I live in a block of flats with limited parking, near to town and next to a school, so parking is... a delicate issue.
I'm fortunate enough to have a garage, and an arrangement to park in front of it. The garage is full of bikes (too small for anything bigger than an MX-5 which I just sold) and I use the space in front every day.
Recently, thanks to the rain, I've deduced someone is using the space in front of my garage. There's a dry spot when I get back. Seems regular.
Now this isn't necessarily an issue, I leave before 7, get back 4-6 and I've never been prevented from parking there. Also, it will be adding extra security to my precious bikes whilst it's parked in front.
However, no-one asked, and it's a bit of a piss take.
WWSTWD? a sarcastic note on the garage door? A motion based camera? Nothing and chill out? Immediate dust off and nuke from orbit?
Bombers ?
Shoes and wee?
Insertion of frozen sausages in to their dog
Well I was using a regular on street space. As in available to everyone. Anyway, someone took exception and I had a nail in my tyre on Tuesday. Don't do that.
“No parking, garage in use” sign to start with. Then quickly escalate to a police stinger.
Can I just check the details here please
1) Someone don't know ...
2) ... is something you don't know about unless it rains ...
3) ... that doesn't affect you in any way.
Um, I would suggest you worry less and do nothing, but thn I am WCA so don't take my advice or you will probably die.
Buy another car to park in front of it yourself.
You joke! Where I used to live a bloke bought a car to park on the road outside his house so no one else could park outside his house!
He had a drive and double garage too!!
Can I just check the details here please
1) Someone don't know ...
2) ... is something you don't know about unless it rains ...
3) ... that doesn't affect you in any way.
Um, I would suggest you worry less and do nothing, but thn I am WCA so don't take my advice or you will probably die.
Yep. I'm not worried.
Mildly miffed they didn't ask. If they had I'd probably say "sure, no problem." But they didn't ask.
It's small potatoes compared to the bedlam around school drop off and pick up
Place an inflatable rhino there. You can quickly move it but maybe the other person will think it's real and will stay clear.
[i]It's small potatoes compared to the bedlam around school drop off and pick up[/]
Around here they close the road within 109 miles of a school so the wee angels aren't at risk. Also ensure no-one else is at risk of driving anywhere, even if like me they don't have kids.
I would try and do something about it but the restraining order for giving all the parents free condoms at the primary school prevents me...
I'm fortunate enough to have a garage, and an arrangement to park in front of it.
Tell us more about this "arrangement". Do you own/rent the parking space in front of your garage? Is it on a public road?
Private land, detailed in the deeds little map and everything. Nothing sinister, dodgy or public road. Think of it like the drive of "my house" in front of the garage.
Imagine a suburban semi with a garage and a drive. You get home every day and realise someone parks on your drive while you're out.
Maybe or up a soon on the garage for saying that the parking space in front is available for rent at just £20 per day.
That way the person who parks there is aware that it is your poison space. Also gives you a chance to make a new friend and a few quid.
Yep, some kind of "private parking" signage seems like the first step.
Parking in front of someone's garage is a bit of a dick move even if it wasn't in the deeds. It'd be a struggle to get a car in and out otherwise. As suggested above "No parking, garage in use" notice on the door.
You are miffed they didn’t ask? Not sure how they would ask if you live in a block of flats,( is your number on the garage?) and you said you were out when this happened? How are they meant to ask?
TBH it’s a non issue until they are there and you need access, then it’s bombers. Could have be the postie or someone parking up while delivering to your block, or more likely someone collecting their precious from school?
- Auto correct at its best?! 😜
Start digging a moat?
Round here (not in the UK!), residents or business owners don't take any messing around in removing vehicles illegally parked vehicles (and there is good business for the towing companies...).
Every private/limited parking space has obvious signage. And the well-known penalty ($$$) is sufficient deterrent...
Maybe or up a soon on the garage for saying that the parking space in front is available for rent at just £20 per day.
Sign up with JustPark, and actually earn some readies by letting people pay to use the space. There’s a parking space I regularly use in London like that.
Unlikely to be the postie, it's only a convenient place to park if you're delivering to one cottage, the garage is behind the block of flats
I've seen the postie deliver to that cottage, he just stopped in front of my parked car.
The dry spot indicates someone parking there for quite a while, I think.
No number on the garage. But if I was going to regularly park in front of a garage, I'd try to find out who it belonged to.
They must know you or be in sight of it at all times as even the most selfish parkers know blocking an entrance is likely to incur wrath of some description I would expect.
Time for a stake out....
They must know you or be in sight of it at all times as even the most selfish parkers know blocking an entrance is likely to incur wrath of some description I would expect.
I was thinking this, they know my routine, or they can see the garage. I had an INSET day recently and my routine is different during half terms...
If one of your neighbours has more than one car, they move one into your space while they get the other car out of the garage. If your car is there like half term they park the other car elsewhere.
if they never cause you a problem why worry?
I'm not worried at all. Just curious and think it's cheeky. Wondered what someone else might do in the same situation
Dog a massive hole, cover with a tarp and some leaves and see if you can catch the culprit?
There's a few people questioning why you should care, I wonder what other liberties from complete strangers they'd shrug off. Throwing up a tent in their back garden whilst they're out at work, borrowing their car when they aren't using it, popping into the kitchen to make a brew if they've left the door open... ?
Private land, detailed in the deeds little map and everything. Nothing sinister, dodgy or public road. Think of it like the drive of "my house" in front of the garage.
Is it obvious that it's yours? Ie, is someone clearly taking the piss or could it be an honest mistake?
Leave your garage open with a trail of cheese leading into it....
Imagine a suburban semi with a garage and a drive. You get home every day and realise someone parks on your drive while you're out.
You can monetise it: https://www.parkonmydrive.com/about.php
Also a hat tip to @binners for the Half Man Half Biscuit song!
Is it obvious that it's yours? Ie, is someone clearly taking the piss or could it be an honest mistake?
It's obvious that it's 'somebody's' garage. Same car parked outside every day, new door defender on the garage door.
But it's not marked in any way, you can't tell which garages belong to which flats.
It's in a block of two, and the next door garage doesn't appear to have anyone using the space in front. That one never gets used, full of boxes, no car in it (belongs to a neighbour I know well) . If your were observing the two garages looking for a cheeky space, you'd choose the other one.
I assume this has never been an issue when you have a day off?
Maybe over Xmas, move the car and walk home and then curtain twitch to catch the culprit?
It's obvious that it's 'somebody's' garage. Same car parked outside every day
But then some chancer parks their car out there from 6pm to 6am every night! Shifty behaviour
I think that would irk me, too - we live near a primary school and I can see the road when I WFH, and although it's less of a problem these days, drivers used to regularly park on people's drives and the grass verges (clearly labelled "no motor vehicles or cycles on mown verge"). I only ever once saw anyone park on our drive, so I went out and waited for them to come back so I could ask them not to - he said I was "sad" (no argument here! 🙂 )and "don't even own a car" (I do, it was off having a service), but he's never done it again, so far as I know, so I count that as a win.
OP, might it be worth putting your house number on the garage door? If they ARE a nice person and want to ask but don't know whose door to knock on, maybe there's a starting point. 🙂
If they ARE a nice person and want to ask but don't know whose door to knock on,
They aren't parking there because they don't know who to ask. They're parking there because they think they haven't been caught.
I think so, too. But since the OP noted...
No number on the garage. But if I was going to regularly park in front of a garage, I'd try to find out who it belonged to.
... a logical extension to that thought might be to put a number on your garage door.
Yes, Mr Impaler, I'd imagine the punishment for transgressing anything in Transylvania would be, ummm, rigorous. But, if you hadn't noticed, just a head-up...
Vampire hunter MattOAB Van Helsing is on your case!
ask them to park closer to the garage door for added security?
I can put myself in this position, cos my garage is separate from my house (at the end of my (small) front garden) and my parking is a space in front of that garage. My car is there a lot of the time, but eg, today, if I got home and the patch was dry (it's raining now) showing someone had been parked there.. I wouldn't give a toss. If they were still there, different issue! I'd park blocking them and a few of the neighbour's cars in! Just so they'd have to come and ask me to move! But if gone, and hadn't burgled the house or ransacked my garage... fine. And I'm definitely not a happy-go-lucky type, as anyone who knows me would tell you 🤣
Are there any updates on this? I am intrigued to know if you found out who was parking in front of your garage.
You get home every day and realise someone parks on your drive while you're out.
Like you said, I'd be mildly miffed, and as long as it doesn't effect me any more than that, then I'd go about my day.
