The parent turned to social media for advice over her parking problem
A mum has shared her dilemma after finding a parking cone in the space she normally uses for school drop-offs. Turning to Mumsnet for advice, the parent explained she usually drives her children to school and then leaves her car parked there for the day.
Her post claimed: “I have a tight turnaround for the school run each morning as need to catch a train to office (commute to London). The only way to make it logistically possible is to drive to school breakfast club, drop kids off at 7.30ish then walk to station near school so I can get to office for 9am. Then the car is there when I pick up at 6pm later in the day so I can make pickup easily too.
“School is on a residential road, with on street open marked parking spaces there are usually a few spaces at 7.30 with no timing restrictions, I assume as some residents have left for work.
“However, I’ve noticed since the new term has started, a random traffic cone has been put in the middle a couple of the spaces, which I believe has been put there by those living on the road to stop people parking outside their house.
“If this is the case, would you think it would be unreasonable to move the cone to park if there is no other close by parking space?”
According to the RAC, “It is perfectly legal to park outside someone’s house, unless the vehicle is blocking a driveway or a wheel is over a dropped kerb. Where no parking controls exist, drivers do not have an ‘automatic spot’ for parking outside their homes.”
As such, the driver is within her rights to park on the road near her children’s school, provided there are no restrictions. However, some Mumsnet users advised against the idea when responding to the post.
One commenter wrote: “You absolutely could move it, but the fact that they’ve put it there indicates that it’s clearly a problem for them. People who put cones out might be willing to go to “next steps” if you park there anyway.
“To be honest I don’t think I’d be thrilled about a car being dumped outside my house for 9 or 10 hours a day, Monday to Friday. It’s not illegal to do it, but it’s crappy, you can see their point.”
However, another reply said: “Presuming you’re legally parked, complying with permit restrictions etc. then I would definitely move the cones.
“The homeowner with the cones is being ridiculous. They’ve presumably made a choice (assuming that the school isn’t brand new) to live in a house without a driveway on a busy road with a school so can’t reasonably complain about a legally parked car near their house.”