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

[feelingabitfestive]

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

Elevating car parking to being a moral issue does seem rather OTT!

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

I would always choose to walk 10 mins than pay £3 a day to park, I think most people would

This does actually surprise me quite a bit. £3 isn't very much (my local car park is £8 a day, possibly even a bit more now) and 10 minutes is a long way to walk, people are lazy - hence why insisting on parking in P&C spaces in car parks because they are near the supermarket doors. Our local council has very successfully made all roads within a very wide circumference of the station permit-only and/or restricted parking and 10 minutes is the minimum you have to walk.

However, if the cars are parked legally and not blocking driveways, parked on verges, on corners etc, there is nothing you can or should do. If they are parked inconsiderately (or on the pavement, aaaagh) then the council should be doing something. However, think about what you wish for. Do you want expensive permit parking (remember you have to pay for visitors too)?

And my usual argument is that it is just as safe for one car to be in a space for 8 hours as it is for 4 cars to be in a space for 2 each.

Oh FGS zombie thread. Why do people resurrect zombie threads? Sorry!

I will have to start checking the dates on posts before I reply!

You bought a house with no parking, the road belongs to everyone, just because you happen to live on a road doesn’t mean you have any moral or legal right to park on it. My train station car park cost me well over a grand a year, I presume the people parking on ‘your’ road cannot afford that and so are well within their right to park for free on a public road. You need to calm it right down, you cannot go around having pops at strangers who are not doing anything wrong.

Oh ffs zombie thread

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?

The only way to avoid having non-residents parking in your street is to move to a resident-only parking area, and pay for the privilege. Or buy a house in a gated development/private road.

And there are a million and one reasons why people don't buy houses near stations. In my town, the only houses near the station under about £750k are tiny Victorian terraces, not big enough for families.

I really don't get why people get so exercised by other people parking perfectly legally in a public street. That's just part and parcel of urban living.

ZOMBIE!!!!!

Despite all the legal stuff, I would be raging too OP.

Anyone has the right to park on any road they wish unless there are parking restrictions so you need to get over it. If it wi ds you up that much then speak to neighbours and see if they feel the same, then speak to your council about permit parking, residents only, although often residents have to then start paying

If you don’t want that, then don’t moan

You bought a house, not a portion of the street, & are being utterly unreasonable.

What made you think that other road users, who pay taxes just the same as you do, will arbitrarily decide that @feelingbitfestive's street is a no go area for them? By your logic, nobody would be allowed to park on any street they don't own a house on.

You are barking, & I end up confronting the bloke and getting myself in a sticky situation. - I'm not surprised. Poor bloke must have wondered who the madwoman who thinks she owns the street is.

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.

Caveat Emptor. You should have discussed this with your conveyancing solicitor, & got them to verify it before agreeing the purchase.

You bought a house with no parking, the road belongs to everyone, just because you happen to live on a road doesn’t mean you have any moral or legal right to park on it.

Well put!

This thread is 11 years old!!!!! OP’s child is now in High school!! Zombie 🧟‍♀️ 🧟‍♂️

People get so possessive about parking. It drives me nuts.
I park by an entrance to a cul de sac when doing the school run. It has no restrictions, the houses, which all have driveways, are further down the cul de sac. The amount of grief some of us get for parking there is ridiculous. We’re not blocking roads, not blocking access yes they still find reason to complain.
It’s the same when I take them to one of their activities. There’s no parking outside so I park in an entrance to a cul de sac about 5 mins walk away. I had abuse for that the other day. Again wasn’t bothering anyone or blocking access or even parking outside someone else’s house.

Sounds like it's not a private road, so everyone has a right to park there. You would have known this before you moved in, everyone near a station has that 'problem' some councils will put in tenants only parking.
Our house is 10 minutes from last stop tube line and parking is 8 quid a day, so it can happen here too, so I'm not being heartless.
Cant believe you got into a confrontation with some blokes because of one of them parking in your road, they must have thought you were nuts🙄
Maybe you would have been better buying a house further out?

OP I'll go against the grain and agree with you, it's cheeky as imo and I wouldn't do it. I only park in streets if I have no alternative.

I'm think train companies are robbing feckers though, people who have season tickets should be allowed to park for free for a start. £3 isn't that much though, my local station is £10 for the day .

I wouldn't do it. I only park in streets if I have no alternative.

But in areas like those described in the original post there probably is no alternative.

I wonder how much the parking at the station near OP's house costs now? I was thinking £3 sounded a bit of a bargain for station parking. I won't tell you how many pages I read before clocking the date.

While it must be really annoying, it is just one of those things and I do think you were unreasonable to lecture a man having a private conversation on his perfectly legal parking.

It all comes down to money

Sadly, you saved money buying a house without parking and other people save money not paying for parking.

And the trains being talked about were all steam back then.

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?

I wouldn't even notice, let alone care.

I'm sorry but surely no-one else finds this reasonable behaviour? We're talking parking to go on holiday rather than to commute, or does it make no difference to some?

Again, who cares?

I don't have a driveway and park on the street, sometimes a few minutes' walk away if there are lots of non-residents parking. It affects me a whole lot more than you as I'm disabled (not enough for a blue badge) and walking hurts. I STILL don't think it's wrong of people to park on a public street.

Honestly, get a life.

I used to live in a big city - not the centre but about 20 minutes walk and you didn’t need a permit for our street. One of the only left really. People used to park there all the time and it never bothered me because I owned the house, not the street. I park there now when I go into the city and if anyone said anything I’d happily tell them to do one.

If you want a guaranteed parking space you need to buy a house with enough land of its own.

Of course it's not morally wrong! If you had a driveway and they were parking on it that would be different, but you've not bought the road outside your house. You don't own it!

Yabu