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Post by gar on Aug 17, 2014 7:20:22 GMT
It's pretty insufferably rude to park in front of someone else's house without permission, barring some unusual situation (party, etc). Personally I would tell the church to move. Once. The second time I would tell then by certified return receipt letter. The third time I would have them towed. And towed again until they figured it out. They are a business and need to park in their own lot and not repeatedly inconvenience the neighborhood.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 9, 2024 20:26:30 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2014 12:22:25 GMT
What if you had your dh park in the spot in front of your house a few times. You can park somewhere else other than your driveway and then watch where the van chooses to park. I would be interested to know where they would park if that spot wasn't available.
Then when it comes time to ask them not to park in that spot, you can point out those other places where the van can park.
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Post by anxiousmom on Aug 17, 2014 12:58:43 GMT
My biggest issue is with my neighbor's lawn service parking behind my driveway so I can't back out. I live in a pretty quiet little neighborhood and no one ever parks on the street-except for parties and the lawn guys. The way our driveways are though, it is darn near impossible to find a spot on the street in front of any given house that doesn't block someone else's driveway from across the street.
Every time they come to mow their yard, I have to ask them to move if I want to leave. You would think after about 8 years they would find a new place to park, but no...we dance the dance every time.
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Post by momofkandn on Aug 17, 2014 13:19:18 GMT
I've lived in DC and had a similar situation. The spot in front of my house was an easy spot to park in while the other spots required actual parallel parking. I had a neighbor that constantly used my spot while the one in front of their house was empty. I understood why she wanted to park there. But it was silly for her to be parked in front of my house while I was parked in front of hers. So I did write a very nice note that was short and simple and asked her to stop using that spot. She wasn't happy, but she did start parking in front of her house. If she hadn't complied, that would have been the end of the story. Because it is a public street and I didn't own the spot. I could't have the car towed and I wouldn't have written subsequent notes making the request again. But I figured one nice note was worth a shot.
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Post by 2peafaithful on Aug 17, 2014 14:02:10 GMT
I have 0 experience in this area. Live in suburban world and parking isn't an issue. Regardless of any of that I think in the presence of challenge or conflict I would go to them and kindly ask. I would share with them my perspective and see their response.
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Post by alibama on Aug 18, 2014 20:14:29 GMT
I would politely ask them about it. I have posted this story before. When we moved into the house we live in now, 15 years ago our neighbors next door to us had this OLD ugly blue truck and they always left it in front of our house. They would not park in front of their own house EVER. Yes we had a driveway for one car, but we had two cars. They would leave that truck there for months at a time. Finally one day they moved the truck and my husband parked our boat in front of the house and took care of the truck parking there, after a while he moved the boat to the back yard because we needed more parking we were up to four cars with both of the kids driving. Now they kids are gone and there is room again so now all of her guests have to park there, it is against the rules for a car to be IN FRONT of her house. If my kids are visiting, her guests have to park in front of her driveway. It is a very very strange.
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Post by mdoc on Aug 18, 2014 20:30:33 GMT
I would get out of the mentality of thinking of it as "your" spot. It's NOT your spot. However, if I saw the van driver, I would politely approach him and tell him that you are having difficulty juggling your grocery bags and other heavy items to get them into your house from up the street, and ask if it would be terribly inconvenient for him to park on the church side as a personal favor to you.
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Post by eebud on Aug 18, 2014 20:37:31 GMT
It is a public street with no limitations for who can park there but that doesn't mean that you can't nicely ask if they wouldn't mind parking on their side of the street leaving the spot in front of your home open. I am only guessing here but I suspect the church van driver is probably coming in from the side of the street where they are parking, facing in the legal correct direction, by parking in front of your house and would need to turn around to legally park on the other side of the road. The driver probably hasn't thought about it being a problem for you. I think most neighborhood churches want to be good neighbors to those who live around them and would probably be fine with nicely asking them to park on the church side of the street.
In the past, I told a neighbor to quit parking in front of my house. Did I have a legal right to? No, it is a public street. These people parked in front of my mailbox every day and I would not get my mail delivered because the mail person was told they did not have to get out of their vehicle to deliver. It was ok for them to pass the houses whose mailboxes they could not drive up to. This was in the days were bills were still mailed. Sometimes I wouldn't get my mail for days because of it which also meant, I didn't receive my bills. The neighbor had something like 7 adults (all with cars) and a few kids (no cars) living in their house. The neighbor who owned the house told me I should put up a parking meter. LOL
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Post by pretzels on Aug 18, 2014 20:50:50 GMT
Since it only happens some of the time, maybe the person who is driving the van at that point has a problem backing out or turning or something the van, similar to Rebel's issue with not being able to back down her own driveway (which I admit is giving me a little pause; learn how to do it). So when that spot is open, they park there because they feel more comfortable getting out of that spot than any other.
So yeah. It's a public street. First come, first serve.
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Post by Dori~Mama~Bear on Aug 18, 2014 20:51:24 GMT
Why don't you go over to the church and talk to them. Why leave a note. If they know who you are and you know who they are why not have a nice polite conversation with them.
Where we live we are only aloud to park on one side of the street and it is not our side. so if we have 2 of our cars in the drive way then the third person and all company has to park on the other side of the road. No problem with it.
and if you have stuff to carry then why don't you pull into the drive way behind your husbands car unload your car and move it to park it after you unload it.
We lived in a house once that had a single wide drive way. The drive way had a slope to it and our thunderbird was so low that it always scraped when we pulled it into the drive way so we always parked it on the street in front of our house but if I came home and there was someone already there I didn't get mad I just parked it further down the road. if I had stuff to unload I would park in front of the driveway unload the car and then repark it where there was a space to park.
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Post by workingclassdog on Aug 18, 2014 22:02:09 GMT
I would just leave a nice note and see what happens.. nothing wrong with that. If it happens great...if not.. then start leaving nails out.. hahahah
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Post by hennybutton on Aug 18, 2014 22:08:26 GMT
I would be tempted to call the church office and ask why the van parks in front of your house when there is ample parking in front of the church itself. Does the church not have its own parking lot? That's my question. I would assume that the church has a parking lot. Their van should be parked in their parking lot.
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Post by annabella on Aug 18, 2014 22:22:12 GMT
I've read lots of threads on 2peas about "their parking spot" in front of their house. I would attend the church once, get to know a few people, and they speak to them in person. Notes never go over well. I bet the van comes driving down on the right side of the street and just parks, no thought to why should he do a U-turn and park on the other side because it's no big deal for him to walk across the street. Or maybe his private car is in front of the church so he parks the van then walks over to his car, but when you come he's gone as is his car.
You need to work out a plan with your husband to play musical chairs with the driveway. When you leave the house together, put one car in front of the house thus leaving the driveway open for when you get back and then he can park your car. I know a few people who do this. Or you start backing into the driveway.
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Post by hennybutton on Aug 18, 2014 22:29:14 GMT
For all that say that it's a public street and anyone can park there, I would agree if it were a neighbor's car or a guest's car parking there. However, the fact that this is a church van and the church has ample parking, then the van should be parking at the church, not in front of OP's house. Period. And, yes, I am making an assumption that the church not only has parking on the street, but also has a parking lot. That makes it even more incumbent on the church to make sure their van gets parked on their property.
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Post by traceys on Aug 18, 2014 23:30:56 GMT
It would be annoying, but unless it was my property, or there were some sort of community regulations governing the situation, I would not say anything.
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Post by pastlifepea on Aug 19, 2014 15:00:55 GMT
My read on the OP was that when she referred to it as "my" spot, she was well aware that there is not actual ownership of that spot as it is on a public street. As such, she has accepted that anyone can park there.
OP, I totally get where you are coming from. I am still surprised at the things that people just don't think about and maybe this is the case with the van as it just doesn't occur to them that it inconveniences you when you have to park elsewhere and have a lot of items to carry in. If it were me, I would probably go over to the church and speak to them directly so there is not confusion or misinterpretation of tone as there might be in a note or e-mail. I'd probably start out with, "Hey, you know we really enjoy having you as neighbors but I am hoping I can ask a favor of you..." Maybe explain about how it is more difficult to carry items into your house or even just that it makes you more comfortable to park by your home as a personal safety issue after dark.
On a side note, maybe they like to park their van on the street as some additional advertising for the church? Perhaps they would be willing to just move it a little if this is the case.
I've found that confronting issues head on is always better for me than stewing and resorting to passive/aggressive behaviors. I usually get the results I want by respectfully communicating my needs/wants. If I don't get the results I had hoped for, at least I know I tried and have a solid answer even if it is "no".
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flopsykitty
Full Member
Posts: 180
Jun 26, 2014 18:08:12 GMT
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Post by flopsykitty on Aug 19, 2014 18:15:46 GMT
I lived in South Boston for 6 years. Parking was a constant source of anxiety for me. Especially in the winter, and yes, we did mark out spots in the winter if we had to shovel them out. But, only for 2 days - never longer than that. People could get quite nasty about it, and if you made the mistake of parking in "their" spot, it was not unusual to have your car keyed as "punishment". When I moved to the suburbs, we bought a house with a driveway. We have lived here for 5 years, and I still say the driveway is the best feature of the house! I don't think it would hurt to speak to the church secretary and ask if they wouldn't mind parking the van elsewhere, especially if you explain your situation.
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scrappert
Prolific Pea
RefuPea #2956
Posts: 7,960
Location: Milwaukee, WI area
Jul 11, 2014 21:20:09 GMT
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Post by scrappert on Aug 19, 2014 19:16:59 GMT
I have to park on the street, too. I totally understand where you are coming from. We have to alternate street parking on odd and even days. Across the street is a assisted living apartment building for mentally handicapped adults. The workers there have a parking lot, but they ALWAYS park on the street. In "my" spots!! I get annoyed, but I do just deal with it. They know where I park, who's car it is, but they just park on the street anyway. The other really annoying part is when they park IN FRONT of the sidewalk. Then I have to walk on the grass, which is fine when it's dry out, but after a rain or snow, it's just inconsiderate. But, again, I just deal with it. Feels good to let it all out here, though!!
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