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Here's what happened, I parked my van in front of their house. My block is "no parking anytime" on one side of the block (it's about 8 ft. wide street). One morning, the husband came to me and told me to move my van and do not park on the spot in front of their house because "she (the wife) needs to park her car there!". I said to him that it's the public space and I left to take my child to school then, my husband talked to him and then, moved the van to one spot behind because he didn't want to have any problem with this couple (they seem like strange people).
This morning, our van got the orange tag required to add 1 mile (it's driven, I've just drove it yesterday!). Living in the neighborhood for many years that does not mean anyone own the public space in front of their house. Am I correct?
Peace,
Xxx
You are. The *people* own the street, whilst sidewalks are usually an easement. This is why the City of Oakland can post parking regulations, like the no parking sins on your side of the street. If you "owned" the street in front of your own house, parking regulations would require payment for the impaired value of the spot.
she (the wife) needs to park her car there
If she is disabled, and requires nearby parking and close parking is not available on the property, she should call up the City of Oakland and request a disabled parking space. She will have to show proof of disability.
You may also have a nasty and vindictive neighbor, as *someone* apparently turned in a false police report about your vehicle.
Making a false police report is a crime, last I looked, so your husband may have the best idea.
Crazy people only get crazier…
you are absolutely correct, it's public property. and your story sounds sadly familiar ;-) i too have a neighbor who is extremely protective of their front space and will run out and tell people to move their cars if they park there. the surrounding neighbors consequently don't park there just to avoid being bothered. apparently, this is not unusual when i asked around — there are some people who are very territorial of their front parking space and/or sidewalk even. however, you are right, it's public property so they have no right to demand anything.
however, most people that live in the bay live on tight streets and most people adhere to an unspoken courteous code of parking in front of their own homes as space is limited — it's also not neighborly to hog other people's front spaces *if you don't have to*. however, when visitors come, everyone understands that sometimes other people's spaces need to be used. just as long as people don't abuse it.
usually, the parking police do not issue an orange warning tag unless they have monitored your car for at least 3 days. the rule is you must drive your car at least 1 mile every 3 days if parked on a public street. but given Oakland’s money problems, they're probably issuing them without the monitoring. btw, you can park your car *in the exact same spot* after driving it at least 1 mile if you want to. but, i would keep a mileage log in case you have further problems of being tagged by your neighbor's complaints so you can prove you've moved it. usually, however, if you talk to the cop that works your neighborhood, you can tell them you live there and often they will ignore any calls by an annoying neighbor who just wants your car moved from their front space.
good luck!
In my experience, this isn't about parking. Parking is probably the symptom of some other grievance or series of grievances. Perhaps both parties have contributed — goodness knows we're all human and subject to petty stuff.
I suggest you stop parking in front of this neighbor's house. Yes, you probably have a legal right to park there, but why assert it? Either you park somewhere else and walk, or she does. Might as well be you.
I appreciate the practicality of —-‘s suggestion to park somewhere else just to avoid a neighbor hassle.
But in principle I disagree.
Part of living in an urban environment is learning to share public space. I routinely encounter individuals on BART or AC Transit who act as though they own two seats. Understandably, perhaps, they don't want to share the space next to them. But they have no right to make life unreasonable for other people.
Hogging a parking spot is the same thing: It's wrong. None of us owns the street in front of our home.
Like second-graders, we have to learn to share. I encourage the use of civilly worded messages left on windshields and in mailboxes.
Especially since the street is "No Parking Anytime" on the side of the street the original poster lives on, which some of the respondents seem to have overlooked.
No matter what one thinks about "courtesy," or the advisability of parking in front of your own house, this particular limited resource is implicitly shared by all, and any sensible person should be able to grasp this simple concept. Are the "disadvantaged" people on the "wrong side" of the street supposed to take taxies everywhere? Buy a bicycle instead? If the poster parks a car at all, it will necessarily be in front of someone's house, and it won't be her own.
Maybe the city could arrange for the "No Parking" signs to alternate prohibitions every other day, and see how the selfish individual likes having *no* parking space on which to lay a specious claim.