parking problems

[travelgirl]

i work in a hospital in the centre of town and can never find a space to park so i park in a street about half a mile away and walk to work.the street has no permit restricions and isn't single or double yellow lines.residents of the street keep leaing notes on my car telling me to go away,and one man threatened me that there would be trouble if i parked there again.i pay my road tax,i want to check that i fully in my right to park there.i don't block any entrance way or driveway and there are no parking meters or time limits on parking.

[andy-hughes]

Legally, you are entitled to park - as you say, you pay your road tax, which funds maintenance of the road on which you park.

Unfortunately, a lot of people take serious exception to street parking by non-residents, and you don't want this to escalate. These people will have all day to vadalise your car at leisure, and it sounds like that's where this dispute is going. You can't win - even if the law is on your side, you'd never prove malicious damage.

Best to find somewhere else. I know you shouldn't have to be intimidated like this, but that's the way it is.

[JudgeJ]

This is really the other side of the coin to a question that was recently posed (twice) on AB:

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Motoring/Question203986.html

Within those answers you will find a lot of information, including some about the popular misconception that �you can park anywhere�.

It just goes to show that there are two sides to every story, and that usually neither of them is entirely as straightforward it may seem.

[boro1986]

Stand your ground **** them i had the same problemwhen my girlfriend was rushed into hospital. As always there was no parking spaces so i dropped her off at A & E and drove to the closest street to park. A resident stormed out asking what i thought i was doing. I explained my case and was told i couldnt park there. After asking why he saaid you cant its for residents only. Before telling him to go inside while he could still walk i told him there is no sign saying residents parking or lines. Anyway dont let them intimidate you, as long as you are not blocking assess to their drive etc you have as much right to park. If they have a problem they should be brave enough to tell you face to face not by leaving letters on your windscreen.

[spaced]

report the threats to the police. If all else fails, get you other half to sort em out! If someone threatend my other half, no matter how big or scary they were, they'd wish they hadnt.

[Ethel]

You do not have the right to park across a person's drive if the kerb has been dropped by the council to allow the resident access by motor vehicle to the drive.

You can get get fined for wilful or unnecessary obstruction.

[JudgeJ]

Ethel, look at the earlier question to which I provided a link. In particular look at the earlier question which is referred to:

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Motoring/Question199575.html

and even more specifically kempie's answer of 13th Feb 06. You will find that the restrictions to which you refer do not actually exist. As I said, this is an area where the current law is not actually sufficient.