Internet debate erupts over parking rules: ‘Petty deserves small’

Parking on a public road in front of your neighbour’s house may not be a criminal offence, but what regulation exactly does it involve?

While most people would prefer to park in front of their house for the sake of convenience, on a busy street where every household has multiple cars, this may not always be possible. And so, wouldn’t you just find the next available park? Even if it was in front of your neighbor’s house?

‘Would you refrain from parking your vehicle outside my house’

On Facebook this week, a man faced just that problem when he returned to his car to find a note on his windshield from his neighbor.

The post started a huge debate, with people weighing in on both sides of the dilemma.

The printed note, in all caps, reads: “Would you refrain from parking your vehicle outside my house for days – a few hours or a day is acceptable.

“Although you are legally within your rights to park outside my house, please be considerate and park on the opposite side of the road when there is space.

Thank you.’

The poster read: ‘It’s not my car, it’s my neighbor’s.’

The very relatable and viral post struck a nerve and was commented upon thousands of times.

“As long as the parked car is numbered and registered, I don’t see the problem,” wrote one Facebooker on the legality of such a note.

Another took issue with the rules: “If you want guaranteed parking, you should live somewhere with a street and not depend on public parking. Public parking is first come first serve plain and simple.”

“Public road = public parking for Lek”, wrote a third who shared the same opinion.

“We all pay taxes to use these roads. The request was refused in my opinion, we are all loud (sic) to park in public parking at any time. As long as we’re not blocking private roads.”

‘What the hell is the difference?’

A third man got really fired up: “Listen people, you don’t have a parking space in front of your house. It’s a legal place for anyone to park.

“Do I want to park there for days? This is my problem. You do not like it? Move out of the neighborhood.

“Just park your car somewhere else. What the hell is the difference?”

One relayed his experience of receiving this type of communication from an upset neighbor.

“I once had a lady yell at me for not parking on the sidewalk in front of her house in a busy neighborhood in Portland. If street parking spaces are limited, I’ll take any space I can find. You don’t own the road.”

But many homeowners felt the same way as the author of the note about people parking in front of their homes — even if it’s not illegal.

“Totally agree, I’ve had cars parked outside my house for weeks. Certainly not illegal, but a little thoughtless.”

“Petty deserves small”

Another adds: “So did our neighbor across the street (he had the same response as some of you) he also left the windows down…. my husband watered the yard. Petty deserves the pettiness.”

One woman thought the note was polite and that while it’s not a law, it’s a neighborhood code that should be followed.

“It’s absolutely about respecting your neighbors. It seems that manners and goodwill are a thing of the past.”

Another added that they just seem to work it out their way: “I live in a city and we have to park on the street. I love my neighbors.

“We all have unofficial parking spaces right in front of our houses. We never talked about it, we all do it. Life in the city is hard enough… But this simple convenience makes life a little easier.”

‘I do not care!’

Finally one woman felt that the people who parked in front of her apartment had a silver lining.

“I must be weird, I don’t mind if it looks like more people are in my house. I think fraudsters will think twice about entering if there are a lot of cars and people.”