Locked in a Street Parking Morality Battle

Lserialfrother on 12/10/2023 - 13:34
Last edited 12/10/2023 - 13:41 by 1 other user

Help needing some Bondi-spec OzBargain morality guidance.

I'm currently locked in a battle with a gentleman that parks both of his cars on the street out the front of his house in an untimed spot (no permit required) and when he leaves his house he repositions one of the cars so as to block and reserve the space for when he returns home. This side of the street is one of the few untimed unpaid areas where I live and it's used mostly by students and workers who come and go each day. In a 500 meter radius I would say that only 10% of the parking is un timed and unpaid making this a premium spot for a day worker. He's blocking both spots for cars when he repositions his second car but motorbikes can fit…

I've observed him doing this a number of times and one day I called him out on it as I happen to be walking the dog past. He responded "it's my house. I can park here" and I countered with "of course you can, but by repositioning your other car it's clear you're just reserving it so you can park back in the untimed spot. I see you've got parking permits on both your cars. You're preventing people who need to park there for work/school because you want to have you're own private parking ". He carried on moving his vehicle and drove off in a huff.

I saw an opportunity and took it. I've been parking my scooter in that spot ever since which means he no longer has the double parking spot. I happen to own two scooters and so do my neighbors and we regularly rotate the scooters in and out of that same parking spot. It's now become a regular scooter parking spot and I see scooters that I don't even recognize park there now.

Today he confronted me as I park my scooter there and and hassled me telling me he wanted to park his other car out the front of his house and my scooter was stopping him from doing that. I asked if he owned this parking spot because it appeared to be a street…. he said "no but I pay to park here" pointing to his permits on his windscreen, this carried on for several minutes in a very circular fashion with me pointing out it's an unpaid area on a public street….. I ultimately responded."Not my problem you can't afford a driveway you peasant."

Did I go too far? Am I making this man's life a misery because he can't park his BMW X9 out front of his house next to his AudiRS3? Or am I doing what no one else is willing to do by making a point with my $500 moped?

Neither car has a disabled permit and while the man is a little older than me he would not be more than 60 and he was very sharp and of sound mind when he confronted me and appeared to be very physically mobile the spaces are not disabled spaces.

This battle has been raging for at least 3 months, tensions are beginning to simmer. Do I give in?

Poll Options expired

  • 13
    Apologize for calling him a peasant who can't afford a driveway remove my scooter
  • 17
    Install Motorcycle Parking signs during the dead of night
  • 60
    Refer myself to a psychologist
  • 875
    Continue parking my scooter and encourage others to do the same
Automotive Parking

Comments

  • roozmik on 13/10/2023 - 12:04
    +1

    damn Bondi peasants.. lol

  • Ozie on 13/10/2023 - 12:55
    +1

    Buy a cheap registered trailer and park it there permanently to prove a point…

  • WeeDeePotato on 13/10/2023 - 12:56

    That was a great read. Keep on at it, OP!

  • LFO on 13/10/2023 - 13:10
    +1

    Suburbia = the closest to hell on earth

  • b0rnwithabeard on 13/10/2023 - 13:46
    +1

    you're being a deck only because he's being a deck. Keep on being a deck until he's able to come to his senses and realise he needs to pick more important battles. Otherwise someone is gonna slash his tyres.

  • sobriety22 on 13/10/2023 - 14:30

    We need an MS Paint with too scale dimensions. Please.

  • Drakesy on 13/10/2023 - 14:38
    -2

    I mean if it is his house and he doesn't have a carport then yes it's a courtesy thing to let him park there.
    However if he has access to a garage and doesn't use it then go to town on him.

    • jrowls on 13/10/2023 - 17:38
      +4

      I mean if it is his house and he doesn't have a carport then yes it's a courtesy thing to let him park there.

      it's really not the public's problem that this individual has more car than he has space for. we don't owe any courtesy to people who want to use public space for their own private benefit.

      personally i wouldn't go out of my way to prevent someone doing so but i certainly wouldn't do the inverse either.

      • Drakesy on 13/10/2023 - 18:11

        personally i wouldn't go out of my way to prevent someone doing so but i certainly wouldn't do the inverse either.

        Yeah pretty much my take, i personally think its a bit petty on the OP's behalf. but agreed he doesn't own the area.

  • Franc-T on 13/10/2023 - 15:00
    +1

    Lol buy a junker and park that outside his house. The worse it looks the better.

  • GG57 on 13/10/2023 - 15:05
    +1

    If I'm reading OP's post correctly, the neighbour has two cars and always has at least one of them parked on the street.
    Which begs the question, why does the neighbour have two cars if they obviously only need one (i.e. maximum of one car is in use at any time)?

    • JIMB0 on 13/10/2023 - 16:17

      Of course one is going to be always parked on the street. You'd have to be rather talented to drive 2 cars at once.

      • GG57 on 13/10/2023 - 16:22

        …why does the neighbour have two cars…

        • Chael Sonnen on 13/10/2023 - 16:32

          Just a guess, but possibly a daily and a weekend car (especially since one of them is an RS3)

          • beltdrive on 13/10/2023 - 22:18

            @Chael Sonnen: Dunno why someone would buy an RS3 as a weekend car. It’s a tarted up Golf/Octavia, it’s primarily a commuter car

        • JIMB0 on 13/10/2023 - 18:07

          Because he can. Lots of people have 2 cars to serve their motoring needs. For example I have one that goes fast and one that goes anywhere.

    • Nugs on 13/10/2023 - 16:38
      +1

      "why does the neighbour have two cars if they obviously only need one"
      how many pairs of pants do you have? or underwear, socks etc
      .

  • syousef on 13/10/2023 - 15:46
    +2

    If there is no where else for you to park, ok park there. If there's somewhere convenient to park and you're just doing this because you're jealous he owns 2 expensive cars I can only pity you and hope that one day you'll learn that no matter how bored or jealous you are picking a fight with your neighbour for giggles is not good for anyone, least of all you.

  • edBARGAIN on 13/10/2023 - 16:01
    -3

    Who cares. You are also being petty now doing the same thing he was doing blocking that spot with your scooter. He shouldn't be reserving that spot for his 2 cars as well.

    • whatgift on 13/10/2023 - 16:37

      Exactly - the amount of energy people spend on things that don’t affect them astounds me!

      • WT on 14/10/2023 - 09:14
        +1

        rule 32: enjoy the little things in life

  • beltdrive on 13/10/2023 - 16:50
    +7

    People who argue that OP is spending too much energy on something that doesn't affect him are telling on themselves

    The OP is compelled to annoy this guy because he has principles, not because it affects him personally. That's admirable

    It's like an episode of Curb where Larry is 100% correct

  • blitz on 13/10/2023 - 16:52
    +5

    OP it just sounds like you're annoying this person and I fully support you.

  • Jase83 on 13/10/2023 - 17:10
    +3

    You Sir are a legend! I thoroughly approve of your actions :)

  • stedmaster on 13/10/2023 - 17:18

    Reminds me of a carwash near my work where there is often a que, depending on what cycle people get it can take some time. I try to avoid this by going at better times or driving in from the rear of the complex so I can see the wash entrance.

    But the other day I got a new ticket, I pulled up to find an empty car in the driveway entrance to the wash, initially I thought someone had just left it there as a mechanic shop is next door. Eventually I began backing out, but it turned out a lady had parked her car there, gone into the servo and fluffed around brought herself a car wash and had saved the space.

    If I had clicked on earlier, I would have driven around the front and reversed in.

    In the future I will drive past the front and see through for abandoned cars, if I see any I'll reverse in. Hehehe, should I wait until they show up before dialling in the wash start?

    I don't think it's that big of a deal, but it is rude, especially when you can get tickets ahead for a better deal. I imagine people like her would just start parking halfway into the wash or something.

  • tessel on 13/10/2023 - 17:37

    HOLD!!!!

  • furyou on 13/10/2023 - 18:04
    +2

    Good on ya! Beat him at his own game.

    For those not in the know, Bondi is a special area. The rest of Sydney, you have houses, there are driveways, you fit cars between driveways.

    In Bondi, somehow they have managed to design the driveways so the space between them is JUST 70% of a car length, so nobody can park there. Some houses have 2 driveways, so you can have a street that from afar looks half empty, but actually there is NO street parking left.

    The whole area is designed with a "get outta here do you even live here?" vibe. And ironically attracts all the tourists.

    • WT on 14/10/2023 - 09:16
      +1

      manly is just an easier beach to get to from the CBD

  • Chong on 13/10/2023 - 18:33
    -1

    a peasant calling a fellow peasant ;)

    Jokes aside i am always amazed that people think they own the street infront of their house, deeds are pretty clear where the boundaries are….

    The only time i had to ring council was when a neighbour parked with a bumper sticking out on to my driveway that i had to do some fanciful manouver to adjust my car multiple times to go out of my own driveway.

  • BattleAxeHD on 13/10/2023 - 19:35
    +1

    Call council and request marked parking bays due to issues with motorist's not parking appropriately. If they support your request and implement marked parking bays, your neighbour can no longer reposition his car to stop someone else from parking, as he will be required to park within the marked parking bay. If he does park in a way that stops someone else from parking in the adjacent bay (if marked), he may run the risk of getting fined. This all of course depends on Council's own parking laws and parking officers carrying out parking enforcement.

  • quick-dry on 13/10/2023 - 19:37

    Please update when this escalates to him moving the scooter to another spot during the day, and filling the space with something of his own…. and then the following escalation where you get his car up on mobile jacks/stands and wheel it down the street to a completely different spot.

    (this used to be a common prank at school, get enough guys and you could move those little gemini and minis into some horrendously tight spaces necessitating fifty point turns to get out of)

  • bobbieb on 13/10/2023 - 19:44

    This reminds me of a local homeowner in an area I often visit.

    He/she has taken it upon themselves to paint lines on the road a metre each side of their driveway. I'm not sure if they're so bad a driver that they need that much room to navigate in/out, or they're just that entitled.

    Unsurprisingly, most folk ignore the totally unenforceable markings. I'm sure that I'm not the only one who will take one of the spots in preference to any other - parking as close as legally possible to the driveway.

    • terrys on 14/10/2023 - 09:28
      -1

      to paint lines on the road a metre each side of their driveway

      That's most generous of them - although the council may not consider their generosity quite so charitably should you accept it:

      (5) A vehicle must not be parked so as to obstruct access from a public place to—
      (a) an entrance or exit (including an emergency exit) to or from a public or private place; or
      (b) a driveway, crossing place or other vehicular pathway leading to or from such an
      entrance or exit,
      and, in any event, a vehicle must not be parked within 1.8 metres of the approach or departure side
      of such an entrance, exit, laneway, driveway, crossing place or other vehicular pathway

      ( SOUTH AUSTRALIALOCAL GOVERNMENT (PARKING) REGULATIONS 1991 (Reprint No. 4) Part III, pg 16)

      https://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/__legislation/lz/c/r/local%20government%20(parking)%20regulations%201991/1997.02.02/1991.86.pdf

      • bobbieb on 14/10/2023 - 13:26
        +1

        FWIW… NSW - where this particular character lives - has no such precise definition.

        The rules basically say prohibit parking “on or across a driveway”

        The local rangers seem particularly zealous enforcing the "on" part. The local facebook groups are full of folk being fined for parking at the bottom of their own driveways.

        Given the Vagueness of the other part of the rule, I'm not surprised that I've personally not seen one complaint from folk claiming to have been unfairly fined for "too close."

        • Protractor on 15/10/2023 - 10:40

          Are they parking at the bottom of a driveway or obstructing a path/verge?

        • terrys on 19/10/2023 - 09:50

          The local rangers seem particularly zealous

          I blame the skilled migrant policy.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw5d8GwEC2s

        • terrys on 19/10/2023 - 09:59

          I imagine the 'precision' is for boomers like me who need to leave a couple of yards rather than one.

  • The General on 13/10/2023 - 20:43
    +2

    I am in my 50's and after reading this suddenly realised that I am considered "Elderly" by the OzBargain community. Must go out and by a BMW X9 tomorrow (I know where I can park it).

    • ass3ts on 15/10/2023 - 21:12

      But you can't, because BMW X9 does not exist. Not sure how OP came up with that.

  • RedDevil860 on 13/10/2023 - 22:12
    -4

    You need a life. So petty.

  • serialfrother on 14/10/2023 - 06:32
    -2

    So I looked up NSW parking rules…. Out of interest of course…. "Vehicle parking rules:
    You must not park within 1m of another vehicle parked in front or behind (but not when angle parking)."

    Time to get the tape measure out - imagine if he gets a fine for parking his cars too close to each other haha omg heavy

  • afah0447 on 14/10/2023 - 07:15

    This dude is loaded and his attitude matches. Tell him to take a walk off a short pier.

  • nobro25 on 14/10/2023 - 07:44
    +2

    First world problems plus gloating. Oh!!! I have two cars I dunno where to park them!

    Me: Struggling to pay for living when working two jobs + studying.

  • heal on 14/10/2023 - 10:19
    +3

    Let us all know when the A Current Affair episode will be shown. I hope OzBargain gets a mention.

  • centrelink on 14/10/2023 - 11:22
    +4

    Sorry but you commited, the moment you give up, he wins. This is a battle until the first person dies, takes physical action or gives up. This is the battle of pride where stories becomes old legends and you need to take it to the grave.

    • Protractor on 15/10/2023 - 10:42

      The Castle

      • KangaDrew on 19/10/2023 - 12:46

        Naaah, that's this guy.

        • Nugs on 19/10/2023 - 15:18

          $50m, 50km form cbd. I'd sell. I wonder how many tennis balls and footies they have kicked over the fences?
          And $1m per 300m2 block once subdivived?
          .

        • JIMB0 on 20/10/2023 - 07:31

          I wonder if they also park their cars out the front to piss off the neighbours.

  • Joshminey on 14/10/2023 - 11:34
    +1

    I live in a narrow street that only allows for parking on one side of the road. I live on the side where you can’t park so I have to park my car on the opposite side problem is my neighbour who has a double garage has two cars but park in the carpark out the front of his house which can fit two cars but decides to park in the middle so only his car can fit whenever his car park is taken he has to park down the street as parking in his driveway apparently damages his driveway as his car has an oil leak although I’ve never seen oil on the road where he parks it currently. Whenever someone moves their car from his carpark he moves his car from the down the street and parks it back in the middle of two car parks out the front of his place. Super annoying.

  • johnfuller on 14/10/2023 - 12:12

    buy another scooters and block him in, record the damage lol

    • Protractor on 15/10/2023 - 10:43

      Chain 2 scooters together

  • 191919 on 14/10/2023 - 12:20
    +2

    keep going OP you're doing god's work

  • jonathonsunshine on 14/10/2023 - 16:23
    -1

    I'm in a bad mood today so my advice is key his car.

  • holdenmg on 14/10/2023 - 16:54

    Idle thoughts…

    Isn't this a Public nuisance?

    Can't you hold one of those Competitions where the last person touching the Car wins that the Car?

    Also, list both cars on Carsales.

    Don't let little things like "ownership" get in the way of your prime objective.

  • Antikythera on 14/10/2023 - 18:03
    +1

    have you considered petitioning council for some dedicated motorbike only parking in your area?
    seems like out the front of this guys house might be the perfect place. lots of organic demand can likely be proven. make sure you talk to some councillors prior to campaigning for it.

    perhaps even find when council elections are and get yourself and some others involved in the elections. if you run yourself my tip would be to go to one of the debates and afterwards talk preference deals with the other candidates. I had a mate who (as part of a bet to get the most votes) almost accidentally got elected. he panicked when he realised he'd be taking a pay cut.

  • bmxr on 14/10/2023 - 22:17

    This battle has been raging for at least 3 months, tensions are beginning to simmer. Do I give in?

    Negotiate from a position of power. You have all the hand right now.

    Ask him for the keys and paperwork to his RS3 (and for him to cover stamp duty) and you will call the scooter mafia off. That is a nice car!

  • vorsprung on 14/10/2023 - 22:36
    +1

    Some knob in an RS6 (that he parked on the street) had a go at me too for parking my car near his house when I went to work many years ago. Wasn’t even in front of his house. He then left notes on every car in the street.

    “I go drop the kids off at school and there’s no parks when I get back”.

    Boo-hoo mate. Build a garage.

    You have my full support. Can’t stand entitled people.

    • Protractor on 15/10/2023 - 10:44
      +2

      "Can’t stand entitled people"
      Got bad news for you

  • Funky Kong on 15/10/2023 - 01:41

    Doing God's work. Love the peasant comment

    Wait two months, then low-ball him for the beamer. Spend the profit on eneloops.

  • kaleidoscope on 15/10/2023 - 08:32

    if i were you, i’d get another $500 moped and occupy the other parking space permanently op 😂

  • Protractor on 15/10/2023 - 10:27
    +1

    Man up
    Wheel clamp

  • GrueHunter on 15/10/2023 - 17:12
    +2

    Missing poll option: Continue parking my scooter, calling out "what ho, peasant" every day, and encourage others to do the same

  • srhardy on 16/10/2023 - 09:49
    +1

    You said it’s not just you, but others now park scooters there too. So I’d retire yours to someone safer and just watch (and report) on what happens next.

    Someone saw I was preparing my caravan for a trip, parked accross from my house in a small street in Palmwoods qld and splattered it with a handful of dog shit. The van was never in anyone’s way and couldn’t be parked on my block (we tried). So maybe it was just an eye saw , I dont know but after the trip I sold it.

    Humans suck, both sides of the coin. So pick your battles and make sure you only gamble what your prepared to loose!

  • Gnilgorf on 19/10/2023 - 16:20
    +1

    Ahhh this genuinely put a smile on my face reading this. Keep on going on~

  • kenny38rj39302 on 21/10/2023 - 15:32

    Can i please buy you a junk scooter to park there?

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