Where i live it is now getting harder to find a parking place. It is mainly thanks to each house having at least two cars. When their offspring pass their driving test another car appears. Would be bearable if they park properly and not take up space for two cars. Father took a photo of me when i was 10 years old (35 years ago) standing by the road. All you could see was one car.
Won't be long before arguments flare up. I think each house should be limited to two cars. What do you think?
Header given a more meaningful title
Edited by Webmaster on 21/04/2009 at 14:19
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No I don't think each house should be limited to two cars.
I have a car, my wife and eldest son do too. next year my other son will have a car. How are we supposed to manage with just two?
Your neighbours inconsiderate parking is another issue altogether and one that blights my local community too.
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I think this is a complicated issue we have two cars in our household now (mine and my dads) and parking is an issue, thankfully most my neighbours are sensible and only have one car :). If my dad did not need his car for his job then I would just share although that would probably cause arguments.
Thankfully I live on an end terrace so parking is not quite as bad as it could be. We are all considerate and the only place I take up is my dads or the annoying office next door.
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Would be bearable if they park properly and not take up space for two cars.
Or is it a case of a big car vacating a space and a smaller car taking its place? It only takes a couple of Vectras, Mondeos, BMWs for instance to leave and a couple of Clios, KAs, Pug 106's to replace them and there are ½ parking space gaps all over the place.
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I think each house should be limited to two cars.>>
Or 2.4 children, no more than 2.4 glasses of wine or beer a week, 2.4 gallons of fuel, 2.4 pints of milk etc.
Where would such a Big Brother policy end?
Every house and every area is completely different and what would be perhaps appropriate for one road would be completely different for another.
I live in a road which is composed entirely of Victoria properties, built well before cars were the every day mode of transport of today.
Some, like me, have paved over the front garden for a parking space and a handful have even arranged with their neighbours to jointly remove the garden wall to allow a route between the houses to a garage or garages.
However, the bulk of the residents have to park on a road which is just wide enough for three vehicles abreast; even so we generally manage to get by without coming to blows over the way someone has parked, even though both sides of the road are used.
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what really needs to change is the anti car planning departments
new housing estates are only granted planning permission if they meet the anto car prejudices of our town hall planners
and they routinely force new housing to have obviously inadequate parking for the size of the houses - partly in a misguided attempt to force the population to use public transport
this badly distorts the situation
on housing estates that have been around more years than we care to remember there are other issues too, but limiting car usage is not something id like to see in a free society
they already try to force us out of the car by banning us for doing 1 mpg over a stupidly low limit a few times
etc etc
the islington elite running the labour party and most town halls is in for a backlash from the silent majority sometime soon
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retgwte, can you qualify those comments?
Reason being I recently aplied for planning permission for an extension on my house and one of the stipulations was that I must still have parking for 2 cars in my driveway? Doesn't sound anti car to me.
Having said that, I recently rented a house on a newish estate where the parking was awful, most houses had space for one in driveway but as the road was windy, sometimes the driveways were so close together there wasn't space for a car on the pavement. However I put that more down to the developers trying to use every square inch of land as opposed to any directive from the Council?
I think if those that have issues with the car parking take a step back, and are honest with themselves, then they need to ask if the house and its surrounding environment still fits their needs? If you need spaces for 4 cars and its only street parking thats available then there must come a time when you think its time to move? If you really need the 4 cars that is??
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BobbyG said "...sometimes the driveways were so close together there wasn't space for a car on the pavement. However I put that more down to the developers trying to use every square inch of land as opposed to any directive from the Council?"
Au contraire Bobby - I understand that the density of dwellings on new development is entirely down to the Council. As is the proportion of social to private housing etc. The developers submit plans which have been drawn up in accordance with Council expectations in all aspects.
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Fine if you can afford to move!
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wazza, with regard to the thread title it sounds as if you might need to go on an anger management course. You should never lose your temper with motoring related matters ~ it could lead to you making a decision which might result in damage to either human life or vehicles. Chill out.
As for the "we" in the title, please don't assume that anyone other than yourself will lose their temper over other drivers' parking habits.
Edited by L'escargot on 21/04/2009 at 08:31
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Most people could start by emptying the junk out of their garages. I can never understand why people give shelter to rubbish whilst leaving a £20,000 motor standing on the street.
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Most people could start by emptying the junk out of their garages. I can never understand why people give shelter to rubbish whilst leaving a £20 000 motor standing on the street.
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Most £20,000 cars wont fit in a new build garage even without the junk.
The answer is easy, if parking is that much of a problem, move to an area where there is plenty of space. It a rare sight to see a car parked on my street, most houses have multiple cars and room to park them off road and in a garage.
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Wazza - keep quiet. You'll end up with a residents parking zone and be limited to one car and loads of hassle to go through to get a parking pass for visitors. All of this will require an annual payment from your goodself.
If you don't live in a house with a drive on street parking will always be an issue.
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Wazza - keep quiet. You'll end up with a residents parking zone
Yep.
One thing I liked about our road in the village we live in is that no-one parked on-street. Until new next door neighbour arrived. 3 people and 5 cars - just ridiculous.
There's also a new development down the road - bear in mind this is rural will poor transport links. There was initially a requirement for a good number of parking spaces but this was reduced on appeal. So now residents park all over the grass as the front of the development - marvellous.
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This issue is getting to be a problem in my street too. Most house have parking for two cars, with typically two adults having a car each, that's fine.
These days it seems that most of the houses have teenagers who are, or are close to the age of getting their first car.
Some houses have been sensible and increased the size of their driveway and only bought small cars, so that they all fit.
The less generous have simply started parking their cars here, there and everywhere. I reckon there's about 9 more teenagers on our cul-de-sac (15 houses) about to reach the age of buying their first motor. Plus the existing 6 teenagers who have a car each already (15 houses in all...) If they all do it's going to be chaos. 15 houses + nearly 50 cars...
But what to do about it? I don't what to see regulations and fees, that's the kind of hassle and expense we could all do without. As long as I can still get in and out of my driveway (which I can 99% of the time), then no problem, I just hope the housing market drops a little so some of the little darlings can move out before the street jams up!
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How do these teenagers afford the cars and associated costs. ?
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How do these teenagers afford the cars and associated costs. ?
Three ways - bank of mum and dad, earning a wage or debt. Same way anyone affords anything.
My wife does a lot of work with a Uni based in an out of town campus. 10 years ago she could drive, park up no problems.
The uni now has a very strict policy with chargeable spaces for all - she now has to arrange meetings around times when a visitor space is available!
Despite this students still turn up in hundreds of cars every day. If you are borrowing £30,000 to get through Uni what's another few grand to run a car?
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I have a car, my wife and eldest son do too. next year my other son will have a car. How are we supposed to manage with just two? >>
That's a joke, right? Isn't it? The fact that your family currently runs three cars and plans to run four doesn't mean that running only two will cause you a problem.
What planet are you living on? Are all three of you in the cars 24 hours a day? Will all four of you be? Is there no possibility of sharing a car?
Of the cars on your "about me", which are owned by your wife and son? What about the motorbike? Is that the au pair's?
If you've lots of land to park your cars off the road, I suppose what you do is up to you, but I find it hard to sympathise with your, er, plight.
If there is no off-street parking then I think you have to limit the number of cars. We live in a Victorian street. No off-road parking. Two parking permits per house max. End of story.
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Difficult one to resolve fairly I guess. There are many streets near here where parking is permitted on both sides but has the effect of creating only enough room for one vehicle to get through at a time. This inevitably leads to log jams and creative reversing being required on a daily basis. We have no choice but to use such a road to gain access to our house and daily there are blockages.
The obvious solution at one level would be to restrict parking on such roads to one side only so as to allow the free passage of two way traffic. The downside of that of course being that this immediately halves the available parking spaces and is of course a property value / convenience problem for those who happen to live on the restricted side.
I think many of these bottlenecks could though be eased by the introduction of more one way streets. Many towns are built on a grid type pattern where alternate streets could run in opposite directions thus creating a free flow.
As an aside, it never ceases to amaze me how many people are really rubbish at reversing.
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Optimist, you need to modify your rude tone especially as you don't know my circumstances!
I'm a sales engineer, so yes my car is on the road all the time.
My wife is a community nurse, so yes her car is on the road all the time.
My son is at college so yes he needs his car.
My other son will be going to a different college, so yes he will need his car.
As for the motorbike, are you taking the mick? My bike is my hobby and is used on track days and weekends.
Just for the record, I cannot afford to move to a house with off street parking for 4 cars as even in this recession property that size in Eastbourne is in the region of £300-350K. Feel free to contribute if you like.
We live in a close and one car is in the drive and the rest on the street. It is fact of life that families need multiple cars as the days of working in your local village or town are long gone.
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My son is at college so yes he needs his car. My other son will be going to a different college so yes he will need his car.
Need? When I went to university I didn't have a car. Nor did most of the other students. We survived without cars. What's so different about your sons?
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Irrelevant. We didn't have electricity 100 years ago either, so are you suggesting we go back to gas lamps?
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Irrelevant.
No it's not, what they are saying is that your sons don't need a car, it is more convenient with one, but they could get by without it... but journey times would be longer and they are not prepared to accept that... surely thats nearer the truth?
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Two options. Your sons commute by public transport to their place of learning or they get student digs near them.
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Or the third option, which is the one in place.
And please don't feel I'm picking on you today L'Escargot, but what a bizarre argument. You didn't have computers (or a whole host of other things) when you were young so why do you need one now? Has progress completely passed you by?
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Why do you need one now? Has progress completely passed you by?
What an interesting set-to. As a contemporary of Snail's, it is clear to me that the (presumably younger?) contributors just can't get their heads around the idea of doing without a 'necessity' for more than about a week. They have got themselves into a position where 4 occupants of one house all have to be in different places 5 (10? 20?) miles away in different directions. The simplest answer to the problem seems to be to occupy road-space which is probably more fairly occupied by the neighbours. Maybe the credit crunch we are all enjoying will 'persuade' more people to postpone 'necessities' for a bit longer.
And the notion that students can't do without their own cars just sounds like over-indulgence to me. The students I have known are often happy to do without the hassle (and cost) of owning one.
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I'm younger, but not by much (in my 50s). I just don't get the argument that because something wasn't necessary/desirable/done "in our day" that it shouldn't be done now. I admit to sometimes thinking it, but then remind myself that the world has moved on since I was young.
I've got two daughters, and as a family we run 4 cars. I was keen for my daughters to drive from an early an age as possible, partly as driving brings independence and pleasure, and partly because it's essential for most people these days - also IMO it's easier to learn when you are young and more motivated to do it.
They are both at Uni. One leaves her car at home as she doesn't need it at Uni, the other needs it as her course includes placements which can be anywhere in a large area (Birmingham Health authority) which can be at unsocial hours. it also means she can explore the part of the world she is living in in her spare time. In this particular case, the fact of what may have been the norm 30+ years ago never crossed my mind.
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But the issue in this thread is not so much what was done 'in our day', but about where all the 'essential' cars are parked. I hope your neighbours are not too inconvenienced.
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V8 man asked how he could "manage" but now says I don't know his "circumstances".
I know Eastbourne. What colleges are your sons attending? Public transport isn't at all bad. Why can't they go on the bus? Or what about a pushbike or a moped?
Your final sentence makes no sense: the fact of the matter is that your kids aren't at work and I'd have thought a fourth car is simply self-indulgence, IMHO.
You say you've a drive and park a car on it. Have you got a garage? If so, what's that used for?
I still think you're not in the real world. I don't intend to be rude. That's what it sounds like to me.
Edited by Optimist on 24/04/2009 at 11:02
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My garage is a workshop and is home to my motorbike. The car would just about fit if the garage was completely empty.
My eldest son does work in between college for your information. I have no intention of telling you what colleges they go to as it is none of your business.
You obviously don't know Eastbourne as well as you think you do or you wouldn't make the comment about public transport. It has got marginally better since Stagecoach took over.
I am in the real world. Perhaps your right and the bots could make do with push bikes and buses, but why should they? Please don't get on your soap box about saving the environment. The thread was about inconsiderate parking and losing your temper.
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v8man says >> My garage is a workshop and is home to my motorbike. The car would just about fit if the garage was completely empty...The thread was about inconsiderate parking and losing your temper. >>
You joined the thread asking how your family was supposed to "manage" with only two car spaces when you went up to four cars.
If you put one car in your "workshop" you, or rather your neighbours, would have less of a problem. I don't own a soap box and my concern isn't environmental, though it's people like you who get car owners a bad name by thinking of no-one but themselves.
How many four car families can your street stand? It's just not a practical proposition for people who live in average houses on small sites to have four cars.
All the best.
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" though it's people like you who get car owners a bad name by thinking of no-one but themselves".
What a sanctomonius and judgemental person you are. I have already explained my situation and yet you still bang on about how selfish I am.
It must be great to be perfect like you. However, as I have previously said, this is the real world. I don't have the funds to move to a bigger house or to keep moving when I change jobs. As I'm sure you are aware this is not an option as my wife works as well.
I cannot put a car in my workshop as I have also mentioned previously (do you actually read the posts?) and neither I or my neighbours have a problem as you incorectly assume. The close is full of multi-vehicle occupancies and we all park considerately of each other. There has never been an altercation.
While I'm at it I would like to point out that recently this forum seems to be attracting more than it's fair share of whiter than white all knowing experts on everything. So many threads are being hijacked by the 'experts' and posters asking simple questions get environmental advice, advice on how to live their life, number of cars they should own or slapping down instead of the answer they originall y sought.
When I first joined Honest John it never used be like this. Now whenever I post I sit back in trepidation wondering which 'expert' is going to tell me how to live my life.
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When I first joined Honest John it never used be like this. Now whenever I post I sit back in trepidation wondering which 'expert' is going to tell me how to live my life.
I am sorry if you think I am telling you how to live your life. My suggestion was that if parking is a big problem, then moving is an option. Obvously it is only one, and an extreme one which will only apply as a last resort. I have certainly taken access, parking, off road parking, and garage space into account when I have moved house along with flood risk and sloping ground etc. Now retired, I wont be moving again so problem over for me.
Edited by Old Navy on 01/05/2009 at 13:17
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Sorry Old Navy I wasn't specifically refering to you.
I would love to move to somewhere where I could get the cars off the road, but with the current climate it's not going to happen.
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No problem, long may you park in peace. :)
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How do these teenagers afford the cars and associated costs. ?
They use the same system as always,,, C.O.D. ( Call On Daddy )
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The Japanese address this problem (or have done in the recent past) by preventing the purchase of a car without evidence that you have parking space for it. A bit draconian, but it has sense. What other bulky item might you own, and assume an inalienable right to leave in a public highway obstructing it? The over-riding purpose of a road is for travel, not leaving large items of property.
And the Japanese motor industry doesn't seem to have suffered too much because of it - tho they also operate a draconian MoT which supports a thriving export trade in used cars ...
Edited by Andrew-T on 21/04/2009 at 12:24
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This reminds me of the sociological experiment with monkeys and bananas IIRC. Six monkeys in a laboratory were given six bananas to eat at lunchtime and there was harmony. At subsequent feeding times they were given first five bananas and later seven and all hell broke loose.
There must be a mathematical algorithm showing that it is possible to distribute cars and parking spaces such that driver A of house 5 takes drivers B and D and also driver F of house 9 (on alternate Tuesdays) to street G (which is largely car free) to collect their respective cars and they then drive to work. The process is repeated in reverse in the evening.
But at the end of the day we're selfish monkeys and we all want our own banana...
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I live in a cul-de-sac of 16 houses, all have one single garage and (originally) one parking place although approx. half of the houses (mine included - previous occupant!) have had an additional off road space constructed.
Only 5 of the 16 keep a car in their garage.
One of the 5 parked a Mercedes in his garage until he changed it for a Celica so i don't agree that modern garages will only accept a small car. It just takes a bit of effort and practice.
We have 3 cars and I always keep my wife's car in the garage even though it means some shunting around of cars as she leaves first and my son is inevitably last home.
If we are expecting friends to visit I always move my car off the drive in advance and park it in the next street (in a large parking layby, not outside anybody's house and always with free spaces) so my visitors can park on the drive and don't block the road.
Most people arn't so considerate, I'm frequently obstructed and the one communal 2 space parking layby (for visitors) in the close is usually taken up by a Mummy's Scenic parked right in the centre occupying both spaces as she can't be bothered to manoever onto her driveway!
Jacks
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usually taken up by a Mummy's Scenic parked right in the centre occupying both spaces as she can't be bothered to manoever onto her driveway!
Don't get me started. There is a lady up the (Edwardian) street from me who drives a Polo (!) and can not park it in her off road parking spot. It's big enough, she just can't get it through the gap due to incompetence.
Not only that, she can not parallel park it in front of her own house if the spaces in front of her two neighbours' houses are occupied. My house is nearer the end of the street and, when she returns from the 0.5 mile school run, usually just dumps it in the first easy space in the street - in front of my house - and about 3 feet from the kerb at about a 25 degree angle.
Then, other neighbours return home from work and I end up parking miles from my own house (no off road parking) and having to cart my small children and their baggage across the street and down the pavement.
I have been trying to move to a house with off road parking for a year partly because of this. I'd be there now if my succession of blasted timewasters had been able to get their mortgages sorted out.................
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>>i don't agree that modern garages will only accept a small car.It just takes a bit of effort and practice.
We have a large garage by modern standards, and yet it is impossible to fit either of our cars in without getting rid of the tumble dryer (no room in the house for that either).
Trust me, if I even suggest getting rid of the tumble dryer, SWMBO will soon get ideas of getting rid of me!! :)
Similar problems exist in most households, although, yes laziness can be a problem.
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We have a large garage by modern standards and yet it is impossible to fit either of our cars in without getting rid of the tumble dryer (no room in the house for that either).
Don't forget that tumble driers can be stacked on top of washing machines.
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Tumble dryer? In today's economic climate?
You could put a washing line in the garage.
Or a carousel type washing line in the garden and erect a cheap gazebo over it in bad weather.
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I agree with both the above sentiments, but SWMBO wouldn't have it any other way.... :)
Looking around the neighbours when their garage doors are open, I don't think I'm unique in having this "problem"!
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What other bulky item might you own and assume an inalienable right to leave in a public highway obstructing it? >>
I've been saying that for years in connection with damage and insurance. If I left a £20,000 antique in the street overnight, wouldn't it be my own fault if it were damaged or pinched? Would I be considered mad if I tried to find someone to insure it?
The difficulty is that the whole economy has been allowed to develop on the proviso that car possession and use is essential. It is only now, as the car-driving economy finally winds down, that anyone has thought to question its wisdom. So it doesn't really matter for much longer - just hang on, and contain your anger, and either the economy will collapse or someone will think of a better way of getting people to work, or work to people.
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- just hang on and contain your anger and either the economy will collapse or someone will think of a better way of getting people to work or work to people.
In my younger days I either found jobs that I could get to from my existing house without having a car, or (when I changed to a job in a different area) I moved to a house that would enable me to get to my new job without having a car.
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found jobs that I could get to from my existing house without having a car
Driving the M62 always makes me think how absurd it is that so many people are communting in opposite directions - what don't they all just swop jobs!
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In my younger days I either found jobs that I could get to from my existing house without having a car, or (when I changed to a job in a different area) I moved to a house that would enable me to get to my new job without having a car.
This does seem a rather topsy-turvy way of going about things, if you don't mind me saying.
If you initially only took jobs (the 'younger days') that didn't require car usage - surely you limit the scope of jobs (and perhaps advancement?) for the notional 'benefit' of not owning a car: a bigger job market - made possible by a car- amy have found a better job & paid for the car!
The 2nd instance: you move house rather than get a car! Even more extraordinairy! What's the cost & risk of complete upheaval against staying where you are & getting a car to the job?
For all the uses & reasons of car ownership, I'd have thought that ease & opportunity for work would be number 1 on the list.
Edited by woodbines on 22/04/2009 at 09:52
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The 2nd instance: you move house rather than get a car! Even more extraordinairy! What's the cost & risk of complete upheaval against staying where you are & getting a car to the job?
In my line of work, to have any chance of finding another job in a reasonable length of time I had to move a considerable distance. I couldn't afford a car so I had to move to a (rented) house near to my new job. I progressed to owning a car, but when I actually bought my first house, I had to sell my car in order to be able to afford furniture. So the first house I bought had to be near my job. You might call me old-fashioned for never having bought anything on the drip (other then having a mortgage), but that has been my life-long policy. "Never a lender or a borrower be."
Edited by L'escargot on 22/04/2009 at 10:09
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You might call me old-fashioned for never having bought anything on the drip (other then having a mortgage), but that has been my life-long policy. "Never a lender or a borrower be."
Quite agree. If more people shared that outlook, our economy might have enjoyed a more sustainable & resilient progress. What seems to escape many is that the credit purchase is a one-off - you're in just the same position if you 'put away' the notional credit installments in advance , then pay cash - and save the finance charges.
I bought one item 30-odd years ago (- which was promptly stolen!) then 'enjoyed' the next 2 years paying for it on credit . That cathartic experience taught me a valuable lesson - and the theft 'loss' turned out to be worth every penny in modifying my subsequent attitude to 'real money' vs. credit.
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"Never a lender or aborrower be." Quite agree. If more people shared that outlook our economy might have enjoyed a more sustainable & resilient progress.
Just a tad flawed that, if no one went into debt financial institutions would employ less people, but most importantly instead of being paid interest on your savings you'd have to pay them to look after your money and for completing your transactions.
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I moved to a house that would enable me to get to my new job without having a car.
If you're a homeowner, you can't do that now - the stamp duty stops it being sensible.
As a result I commuted 200 miles a day for a period rather than move house. Not good for me or the environment!
Edited by Marlot on 24/04/2009 at 10:27
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recently in my area they introduced residential parking because the locals were complaining about the parking situation, now all the streets are half empty during the day and more or less deserted during the college term breaks, a lot of the parking was caused by the infirmary staff and nurses , goodness knows where they park now, even i dont qualify for a residents parking permit so i have to drive about 1/3 of a mile down mostly empty streets so that i can park outside of the permit zone...madness
Edited by Webmaster on 22/04/2009 at 01:17
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When Basildon New Town was built(1950's),it was designed with one parking space for every four houses;now any new property built there comes with two spaces per house.In our street-five minutes walk from town centre,a residents' parking scheme has been excellent.Before it's introduction,every space in the street was taken by commuters before 7-00 am.Every house in our road has off-street parking(alleys at back) but everyone parks in the street.
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(Basildon) now any new property built there comes with two spaces per house.
I think that's unusual - in most places now they restrict the number of spaces as councils think it will encourage people to use public transport.
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Planning rules should be one off street space PER bedroom plus 1 - and the Japanese have the right idea.
Why buy a house if it has a parking problem - we looked for one with parking for five cars off road including garages (had 4 and two went in the garage) - now down to two. With two on the drive there is still room for a visitors car.
Why buy a house where installing a tumble drier stops you putting the car in the garage? We have a chest freezer and tumble drier in ours and still fitted two cars in (granted not the Accord or Octavia) - try putting in a shelf for the drier - they are not very heavy and only need to be raised 3ft for the bonnet to go underneath.
Why buy a car bigger than you need - You just compound the problem.
Try reading "the philosopher and the Wolf" and ask yourself if you are a wolf (honest and open) or an ape (selfish and deceitful)!
Generally we are apes and don't just want our banana but also Bilboman's seventh banana.
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I believe builders/councils have a lot to answer for this. As new estates built over the last 15 years or so have garages built that can?t have cars parked in them and driveways for one car. In my view they jam in as many houses as they can get away with.
My semi was built in 1975 and I can park 4 cars on my drive and there is a good 15 ft between houses.
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Completely agree about the builders and councils being responsible for this issue. Looking around my town, there is a rule of thumb - parking space has a direct relationship to age: the newer the property the less space allocated to parking, amongst other things.
That's ignoring the Victorian terraces, of which there are few round here.
My house was built in 1984 and has a garage 18.5ft long by 9ft wide. Just big enough to fit my S80 in, providing I don't have too much junk in there. But even then, I'd barely have room to physically get around the car.
New houses round here typically have garages of about 16ft by 8ft. I'd need a sunroof and a roof mounted winch to get me out my car in one of those! That's if the car would even fit through the door...
For Mondeo Man, the 2009 Ford Mondeo has dimensions: 16ft long by 6.5ft wide (roughly) - with the thick modern doors I doubt you could even get out with the 1.5ft left (at least a few inches needed on the LHS!) and nothing else could be kept in the garage at all.
When you consider how little storage space a modern house has, the garage is about the only place to stick a lot of stuff. Especially stuff like wheelie bins and recycling boxes that we must have these days too..
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..Try reading "the philosopher and the Wolf" and ask yourself if you are a wolf (honest and open) or an ape (selfish and deceitful)!...
M'thinks there are many selfish apes who deceive themselves and try to deceive others into thinking they are wolves.
Me? I am the apeman - goo-goo-ga-joob!
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The trouble re the garages is more the car manufacturers fault rather than the builders, as an example, both my Roomster and Maxi (and the old Fabia Estate) are pretty much the same size and all three can fit in my garage...
Both the Modern cars are regarded as Supermini/Mini MPV size whereas the Maxi's modern day equivelent would probably be somewhere between a Mondeo and Focus (Octavia?!), but none of those three would fit 'cause they've grown too big... I know that some of that is safety related, but its also down to people buying the things when in reality they don't actually need a car that big...
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You can't deny that garages are getting smaller though. If they were the same size they were 20-30 years ago, it wouldn't matter that modern cars are bigger, they'd still fit - just!
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All the houses in my road have room for at least 2 cars in their drives and many have room for 3 of even 4. But do they park all their cars in the drive, no!. Why, because they obviously don't want to have to shuffle them around should someone want anything but the car at the end of the drive. So you can have a drive a mile long and still people will park on the road because they are lazy or can't actually plan which order the cars will leave in the mornings. I ofter have visitors who park in the road and when I say "why don't you park in the drive" they say "no, I'll be ok where I am! I know where I'd rather trust my car.
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Sooner or later there will have to be some regulation that you can not purchase a car without a place to park it.
There is simply not enough room, if every adult wishes to park a car near their home.
MVP
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We are lucky to have a garage (bike goes in there) and parking for 4 cars at a push on our drive. Our close has a time-limited parking restriction to prevent commuters using it (no parking between 0800 and 1000) which is actually very effective. Only blot on the horizon is the family opposite who regularly use up most of the turning space with 1 x land cruiser, 1 x yaris, 1 x LWB sprinter van, 1 x BMW 320d coupe. They also have a huge trailer and a garage full of stuff. There are only 3 of them... Needless to say they aren't popular. Actually the other blot is the people who park to go to the GP surgery, and seem to think its ok to park on our close so badly that you can hardly get between them. Grr!
I would consider parking to be a big factor in choosing a house now. A garage I could live without (as long as I had a covered area for my bike), but OSP is a must. Agree that more modern houses seem to fair worse for garages; also on gardens it seems.
BW to all,
Alex.
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You can't deny that garages are getting smaller though.
Not so sure about that, back in the 60s and 70s the standard gargae size was 16x8, I didn't think that has changed, certainly looking at garage adverts, though cars definitely have got much larger...
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Really? Where did you get that from? From what I can see on-line, up until the 90s most single garages were around 17-19ft long and around 8.5ft wide.
They might not have got much narrower, but they're definitely shorter from what I can see.
I actually found a few modern garages that were only 12ft long. Clearly designed to be more of an indoor shed rather some somewhere to park cars.
Edited by TheOilBurner on 22/04/2009 at 15:09
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A new flat development near my office has permission for (I think) 40 odd flats (or apartments as they insist on calling them). Permission has only been given for 20 odd parking spaces. Dont you just know that the overspill will end up on the street outside the office, where many of my colleagues currently park daily.
Thankfully the builders seem to have run out of money, so the project won't be finished anytime soon.
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Really? Where did you get that from? From what I can see on-line up until the 90s most single garages were around 17-19ft long and around 8.5ft wide.
Thats exterior dimensions, the 16x8 is the interior, and it was from a brochure of garages I used to have when we built a standard one on our house about 20 years ago...
Its actually backed up by some plans books I have for another hobby, who quote the interior dimensions of a 'standard' garage as 16x8... the books were published in the 70s...
I'd agree that a "Garage" 12' long should be called a "Shed" though!! Thats taking the P!
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Many years ago I had the bright idea to buy a small dinghy ans outboard,I lived in kent and we frequently spent days at Herne Bay,Broadstais etc.I quickly found it was'nt as simple as that,this was in the early fifties but even then there were charges for launching and when I progressed to larger craft mooring fees etc.This has coloured my thinking that if you want a car you should have a place to keep it.
I will now retire to my bombproof shelter.
ndbw
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I work in Brent, and the council has in the past given permission for blocks of flats with 0 parking spaces, and the blocks are on a black-list meaning they can't get residents permits for the surroudning side streets. It's a joke, because the flat owners just get friendly with neighbours not in the block and get visitor's permits for their addresses, further adding to the shortage of aprking in the area!
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The answer to all this car parking marlarkey is quite simple - UNDERGROUND!
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Land in this country is a finite and expensive resource. As has been said, most houses here were built before the age of one car per adult resident.
While we sometimes have the opportunity to park on the road, we don't have the always have the right, and where land is scarce/expensive, we expect to pay to park (shopping centres/cities/airports etc?.
Land is just as scarce in many residential areas, and most new-build apartments have limited (if any) car park spaces allocated.
Just because you want to park at home does not mean you don't have to pay for it.
You have choices:
Move closer to your place of work/study so you can walk/cycle
Use public transport
Move to a property with adequate private spaces (ie bigger drive)
We built a drive/yard at home. SWMBO thought I was crazy to have parking for six cars, when we only had two. As I speak there are five cars parked outside, and a visitor is due. If needs be we can park fifteen or more cars here, though some would be blocked in. Try a few barbeques for your adult-ish kids and you'll see that fifteen is not a big number!
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Try a few barbeques for your adult-ish kids and you'll see that fifteen is not a big number!
How frequent would these barbecues need to be for building such a parking area to be cost-effective? :-)
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"How frequent would these barbecues need to be for building such a parking area to be cost-effective? :-)"
True, but I also needed space to turn the horse-lorry round, and the marginal time and materials were not an issue - I laid 100 tons of crushed concrete 30cm deep as the base!
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Just a thought, have a private car park organization manage the street parking. Then everyone could argue with them instead of each other. Heh
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This doesn't help.
My mum is thinking of chopping Volvo V50 for something smaller, especially since it only just squeezes into the garage (built 10 years ago). Having only ever driven Volvos, naturally she is drawn towards the newish C30, a hatch rather than an estate.
Width of a V50 - 1770 cm
Width of a C30 - 1782 cm
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