Parking nightmare.

Don't get me started on parking! Our previously lovely residential area is plagued by HMOs (houses of multiple occupancy) full of students, most of whom seem to have a car. To make it worse, staff and students park in residential streets for the day because the university car parks are expensive and inadequate. Some residential roads are virtually one way which means cars pull over on to the verges to let vehicles pass, some of which are deeply rutted and full of water with very little grass. There is also permanent student parking on the verges even though many of the front gardens are now gravelled for parking. Owner occupiers are not happy.

When we lived in an end terrace house in Holyhead we had no issues with parking outside the house at all. After my husband died and my daughter and I moved to Dover we bought a next to end terrace home in a quiet street. The day after we moved in my daughter came in with a scribbled note she had found on her car. It was full of swear words and ranted on about how we had parked in 'his' parking space. We later found out it was the boyfriend of a neighbour two doors down the street. They both had cars and he had become used to parking his outside our house. It was a race to see who was home first, if it was my daughter then she found another note on her car the following morning. When she married and moved home my ex son in law had bought a house with only on street parking and even worse it was at the top end of no through road with no turning space. Again it was a battle to find a parking place and, when my daughter was allowed to have a disabled parking bay marked outside their house the two neighbours across from her made her life a misery by reporting her every move and claiming she wasn't disabled at all. When my daughter and I moved here to Shropshire our priority was to find a house with a driveway, which we now have. So nice not to have to fight with neighbours about parking, I use to dread getting a phone call from my daughter when she was upset about her neighbours attitude towards her.

It’s an unadopted street, Gabriella, there are lots of them still in our area. When we moved in back in the Dark Ages we paid lower rates to compensate for the fact that we are responsible for our own repairs, etc, but when Council Tax was introduced we lost that slight advantage.

Sometimes the planners will ask for a carport to be provided rather than a garage on the basis that people put other stuff in garages, leaving the car outside, but tend not to put other stuff in a carport because it doesn't have a door. Carports can be designed with a lockable store at the back.

I do GG but nor do I park on the street.

How many people have a garage but never use it?
Well, ours is used but not for parking cars

Maggiemaybe
How is that? Something I've not heard of before.

How many people have a garage but never use it?

We're very lucky to have a drive big enough for 3 cars - everyone in the road has a drive but some are now parking on both sides of the street so occasionally it's very narrow squeezing between them! We had an apartment which had one allocated parking bay - we used to dread arriving as inevitably someone was in our space. We even had a note left on the car telling us we should be in the designated visitor parking space and not theirs!! Needless to say the note my husband left in response including a plan clearly showing it was our space was not polite!

We have been looking for another property and last weekend went to have a look (not an appointment) at one which looked beautiful in the brochure - as we turned into the road we were greeted with so many cars parked on both sides and every drive in the narrow road there was nowhere to turn round - we couldn't even get close to the property itself and quickly reversed back out again. My son and DIL are in the process of moving - parking on their estate has been a nightmare especially when their daughter visited so at least now they'll be leaving that problem behind! I can only see the situation getting worse as more cars are on the road and new builds don't have enough parking - old properties don't fare any better as cars are often bigger than the drives even if they have one. My husband just read the other day that car park spaces are now not adequate either as cars are often wider than the original sizes.

We are very lucky where we are, we are on a busy main road but for some reason our house is built quite a way back from the building line of the other houses in our road. This means we have a drive big enough to drive into and turn around, which is essential for me on a busy road as I'd hate to have to try reversing out! Just in the front we can park 3 or 4 cars and also have space down the side of the house. We are constantly looking to downsize but good offstreet parking is a must for us and so many homes just don't have that!

We live on a terrace of 7 houses, next to which there are four houses with drives, and then the rest of the street is mostly double yellow lined. We used to be very considerate to others in the terrace, only ever parking one of our cars 'on the terrace', and others in neighbouring roads. Then residents moved out, new ones moved in, and I'm sorry to say that they are mostly not in the least considerate about parking. Our next door neighbours, lovely though they are, have been known to have 5 vehicles parked on the terrace all at the same time, and another one often has 4 vehicles parked outside. So we have thrown our consideration out of the window and just grab spaces when we can!

The parking is bad here, but the 'illegal' parking does my head in. Blue badge holders park where they feel like, unseen round bends in the road and obscuring visibility when coming out onto main road are favourites round here. And others seem to think they can just park anywhere. I live near town centre, and we used to have one illegally parked car in our street at a time, now it's often 4! And then there's those who go the wrong way up our one way street. Aaarrrggghhh

My road is a dead end, with two wide bays for turning, delivery drivers etc. But the newest inhabitants bought their houses for permanent parking spaces for their several cars in the said turning spaces. Sometimes up to six cars, nose to tail. It's infuriating.......

I have no problems, living in a quiet road with plenty of driveways and street parking. There have been many complaints from people who live near Manchester Airport. Holidaymakers who don't want to pay the charges for parking at the airport are leaving their cars in nearby residential streets for weeks on end, and taking a taxi to the airport. People are unable to park near their houses, and are furious at being blocked out (or sometimes blocked-in! Vandalising the cars has been mooted as a solution!

I am one of the lucky ones. All houses in the small road that I live in have spacious double garages and plenty of room for at least two cars on the drives.

Where do some of them - with two cars - park? In the road!

Why?

It isn't as though anyone else is likely to park there or block the drive.

We own the whole pavement and road outside our house, so are responsible for its upkeep, yet it’s still part of the public highway, so anyone can park there. The worst of both worlds.

No big worries at present I have a drive that takes our cars, but we have to back on as we cannot get permission to have any more paving to allow a turning point or second entrance/ exit. However there is a burgeoning trend for commuters to leave their cars in our street and then catch the bus to town since the council put up parking charges and built on car parks. There is also a trend to replace houses with flats everywhere here. The parking for all the new flats is restricted in favour of recycling bins and bike parks to discourage car ownership so the cars that the flat tennants inevitably have - usually 2 or more per flat, are ending up parked on the street too, right up to my dropped kerb on a bus route leaving nowhere to pull up to reverse into the drive and causing traffic jams with the buses. So a problem at present but increasingly getting to be an unmanageable problem.

Our parking has just changed so we are now the first road where it isn't residents parking so we are now full during the week. People park here so they can catch the underground. We have off street parking but it's now difficult driving out on to the road. Basically there are too many people in this country.

We moved to an attractive small house some years ago and on meeting one of the neighbours she said that everyone was thrilled that we had moved in. I was really touched until she added 'Because you have only one car'. (Deflation of stout party) The previous owners had three sons and between them seven cars! Over time we did get a second car and the parking situation, although we had one 'off road' space, was hell. Arguments among neighbours were rife and occasionally we found our car blocked in. We moved a while back and now have a lot of space to park and it is wonderful - I miss that lovely little house but certainly not the anxiety when returning home late and having to spend ages driving about and parking half a mile from home.

If you own the land to the middle of the road, Espee presumably it isn’t part of the ‘public highway’, so nothing to do with the council.
Problem in my narrow street is commuter parking. Most of us have drives that take one or two cars though getting in and out is quite an art, but if a car is parked in the street outside or opposite my house or neighbour’s cars can’t pass in the road and no one can stop even for two minutes. Cause is commuters walking to bus stop at end of road, or getting out bike to ride the rest of the way. Council says as other posters have noted that yellow lines just shunts the problem on. Am I alone in thinking that it’s antisocial to leave one’s car outside someone else’s house in a narrow street for hours on end?

This was my main requirement when we moved house. It was on my husband's list but further down. Trouble is people park so ridiculously close to my drive perimeters that I worry about scraping my paintwork as I drive in. I find people become so precious about the space outside their property as though they have some divine right to it. Not so since we all pay road tax (or should do!). Even have a neighbour who has placed raisers in the gutter and parks half on half off pavement. These are otherwise rational and lovely people. Wonder how many quirks I have that they query!!

We’ve been lucky so far in our terrace, as most people here do respect their neighbours and try to leave the spaces in front of their houses free whenever possible. It’s a long walk from the main road with shopping and grandchildren if you do have to park up there. What does get to me is if someone parks a works van right outside your window, blocking not only your view but your light as well. Fortunately it hasn’t happened often!

We have good parking where I live with small car parks and on street parking.
The council are in the process of making if a problem by going Pooterish but with yellow rather than red paint.
They have already painted some double yellows and caused arguments between neighbours and they are now going to add them to the areas that they left before.
The car parks are generally about 80% full and people park responsibly in the road.
The Council say that it is to make it easier for the rubbish collection - but they use trucks which are enormous and the roads are just the normal ones that you would have on any small estate.
I don't drive but it is going to get very difficult to get things delivered.
We also have the problem that we are near a railway and they have already doubled yellowed all the roads around us so people are being to discover our estate as a place to stop. Our car parks will not be able to cope.
I made an objection and they just said that they will leave two spaces unmarked which will not make any difference.
Our council is solving a problem which doesn't exist and creating one. Once the lines are painted, we will be stuck with them as these things are never reversed.

Parking is a nightmare for me, as not only do I have to park my own car on the street (I pay for a yearly permit) I have a guest house so the guests feel it is up to me to find them a space. Plus to top it off the council have put up the price of parking so it is expensive.
I live in a four storey Victorian town house in a cul-de-sac which is easy walking distance to the sea front, harbour and City Centre, so everyone likes to park here.
I am trying to sell the guest house so when I ever get to move my home will have to have a parking space.

I think you'll find that the problem in this country is not too many cars, but too many people who want them.