Would this bother you? About This Page:

[DSNYD]

This is non-Disney related, but I think that's what this particular part of the forum is about...

I live on a corner lot in a small town. My yard is rectangular. One of the shorter sides is towards the front of the house. This end has a curb.

My side yard (the longest part of the "rectangle") does not have a curb. It is even with the road, and there's an approximately 12' flat area before a small hill.

Here's the problem. PEOPLE PARK THEIR CARS IN MY YARD - RIGHT ON MY GRASS! It drives me CRAZY! (example attached)

I've tried everything... putting notes on their cars, calling the police, confronting them... nothing works. It's frequently people visiting my neighbors, and YES, I've talked to the neighbors about it, and obviously they don't care. They have space for 3 cars in their driveway, as well as 2 or 3 spaces at their own curb, but they park wherever they want, including in my yard. (actually, you can see their duplex in the background of this pic. The offending neighbors live in the left side of that house.)

I have known the family since I was a child... and they have about as much class as a peanut. They drink heavily, party, fight (physically and verbally), treat their next door neighbor's yard like an extension of their own, and basically do whatever they want. They have a 6 year old who runs the street at all times of the night and day and they rarely watch him. Getting into my driveway is like a scary game of Frogger because he's always running or riding his dirt-bike on the street. Basically, neighbors from h*ll.

I don't know what advice I'm looking for, or if I just want to blow off some steam, but tell me friends: Would this tick you off too??? Am I just a nasty person???

I'm probably just upsetting myself by letting it bother me, but GEEEEESH - don't I have rights too?

[revral]

That has got to be frustrating & annoying. I'm sorry you're having to deal with it. The only option I can think of that would truly put a stop to it is to put a fence. Is the grass being parked on truly part of your property or is it actually city/county property that your maintaining? I ask because the back of the house one of my aunts used to own bordered an alley & for many years that alley was the property of the city. If the grass being parked on actually belongs to the city/county there really isn't anything you can do since it's not property you own.

[JoanneS]

I think it might bother me if the neighbor's didn't ask my permission first. I think a nice picket fence might be in order.

[DSNYD]

Originally Posted by JoanneS

I think it might bother me if the neighbor's didn't ask my permission first. I think a nice picket fence might be in order.

I absolutely agree. This would be like me going over and sitting on their deck without their permission. It's an intrusion on my property. I'm sure I wouldn't be welcome to park my car in their paved area. (I'd like to call it a driveway, but they actually paved over their front yard to make 3 spaces - they only have 1 car.)

Originally Posted by revral

That has got to be frustrating & annoying. I'm sorry you're having to deal with it. The only option I can think of that would truly put a stop to it is to put a fence. Is the grass being parked on truly part of your property or is it actually city/county property that your maintaining? I ask because the back of the house one of my aunts used to own bordered an alley & for many years that alley was the property of the city. If the grass being parked on actually belongs to the city/county there really isn't anything you can do since it's not property you own.

So frustrating for me. Seriously, it works on my nerves so badly, I almost regret looking out my window and seeing it. I've been dealing with this for 18 years.

The township does have an easement so that the township can do things on that part of the property if they want to, but it is actually my property - not public property. No one except the township is allowed on this property. But, because of the easement, I can't put up a fence.

At one time, I put up little orange flags (one about every 15 feet), and that worked for a while. Then, a storm came thru and the orange plastic part ripped off, so they started parking there again.

I just want them to move this vehicle, so I can stop worrying about it today.

[cdnmickeyfan]

Originally Posted by JoanneS

I think it might bother me if the neighbor's didn't ask my permission first. I think a nice picket fence might be in order.

[DSNYD]

Originally Posted by cdnmickeyfan

I wish I could put up a fence, but the township has an easement, so no one is allowed to put anything that close to the road. It's definitely my yard (not public property), but an easement is the township's way of still being able to plow snow onto it, or put in sidewalks... or whatever the township needs to do there.

I guess I'm just really tired of people taking advantage/being rude, and seeing tire tracks in my grass. And as a bonus, after it rains and the ground is soft, the vehicles make deep grooves. Then, I get to mow over the uneven ground. Unfortunately it's often so uneven that I end up cutting dirt too. Stones and dirt go flying. One time I broke my Mom's picture window with a stone because of it (she lives across the street from my house). Not good!

[Pax]

Originally Posted by DSNYD

I wish I could put up a fence, but the township has an easement, so no one is allowed to put anything that close to the road. It's definitely my yard (not public property), but an easement is the township's way of still being able to plow snow onto it, or put in sidewalks... or whatever the township needs to do there.

Then you need to get the Town to agree to let you post signs that read somethign like "Private Property - NO PARKING - vehicles will be towed at owner's expense".

And then let you ENFORCE that - if someone parks there, you call whatever tow company the town police uses, and the truck hauls the offending vehicle off to the Police Impound Lot.

...

Alternately, and more expensively, you could have concrete pillars/posts installed ever 5 feet. You know, the 6" diameter ones? 4' or 5' tall should keep them visible to town plows; snow can easily be plowed through/past them (as long as the driver isn't enough of an idiot to HIT one, obviously). But noone is going to park anything bigger than a motorcycle or bicycle on your side of that line.

As for future sidewalks - the town could always put the sidewalk down just "inside" that line of posts, which certainly wouldn't impede pedestrian traffic. Or, since putting in a sidewalk involves a certain amount of excavation anyway, they could just remove the posts; wouldn't even have to ask your permission. (You should probably get a permit anyway, of course).

...

A third option would be to put in a curb YOURSELF - a nice, high one that would discourage anyone parking wheels-up on it. Maybe put in that sidewalk yourself; the town is unlikely to complain about that, right? That'd need a permit, too, and would be more expensive than you might like.

...

And finally, there's always the option of just giving up. Put a fence in at the edge of the easement; maybe get the town to accept the area o the easement being GIVEN to them outright. This solution would simply be a case of "I can't win, so I'm at least going to avoid liability".

[chezp]

It bothers me and we had the same thing happen to us - actually we had people from the house opposite parking on the grass outside our boundary, which is owned by the local government. But trying to get out on the main road, seeing past them was a nightmare. I eventually phoned the council and they put up posts to stop people parking there. I really think a fence is your only option.

[Belle320]

This would bother me and then it would bother my husband even more. Since you are not allowed to put up a fence, you may want to find out from the township what you are allowed to do. They may allow something they dont consider "permanent". A temporary solution may be reflectors along your property line. You can find they at Home Depot or Lowes. (They are tall with red or blue reflectors.) Place them close enough together so they can't park there. It would be an relatively inexpensive alternative to putting up posts with reflectors, which I have seen people using to keep people from parking on their lawns. Good Luck.

[DSNYD]

Originally Posted by chezp

It bothers me and we had the same thing happen to us - actually we had people from the house opposite parking on the grass outside our boundary, which is owned by the local government. But trying to get out on the main road, seeing past them was a nightmare. I eventually phoned the council and they put up posts to stop people parking there. I really think a fence is your only option.

Oh, so you understand my pain! I am always afraid to complain to others because people may think I'm just being ridiculous.

Unfortunately, the township won't allow a fence that close to the road. Around here, we have easements so that the township can utlize a certain number of feet of everyone's yard without permission. It's not a public space, but the township has certains rights to it. I technically own it (and pay taxes on all of my yard), yet the township gives themselves permission to use parts of it and I can't put anything "permanent" on it.

I completely understand what you mean about it being unsafe to back out... this same neighbor has a friend with a HUGE white work-van (about twice as long as a regular car). They kept parking it at the end of our driveway (sometimes overlapping our driveway by several feet), and we couldn't see to get out, nor was there enough room to safely back out of our single-lane driveway. I had to go over and tell them to stop parking it around and on top of my driveway.

Boy, I should probably just move!

Originally Posted by Belle320

This would bother me and then it would bother my husband even more. Since you are not allowed to put up a fence, you may want to find out from the township what you are allowed to do. They may allow something they dont consider "permanent". A temporary solution may be reflectors along your property line. You can find they at Home Depot or Lowes. (They are tall with red or blue reflectors.) Place them close enough together so they can't park there. It would be an relatively inexpensive alternative to putting up posts with reflectors, which I have seen people using to keep people from parking on their lawns. Good Luck.

Thanks for understanding! I like the idea of putting up the reflectors. I did try little orange flags (like they kind you might see near construction) for a while. That worked on the short-term, but they didn't weather well. Plus, it became a bit of a hassle to pull them up, mow the grass under them, and put them each back again. Still, probably worth the trouble, considering how high my blood pressure goes when I see a rude person's car in my grass.

[CinderAbby]

Ths same thing happens to us but because we live on a main street in town, it's not just part of the car they park on our lawn - they park the entire car on our lawn. And no, the neighbors never ask. We've also had people turn around on the lawn instead of using our driveway and whenever the people across the street come home, cars go around them - on our lawn. It's gotten to the point that instead of having grass to the road like we use to, we have grass, then we have a foot to a foot and a half of weeds/dirt/sand/salt. And if that were where these cars were parking and driving, it wouldn't be so much of a problem, but they always manage to go over what grass we do have. Mom always wants to do something but there's really no point. Living on a main road, we know it wouldn't take long before a fence or whatever gets put out there will be taken out by a car or a truck (a few of them have driven on the lawn too - the nice big trucks with dual wheels in the back too). So while I have no advice, I do feel your pain.

[DSNYD]

Originally Posted by CinderAbby

Ths same thing happens to us but because we live on a main street in town, it's not just part of the car they park on our lawn - they park the entire car on our lawn. And no, the neighbors never ask. We've also had people turn around on the lawn instead of using our driveway and whenever the people across the street come home, cars go around them - on our lawn. It's gotten to the point that instead of having grass to the road like we use to, we have grass, then we have a foot to a foot and a half of weeds/dirt/sand/salt. And if that were where these cars were parking and driving, it wouldn't be so much of a problem, but they always manage to go over what grass we do have. Mom always wants to do something but there's really no point. Living on a main road, we know it wouldn't take long before a fence or whatever gets put out there will be taken out by a car or a truck (a few of them have driven on the lawn too - the nice big trucks with dual wheels in the back too). So while I have no advice, I do feel your pain.

Oh, I totally feel your pain too... often times, they do park their whole car on our grass. All four tires. The picture I attached was the one from today. So many others have parked in my grass like it was a parking space!

Dear Lord - dual wheel trucks parking right on your lawn? I'd lose my mind!

Lately, we have noticed that someone across the street on the "long" side of my yard must be doing a u-turn in our grass, instead of a 3-point turn on the road (I can tell by the tire tracks in our grass). We have this problem every time a new tenant moves into one of the apartments on that side. (it's a renovated house that has 3 apartments in it) By the time we get the new tenants "trained" to stay out of our yard, new ones come in and we have to start the whole process again. Drives me NUTS!

As a bonus, the new tenants have a dog, and I caught them walking him across the street to let him relieve himself in our yard, instead of their own space. I do have my own dogs, but they are contained to a fenced in area in my yard, so I know where they go to the potty and can clean it up. A stranger has no right to bring their dog into my yard.

GRRRRRRR!

[Teresa]

Can you not have the cars towed? I'd think you could call the township and report a car abandoned on your property.
I'd be very bothered by it. What about charging them for the use of your property? Put up a sign stating "You are welcome to park here - $5 an hour. Fee collected upon arrival. All unpaid parkers will be towed"

[DSNYD]

Originally Posted by Teresa

Can you not have the cars towed? I'd think you could call the township and report a car abandoned on your property.
I'd be very bothered by it. What about charging them for the use of your property? Put up a sign stating "You are welcome to park here - $5 an hour. Fee collected upon arrival. All unpaid parkers will be towed"

I've called the police on them in the past, and the police wanted to handle it peacefully. They actually went door to door to find out if they could find the owner and move the car. That wasn't quite as satisfying as I had hoped.

I asked them to ticket it and/or tow it. They resisted ticketing it, and asked me to wait a few hours and if it was still there the next day, I could call them back. Basically, they don't feel like dealing with it - which is silly because it would give the township some fine money!

Funny you should say that (about charging). We had a different neighbor down the street who used to have HUGE July 4th parties, and all of their drunken buddies would park allllll over my yard - from one end to the other - and throw their trash and beer cans in my yard.

One year I threatened to sit outside with a cash box and a sign that said "Park here, $20". LOL

Instead, I put the orange flags up as soon as I saw this guy putting the huge tent up (one of those really large party tents you can rent). The orange flags worked that time. Sadly, I'll probably have to go back to that or buy reflectors, since people can't understand how rude it is to park in someone's yard.

[rescuesk]

No advice but lots of for having to deal with such an unpleasant situation.