you anyway, and it's a public road.

blueshoes · 15/12/2008 13:10

The fact that your house does not have off-street parking whilst being near the station would already have been factored into the price of the house when you bought it. You cannot have your cake and eat it. The best you can do is lobby the council for restricted residents' parking.

feelingabitfestive · 15/12/2008 13:35

Unfortunately all the other roads around my street are now resident parking. My road is one of the very few which isn't. This means of course, that we get all the commuters and people parking to walk into town for their shopping (and for nights out in the evening). We bought the house because, naively we believed the estate agent and former owners of the house who told us resident parking was coming in within the next few months. They lied. The parking problem does annoy other residents in my street and we are now on our third petition to try and get resident parking. So far it's been refused.

I have 2 small dcs now so it is difficult trying to lug a baby in his car seat, keep hold of a toddler, and bring all my shopping in while being parked miles away from my house. I don't care about getting parked right outside my house, just reasonably close would be good!

I just think its very unfair of commuters to park in roads they don't live in 5 days a week. Why dont they buy a house nearer the station like I did? I often wonder how commuters would feel if I just went and dumped my car outside their house for a whole day five days a week? Or why don't they walk to the station or use local transport like a bus or park and ride?

But, it seems the consensus on here is that theres nothing wrong with it. I've thought about buying a house further out of town and continuing to park in this road for free when I do commute (I work 3 days a week, DH 5 days). BUT I don't think I could live with myself, I'd feel so guilty about my poor neighbours who cannot park anywhere near their homes because the road has become an extension of a station car park.

OP posts: