Saturday 30 October 2010

Hard Politics - Village Parking

Yes, another very hard nosed topic of conversation (with myself) again this Saturday. Who makes the rules on village parking? Some people in our village have pretty "No Parking" signs attached tastefully onto the front of their houses. I understand why - there is no pavement so the cars are right outside their front windows. So, the signs afford them a touch of privacy and also the ease of transport from car to door.

We have a hedge. I tried painting "No Parking" on it but the leaves all fell off when Autumn came. It seems that people consider the unmarked road in front of our house fair game. I understand why - there are no road markings anywhere in the village. So, I'm just struggling with why there's a difference between the two. Is it because I have a front garden? Or is it because I don't have the cojones to hammer a free standing sign into the ground in front of the hedge?

We parked in front of one of these signs in the first few weeks in the house. Within 24 hours we had first a polite note asking us not to park in front of the house in question. This was followed by a visit from the owner explaining that there was no parking in front of her house, or her neighbours'. It was lost on her that there were no spaces in front of our house because all the other cars park there due to the lack of prohibitive signage.

So what's the deal? Have I missed a section in the Highway Code? Can one declare parts of the road their own? Can anyone do it? I only ask because I feel I would like to be part of the road-owning club and thus have sole parking rights to my adjacent tarmac. Or else I want everywhere to be free. In essence, can I be in their club? If not, I don't want them to have a club. At least can someone tell me the rules?

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