Parking Ettiquete

[michaels]

My road of small terraces has parking bays marked and a residents scheme (which applies oly between 1.30 and 3.30PM). After about 5 in the afternoon it becomes very difficult to find a space close to my house as people from surrounding roads with no parking park on the road as there is no restriction at this time and also because some households have more than 1 car (the council do not restrict the number of permits sold to the number of spaces).

My wife and I have daughters of 2 and 6 months. Both often sleep when they go out in the car. For this reason my wife likes to be able to park close to the house so she can carry them in one at a time without leaving one in the car out of sight while she carries the other one in and then leaving one alone in the house (I am sure she worries too much about 'child-snatchers' etc but it is a real worry for her). To facilitate parking close by she puts our bin out in the marked bay in front of our house to 'hold' the space when she goes out.

Recently a group of residents have taken to moving the bin and parking in the space deliberatey - this is making my wife very unhappy often reducing her to tears. When challenged they have been abusive and called us 'selfish' (I must stress it is only a few of our neighbours, others are very supportive).

My perspective is that we are only doing this while we have the young children because it is a big problem for us to park further away. When we only had one child and before that when we had none we parked wherever and didn't complain. People sometimes try to hold spaces for builders and deliveries/removals and we don't consider them unreasonable. An elderly person on the street always does the same to hold their space because it is hard for them to walk far and we don't object. If the (childless) people who are objecting wanted to hold the space in front of their house then we would not object. I find it hugely selfish that they want to make life so difficult for my wife just to avoid having to walk 50 yards further along the road occaisionally but they obviously see it differently. Does anyone here have any comments - am I being unreasonable? I really struggle to see it from the other perspective, I wouldnt hesitate to walk a bit further at the supermarket rather than park in a parent and child space or to give up my seat on the train to someone who needed it...

[Georgina]

A friend of mine is in the same position when she goes shopping with her 6 month old. She told me she typed up a note in her front window, which worked. I can't remember the exact wording, but she politley explained the problem, and asked for a little consideration. :)

[Jet]

Have you tried explaining why you want to hold the space and your partners worries.

Perhaps if they knew how much it worried you - they might be a bit more understanding.

[derrick]

You cannot hold spaces, if the road has no restrictions, anyone is entitled to park as long as they are not causing obstruction, what right do you think you have to create a personal parking space on a public road?
Everyone would like to park as close to their house as possible, but it is not always possible, live with it,the roads are overcrowded, it's a fact

[michaels]

Georgina and Jet, thankyou for the constructive comments, unfortunately the 'thanks' button is not working for me today.

You cannot hold spaces, if the road has no restrictions, anyone is entitled to park as long as they are not causing obstruction, what right do you think you have to create a personal parking space on a public road?
Everyone would like to park as close to their house as possible, but it is not always possible, live with it,the roads are overcrowded, it's a fact

Derrick
I am not claiming any entitlement I am just asking for people to show consideration, just as I do each time I don't park in a diasabled or parent and child bay at the supermarket or give up my seat on the trai or tube. I thought in this country people were generally polite and considerate to others needs but I can see that not everyone thinks this way.

[nej]

Someone near my house used to mark his territory by putting a cone or two on the road to save his space. Given that he had off-street parking as well but often chose not to use it, I used to take great delight in moving the cone back onto the pavement. He had no kids or anything, was just a selfish git.

Sorry to say but you have no rights here. Do you have a front garden you can convert to off-street parking? And remember when you are parking in front of someone else's house because your preferred space is taken, you are doing the same to them.

As an aside, there's a similar(ish) situation on my road now. Opposite my house there is a disabled parking bay, put there for the owners of the house opposite. They used to park their car there and not often use it. Sadly, one of the couple passed away a year or two ago. Now their (elderly) children visit very frequently and are also registered disabled, so they park in the disabled bay. Unfortunately somebody from the block of flats down the road now parks there all the time (he has a disabled badge but looks fairly young and fit), forcing the visiting older couple to park further down the road and hobble down to the house. It's not directly my problem, but I sympathise for the oldies. Can the disabled space be "Registered" to that house, or is it always going to be a free-for-all?

[ollyshaw]

(he has a disabled badge but looks fairly young and fit)

I have personal experience of blue badge prejudice, there are other legitimate reasons for being disabled aside from being old.

Olly

[derrick]

As an aside, there's a similar(ish) situation on my road now. Opposite my house there is a disabled parking bay, put there for the owners of the house opposite. They used to park their car there and not often use it. Sadly, one of the couple passed away a year or two ago. Now their (elderly) children visit very frequently and are also registered disabled, so they park in the disabled bay. Unfortunately somebody from the block of flats down the road now parks there all the time (he has a disabled badge but looks fairly young and fit), forcing the visiting older couple to park further down the road and hobble down to the house. It's not directly my problem, but I sympathise for the oldies. Can the disabled space be "Registered" to that house, or is it always going to be a free-for-all?
You could always report them for misuse of blue badge if you think they are not entitled to one:-
The following is taken from taken from HERE (http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_mobility/documents/page/dft_mobility_507582-07.hcsp#P147_13091)

15 Misuse of a Badge

Misuse of a Blue Badge is a serious offence:
Your badge can be withdrawn if you misuse it or allow others to misuse it.
It is a criminal offence for non-disabled people to use a badge. If they do so, they are liable to a fine of up to £1,000.
It is a criminal offence to drive a vehicle displaying a Blue Badge unless the badge holder is in the vehicle, or the vehicle is being driven by someone other than the badge holder for the purpose of entering or leaving an area (which is accessible only to vehicles displaying a Blue Badge) in order to pick up or drop off the holder.16 Misuse of a designated Blue Badge bay

Non-disabled people who park in a bay designated for Blue Badge holders are liable to a parking fine.

[mcfisco]

The trouble is I bet most people have got a good reason why they need to park outside their own house.
Unless you want start getting into debating who has the most valid reason, you need to accept the fact that parking is at a premium in your road & live with it or move.

[Jet]

The trouble is I bet most people have got a good reason why they need to park outside their own house.
Unless you want start getting into debating who has the most valid reason, you need to accept the fact that parking is at a premium in your road & live with it or move.

I live in a road where parking outside your own house is not always possible - generally when I have a boot load of shopping to unload. :rolleyes:

What offends me more than someone parking outside my house is people who park badly by taking up the space of two cars by leaving large gaps that are not large enough to park another car in.

I know that they have every right to do so, but feel that they are being inconsiderate. I will always make sure I do not leave huge gaps even if that means I'm not parked right outside my front door.

[angry]

Where do you draw the line?
Can you "reserve" a space if you're going to be unloading some furniture from your car?
How about big bags of laundry?
What if you know you've got to be up very early in the morning?

I suspect they aren't actively trying to make life more dificult for your wife, they just don't see why they should have to park far away.

Another thought: Your wife might be out shopping for a couple of hours, and somebody might want to park outside your house to unload furniture, so they only have to walk 10 metres instead of 200; they might be gone in half an hour. From this point of view it seems like you are being very unfair - making their life far more dificult, stopping them using a space that you are not even using yourself.

Maybe that would never really happen, but I can easily see why your neighbours might get upset...

[nej]

I have personal experience of blue badge prejudice, there are other legitimate reasons for being disabled aside from being old.

Olly

Totally agree, I just think it unfair that somebody who is evidently capable of walking 100 yards should park there over two people who struggle to do so.

My mother in law has MS and could apply for a disabled badge. When she had a car (she doesn't now), she didn't get one as she reasoned she was capable of walking without discomfort, preferring to leave disabled spaces for people who really needed them.

[michaels]

Where do you draw the line?
Can you "reserve" a space if you're going to be unloading some furniture from your car?
How about big bags of laundry?
What if you know you've got to be up very early in the morning?

I am happy if people want to hold the space outside their house for any of these reasons, although as it is such a quiet street it is not a problem to stop in the road and load/unload at any time of day and then go and park in a space. The advantage of furniture/laundry being that you can leave it on its own while you go and park.

Also if people want to unload in front of my house rather than theirs while my wife is not in then there is no problem them moving the bin, unloading and then replacing the bin. It is never impossible to find a space at all, just sometimes you have to walk about 50m. When we are together and before we had two kids we were happy to park where ever. AS mentioned above there is an elderly couple on the road who use cones to mark the space outside their house and I wouldn't dream of taking their space even though they have no 'right' to it. Does no one have any consideration for others these days? Don't people feel even a little bit bad seeing someone struggle with two small children just so they can avoid walking 50 feet?

[plane_boy2000]

Georgina and Jet, thankyou for the constructive comments, unfortunately the 'thanks' button is not working for me today.



Derrick
I am not claiming any entitlement I am just asking for people to show consideration, just as I do each time I don't park in a diasabled or parent and child bay at the supermarket or give up my seat on the trai or tube. I thought in this country people were generally polite and considerate to others needs but I can see that not everyone thinks this way.

Sorry but I am with Derrick on this one. Its a public highway and everyone has equal rights to it. I have 3 small children and for that reason bought a house with a drive so that this was not as issue. If its that biga problem for you then move. Where would we all be if everybody marked out a space that they may want to use? In my opinion having children dosent mark you out as a special case.

[Emmzi]

Don't get me started on priviledges for those with kids, having to cover eternal maternity leave, tax breaks, special supermarket spaces, flexible working, and us barren spinsters have to be 'flexible' to accommodate every request in case the company get sued... [/rant mode]

bottom line, you chose to have kids, you chose where you live. Really harsh of me, but us barren spinsters are like that!

[Lady S]

@ Michaels

To be honest I think you have a cheek to want to reserve the space with a bin. It is unfortunate you have children, but hey it was a choice that you made living in the house that you did. I am sure there are lots of people who can tell you why they need that space more than you do.

Personally if you were leaving a bin out I would think it was a cheek.

[ollyshaw]

Personally if you were leaving a bin out I would think it was a cheek.

I totally agree

[northern_munky]

I bet all the people on here saying you have no right to park outside your own house live in houses with drives. It's not a question of moving house, some of us cant afford a 4 bed semi and have to live in terraces!

I'm in the same boat, but most of us here will not park at each others doors, its all a matter of having some common decency and being good neighbours, sounds like the OP hasn't got decent neighbours though so doubt there's much you can do about it unfortunately.

[Dan29]

I bet all the people on here saying you have no right to park outside your own house live in houses with drives. It's not a question of moving house, some of us cant afford a 4 bed semi and have to live in terraces!

I live in a terraced house. Wouldn't dream of trying to stop people parking anywhere, and don't expect them to do so either. In our street each house is roughly as wide as a car is long, and several of the households have more than one car, so if people started preventing others from parking, where would all the cars go?!

Some terraced houses have room to park a car in the front garden (or back garden if there's a vehicle-width lane behind). If that's not an option then it does sound like the wrong house. Others with off-street parking may well have been available for the same price?

[northern_munky]

Dan29, any terrace house is going to be the same width as a car, which means you'll only get one car at each house. We have two cars but we park one down the road and I wouldnt dream of parking one at my next door neighbours and that applies to him too, that would be just plain selfish, wouldnt you agree?

[Dan29]

Dan29, any terrace house is going to be the same width as a car, which means you'll only get one car at each house. We have two cars but we park one down the road and I wouldnt dream of parking one at my next door neighbours and that applies to him too, that would be just plain selfish, wouldnt you agree?

No, I think it's first come first served, and this seems to work for everyone else in our street. Why should my neighbours park further down the road if there's a space outside my house free and I'm out for the evening? If they leave the space outside my house free someone who doesn't live in our street could come and park in it..!

[Lady S]

I bet all the people on here saying you have no right to park outside your own house live in houses with drives. It's not a question of moving house, some of us cant afford a 4 bed semi and have to live in terraces!.

Agreed, I live in a house with a drive, but its a two car drive and we have four cars. Therefore we have two park two cars on the street. Doesn't sound too difficult until you realise the bloke next door but one has a taxi firm he runs from home, therefore lots of vehicles in the road. You just be good neighbours and park where you can.

[Emms]

Can the disabled space be "Registered" to that house, or is it always going to be a free-for-all?

Im not sure if the law is different across the UK but in Scotland a disabled bay is for the use of anyone with a disabled badge. It cannot be registered to a household or a particular person.

Emma :)

[Gorgeous George]

I don't have a problem with parking but I sympathise with the OP. I think it is reasonable to expect the road in front of your house to be available solely for your use.

Why do households with more than one car expect to be able to use the front of other people's houses to park?

:)

GG

[julesgr]

If parking is a major problem why not get together with the other residents in the street and get the hours of the resident onlyparking extended

[caffeinehit]

People on our road sometimes reserve spaces with cones, bins etc and though I don't have a car I occasionally (if I'm in a particularly bad mood) move them back on to the pavement. To me it just looks like sheer arrogance - a presumption that their needs are far more important than others'. It hits the same part of my annoyance radar as people barging in front of me at junctions or jumping the bus queue.

It may well be that some of these people have a good reason for reserving a space. In which case, I'd suggest they just leave a small cone and a polite note asking people to leave the space free. This shows that you're not presuming a right to the road, just asking nicely if you can use it. I think this would make a world of difference to peoples' reactions.

[Dan29]

It may well be that some of these people have a good reason for reserving a space. In which case, I'd suggest they just leave a small cone and a polite note asking people to leave the space free. This shows that you're not presuming a right to the road, just asking nicely if you can use it. I think this would make a world of difference to peoples' reactions.

Ageed. I can understand needing to keep space free on rare occasions, e.g. for removal vans, hearses or certain things to do with building work (skip lorry, cement mixer etc). Except when there's something out of the ordinary happening, who's to judge which person's need is greater? Therefore, anyone should be allowed to park anywhere that's not restricted at that time.

[tomstickland]

I sympathise with the OP to a certain extent, but you don't own the road and anyone can park in an available space.

[northern_munky]

I sympathise with the OP to a certain extent, but you don't own the road and anyone can park in an available space.


Most people pay road tax and are entitled to park wherever they like, but thats not the point, its a just matter of courtesy. If I come home from work and I cant park at my own door, I dont think 'stuff my neighbour, i'll park at his and he'll have to park somewhere else, not my problem', and thankfully all the residents in my street think this way too. Think this one could run and run though, we'll have to agree to disagree ;)

[sheraz2]

interesting thread

[gavin_fran]

Im not sure if the law is different across the UK but in Scotland a disabled bay is for the use of anyone with a disabled badge. It cannot be registered to a household or a particular person.

Emma :)

I'm sure that this is the case for 99% of the bays but I know that it is also possible to have a disabled space for a certain property as this happened on my old road. The council painted 2 disabled bays and one of them clearly said "For 99 Whatever Road only", not sure what the special dispensation was but it might be worth checking with the council or highway agency.

[espresso]

interesting thread

Indeed but it has got nothing to do with etiquette. You do not have any rights on the space outside your property on a public highway and if you want your own parking space, you will have to either buy or rent it, so if it doesn't suit your needs, move!

:wave:

[VickyM]

We don't have a road outside our terrace, just pedestrian access, so none of us have the option of parking anywhere near our houses. Which is absolutely fine - we all knew this when we moved in and I don't regard walking a distance as a problem. The problem is that on the road where we have to park, there are a number of people who believe that they do own the road in front of their houses and put out cones to stop anyone else daring to do so. That to me is rude and bad-mannered - if you're unable to walk to your car then fine, ask the council for a disabled space which will be respected, but please don't tell me I can't park there because its in front of your house.

I feel sorry for the OP - but one of our neighbours used to hve to transport a 4 year old and newborn twins at least 100 yards to her car (if she could find a space that close). They've since moved - to somewhere with more convenient parking. I'm sorry not to be sympathetic, but if you live in a town, parking hassles are a fact of life!

[suffolkb]

We had 3 girls under 2 when we lived in Kingston.It was not easy as on a bad day,we might have to park 3 streets away.But we accepted that as it was not resident parking,and we had no more right than anyone else to park outside our flat.The woman opposite used to put cones out when she went out.I would always remove them.Or stick my motor bike between the cones.
It was annoying when someone left a Daimler outside the flat for 6 months.It was towed away when the tax ran out.

[laurz121]

I have to wonder what the poster's partner does with the kids when she gets them out of the car at the other end? park within sight of everywhere she goes so that she can move one child at a time without leaving them unattended?

May I suggest one of these?

http://www.thekidswindow.co.uk/images/double-buggy-main.jpg

It will allow your partner to take both children out of the car, into the pushchair and into the house safely and together. that way she can park wherever there is a space instead of assuming that she is more important than everybody else that pays the same road tax as her.

Sorry if that sounds harsh but it is life.

[sali_mali]

Why is it so unreasonable to expect a space to park outside your own house? :confused:

Obviously if you have off road parking,use it, but not everbody is able to do this. Also, if you have more than one car you shouldn't expect to be able to park them all outside your house but I really do think it's totally reasonable to expect a space free outside your house. Not for any legal reasons or anything, it's just common courtesy! Just an opinion :o

[suffolkb]

What about when you go to visit someone else.Do you never park outside someones house where you go to.Shouldn`t they expect to always have a space outside their house?
If you want your own personal car-parking space,then you have to pay for one.Otherwise,you take your chances with everyone else.

[waster]

Agreed, I live in a house with a drive, but its a two car drive and we have four cars. Therefore we have two park two cars on the street. Doesn't sound too difficult until you realise the bloke next door but one has a taxi firm he runs from home, therefore lots of vehicles in the road. You just be good neighbours and park where you can.


Does he have planning permission and an operators (O) Licence to run a taxi business form what soumnd like residential premises? If not get on to the local planning dept and the Traffic Commisioners for the area.

[waster]

Im not sure if the law is different across the UK but in Scotland a disabled bay is for the use of anyone with a disabled badge. It cannot be registered to a household or a particular person.

Emma :)

Same in England. A disabled bay is for the benefit of any vehicle displaying a blue badge in the vehicle in which they are travelling. It's all part of the equallity process that disabled people often get very touchy about if not applied equitably to them.

[Lady S]

He gets away with it because he has an office aswell, although the taxi's are generally in our road a high percentage of the time. There are 5 here at the moment.

[waster]

I'm sure that this is the case for 99% of the bays but I know that it is also possible to have a disabled space for a certain property as this happened on my old road. The council painted 2 disabled bays and one of them clearly said "For 99 Whatever Road only", not sure what the special dispensation was but it might be worth checking with the council or highway agency.

You can paint whatever you like on it as a deterrent, but in law it is unenforceable.

[waster]

If we all want to park outside our front doors then the only answer is no one uses their car unless they park in a car park or are lucky enough to park in a road with no houses. Anyone with a car always need to park somewhere at some time or another and so you take your chances with everyone else, surely. Residents schemes are devisive and discriminatory.

With regards putting out bollards, bins or the like, very risky. If they casue an accident or someone falls or trips over them you are liable and the consequences in these no win no fee ambulance chasing days are potentially horrendous. I would suggest that you do not do this unless you are well insured and your insurer (Not Motor Insurance but Public Liability Insurance normally on Contents and/or Buildings Policy) have agreed they are prepared to cover you doing this.

[ollyshaw]

Why is it so unreasonable to expect a space to park outside your own house? :confused:


My street is near the town center, so metered parking is allowed by non residents. This and other people visiting, delivering etc etc means that a place outside your house is not always available. 90% of the time I get to park right outside my house, but I am not going to cause a nuisance by placing obstacles on the street to ensure this, imagine if everyone did this! I just accept the 10% as a fact of living on a busy street.

Olly

[stevebananer]

Dan29, any terrace house is going to be the same width as a car, which means you'll only get one car at each house. We have two cars but we park one down the road and I wouldnt dream of parking one at my next door neighbours and that applies to him too, that would be just plain selfish, wouldnt you agree?

You're quite lucky to have somewhere to park your second car that isn't in front of anyone else's house.
That's not always an option in a terrace.

[plane_boy2000]

I bet all the people on here saying you have no right to park outside your own house live in houses with drives. It's not a question of moving house, some of us cant afford a 4 bed semi and have to live in terraces!

I'm in the same boat, but most of us here will not park at each others doors, its all a matter of having some common decency and being good neighbours, sounds like the OP hasn't got decent neighbours though so doubt there's much you can do about it unfortunately.

Yes I do have parking - I bought a house with parking because I need somewhere to park a car! I also used to live in a terrace and guess what! It had parking. If you buy a house without parking then you should think yourselves lucky if you manage to get a space anywhere near your house as its not a right