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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:
flowerytaleofNewYork · 15/12/2008 13:39

If it bothers you, you need to lobby for residents only parking. A restriction-free road near the station is always going to be like this.

Our local station is £6 a day, which DH pays. Think of it in terms of commuters who are feeling the credit crunch. Why would they pay £1500 a year or however much when there is free parking available?

MinesApint · 15/12/2008 13:43

I would like to empathise, truly I would...but I can't, because I would never ever countenance buying a house without off-street parking precisely because I wouldn't want to struggle with shopping and small children as you describe. There is a personal responsibility thing here and it is a case of having made your own bed you must lie in it.

That sounds very hard, I'm sorry but it is what I believe...and I do think it was inappropriate for you to lecture the man on the train too.

feelingabitfestive · 15/12/2008 13:50

It all comes down to money doesn't it minesapint? of course we would have bought a house with parking if we could afford it, but we couldn't.

OP posts:
nappyaddict · 15/12/2008 13:53

I too think if you don't want to struggle with children and shopping and not parking right outside your front door then you look in a cheaper area and buy a house with a drive or garage.

It's all about compromise isn't it.

MinesApint · 15/12/2008 14:00

In that case, I am able to feel genuine empathy rather than faking it!

On what grounds have the council given other streets resident only parking but rejected yours?

debzmb62 · 15/12/2008 14:00

its not your road !! if the car is taxed and insurured its actually none of your buisness thb i think you,ve got snoberitus

MsSparkle · 15/12/2008 14:02

My mother lives near a football stadium and she gets the same thing in her road. There is ample parking at the stadium that is not expensive but people still park in my mothers road because it's free.

On the other hand, i think we are all guilty of parking in side streets to get free parking.

I live near the beach and in the summer i always feel abit sorry for the people who live in the roads leading up to the beach, they must get fed up of everyone parking there all day and not using the carparks. But then i think they must have known when buying their houses that this problem would occur.

So on one hand i do feel for the op for having this problem, it must be quite frustrating. Then on the other hand i think it's one of those things you must take into account when buying a house and the op must have known about this problem before she bought the house so she can't really gripe about it. I for one wouldn't buy a house without a driveway.

So i think i will sit on the fence about thos one.

mayorquimby · 15/12/2008 14:04

yabu it's a public road. nothing annoys me more than residents who think that by virtue of living on a road it gives them automatic rights over public property. ones who put out traffic cones to "reserve their space" are the orst, and it's a guarenteed way to get me to move the cones and park in that space.

spicemonster · 15/12/2008 14:11

Well if there's CPZs all around then you should lobby the council! Get together with your neighbours and organise. Will make you feel so much better. I can often get a space outside my front door as we have CPZ (and that's despite the fact that our bay is metered as well as resident parking)

MsSparkle · 15/12/2008 14:15

I would be interesting though if you did get residents parking, how empty your road would be. I always think that about my mums road. The road would be empty no doubt.

MaryBeWaiting · 15/12/2008 14:16

I don't want to live near work - and in any case, we moved here first and THEN I got my job. It takes 1.5 hours on public transport and only 30 mins by car - it wouldn't be worth it for the 4 hours or so a day that I work. And no, I don't feel guilty - its a public highway, anyone can park there.

Do you really expect people to pay for something when its available for free?

mayorquimby · 15/12/2008 14:20

"Do you really expect people to pay for something when its available for free?"

add to that the fact they have actually paid for the right to park there already via their road tax.

debzmb62 · 15/12/2008 14:25

i,d name change op its not suiting you

feelingabitfestive · 15/12/2008 14:28

debz- you're hardly a bunch of laughs yourself! If you'd read my posts properly you'd see I'm upset because of trying to battle with two children, shopping etc not because I'm a snob.

OP posts:
devoutsceptic · 15/12/2008 14:30

Why not contact your local council and ask for a resident's parking scheme or parking restrictions.

feelingabitfestive · 15/12/2008 14:30

oh and Debz I don't think its fair for you to get personal and call me a snob. I am genuinely seeking peoples opinion about the parking issue, I don't expect to be insulted in the process.

OP posts:
devoutsceptic · 15/12/2008 14:32

sorry x=posted. I can understand your frustration.

flowerytaleofNewYork · 15/12/2008 14:35

We used to live 3 minutes walk from the tube and all the very residential roads nearby were residents only. Unfortunately that still didn't mean we always got a space. We were living in one of those rows of Victorian terraces, and one car parked outside each one would just about have fitted, except there were double yellows on the corners, and some people had more than one car, meaning it was a race to get home even without commuters!

I used to know someone who lived in Kensington and Chelsea, their residents' parking was astronomical, and apparently they sell some huge percentage more permits than there are spaces available in the whole borough!

Parking is a very emotive issue.

auntyspan · 15/12/2008 14:47

Well I'm afraid I'm a culprit - on the morning's I drop DD off I park a little way away on a residential road and then walk to the station. The main reason being that it's quicker, and the station car park is always full when I get there (it's free to park).
I always make sure I park sympthetically - leave plenty of space next to driveways and ensure that there's room on the pavement for prams / buggies to pass etc. One woman did berate me for parking there once, and I politely pointed out I wasn't obstructing anything and it wasn't a private road and she slammed her front door

It IS tough and it would irritate me but i think there are other things, more pressing, to be unreasonable about!

debzmb62 · 15/12/2008 14:49

i appoligise for calling you a snob but its not your road theres 1000 of people alot worse off than you try maybe parking half a mile away with 5 kids up 10 storys or something luckalie for me i did,nt have to drag mine up 10 storys but half a mile seems about right !!be honest if you could park somewhere for free would you rather pay !!!!

MinesApint · 15/12/2008 14:49

Yes - you were way off field debz

debzmb62 · 15/12/2008 14:57

i,m sure i just appoligize to feelingabitfestive !!( band wagon jump now eh !!)consider myself told twice !!!

MsSparkle · 15/12/2008 15:17

I'm sure it's an annoyance for residents but it's awful when you here of people getting their cars vandilised when using residental roads for free parking. One woman i knew of had her locks super glued! I know alot of this kind of thing does go on.

spicemonster · 15/12/2008 15:19

I got my car keyed when I used to park it outside someone's house in the days when I drove to work. I spoke to the police as I knew who'd done it and they told me not to park there again. I appreciate it's annoying but it's not your road.

southeastastra · 15/12/2008 15:27

i'd be annoyed too, we have cpz round here and i still get angry when someone nicks my place.

definitely try to get controlled parking