Home › Forums › West Seattle Rants & Raves › Neighborhood Parking?
- This topic is empty.
-
AuthorPosts
-
June 28, 2013 at 5:13 am #608025
KayJayParticipantHi All,
We live in the Admiral / Belvidere neighborhood. We live right on Admiral Way and have a spot for one car and park the other in the neighborhood. There are no parking signs and there is plenty of street parking as most houses have garages and there are very few if any apartment buildings or duplexes.
Today we found a very nasty note on our car that read: Dear Driver, This is not a park and ride. We the neighbors (guess I am not included as a neighbor although I live a 1/2 a block away) would appreciate if you would find another spot to park. Thank you for your corporation (yes they misspelled that word).
Needless to say it did not feel good to find that note on our car. So I ask the question – do people in West Seattle feel the parking space in front of their house belongs to them? Is this O.K with everyone?? Is this neighborly protocol? I would really like to know.
June 28, 2013 at 5:54 am #792442
datamuseParticipantI’ve heard of this happening in a few places, and yeah, some people do seem to feel that way. I think it’s pretty obnoxious, but I lived in the Capitol Hill/First Hill area before moving to West Seattle and frequently had to park half a mile or more from my apartment.
If you know who left it, maybe a visit is in order? If not, you could always leave a response that says, “Dear Neighbor, I live here. Thanks for the warm welcome!” :D
June 28, 2013 at 6:18 am #792443
dhgParticipantI once parked to look at a home for sale in Fauntleroy. There were no convenient spots, forcing me to choose something a block away, near a fence that had a no parking sign. The sign was not a City sign but something the owner posted on his fence. The laws are clear that property owners do not own the spots on the street. When I returned to my car an hour later there was a squad car with a puzzled officer inside. He said someone had reported my car as blocking the intersection. As he was telling me this, I saw the property owner duck behind his RV. I told the officer that my car hadn’t moved in the past hour and it was clearly legally parked. He drove off but really, he should have cited the guy for a false report.
June 28, 2013 at 7:36 am #792444
trickycooljParticipantMy friends in Greenlake have similar issues on their block long street. Everyone pretty much knows (or should know) each others cars though they shuffle spots most days depending how many lake visitors clog the street after work. Yet even so, sometimes this older couple across the street still insists on calling the abandoned car hotline on them. Not really sure why, 30-something bachelors too much to comprehend? Worried cars out front could drag down the curb appeal of their Pepto Pink house with 80s Astro Van in the driveway? It’s like, way to be neighborly, they’ve rented the same place for gosh 6 or 7 years and had the same cars. Some folks are just bizarre unfortunately.
June 28, 2013 at 3:16 pm #792445
KayJayParticipantdatamuse: We did knock on the door – no answer, so we went across the street and asked that neighbor about the note. He said the author of the note lived in the house we were parked in front of and that they owned a very large truck – a truck so large they cannot fit it into their own drive way and garage (maybe we could park in the empty private parking space they can’t use – hah!), so they “claim” the space in front of their house as theirs and everyone in the neighborhood complies. Then he told us pretty much everyone in the neighborhood thinks the spot in front of their house is theirs, but that people park on Olga without problems. Really? Anyway – we took over a note and dropped in their mail box, letting them know that note was about the most un-neighborly act we have encountered. I guess I come away with some people need the “right” to take up more space than the rest of us – it’s kinda – well – disgusting. We moved our car back to 38th street where no one had a problem with us parking there – and we will stay away from unfriendly 39th. So I will be proactive on behalf of my neighbors, Do not park in front of anyones house on 39th between Olga and Admiral – they all “claim the front of their houses as private parking, although it’s not a private community – it is a private community *sigh*.
June 28, 2013 at 5:06 pm #792446
GinaParticipantI observe the 72 hour rule before checking if neighbors have visitors or if they have a new car I don’t recognize. I used to wait a week, but with all the stolen vehicles being left here or there, I want to resolve that sort of thing quickly. At that point I leave a note on the windshield asking if the vehicle has been abandoned. At that point I give it another week before calling the abandoned car hotline.
About a week after that the city will ticket the vehicle. At that point someone usually materializes out of nowhere and gets really upset.
June 28, 2013 at 5:41 pm #792447
EdSaneParticipantI’m one of those people who park a block away from my Apt. I usually park in the same spot everyday. Only issue I ever encountered is that when I got put onto the night rotation at work every week my tires would get chalked. I was pretty amused that someone was clearly taking the time to call in my car. The guy eventually stopped or parking enforcement stopped responding. My philosophy is just to keep parking in the exact same spot each time (even if there is a closer spot), work your way into the rhythm of the neighborhood and no one will give your car a second glance after awhile.
June 28, 2013 at 8:16 pm #792448
Ms. SparklesParticipantI’m with Ed. I don’t live quite near enough to 39th between Olga and Admiral – but if I did I would throw a big party and tell everyone to park on that block. What a bunch of entitled tools.
We have only 1 car and a single car garage we park it in. So the street in front of our house is always available and generally filled with a neighbor’s car. I follow the 72 hr rule, and have only ever had to make a call once….car was gone by the time parking enforcement came to check it out.
June 28, 2013 at 8:23 pm #792449
SmittyParticipantI have a question.
I totally get that we do not own the parking spots in front of our homes, it is really just common courtesy. However, like dressing up for the airplane or baseball game, some things change. This is one of them.
That said, people should “try” and park in front of their homes. I see a lot of people in our neighborhood who park in front of someone else’s home when they could have easily parked in front of theirs. I think that’s odd – and rude.
Also, since none of us really “own” our parking strips, does that mean some kid could legally hold a lemonade stand on “my” parking strip without recourse? Could someone plant themselves there and have a picnik?
June 28, 2013 at 10:27 pm #792450
EdSaneParticipant@Smitty, you own what you paid for nothing more or less. No need to feel so entitled.
June 28, 2013 at 10:34 pm #792451
seaopgalParticipantOff topic, but why are there two threads for the same OP?
June 29, 2013 at 12:29 am #792452
KayJayParticipantseaopgal:
There are two threads because I posted the first one in the wrong place and could not for the life of me figue out how to delete it – this is my first post – so if anyone wants to fill me in on how to delete the other one please clue me in.
June 29, 2013 at 5:54 pm #792453
WFMembersmitty post #9 i presume the kid’s have gotten the proper licensing from seattle and pay the appropriate b & o taxes.
parking is likely to become a bigger challenge as the city allows large residential projects to provide zero parking that makes zero sense.
June 30, 2013 at 5:11 am #792454
QueenieParticipantEventually, I would guess that a lot of West Seattle neighborhoods will end up moving towards city-issued parking permits.
In particular, I am thinking of that poor residential neighborhood that’s just south (I think its south?) of all the apartment buildings that have gone up in the vicinity of the YMCA. Most (all?) of those buildings have less parking than the people in them have cars, and most of the street parking immediately around them is 2-hour. Consequently, I’m told from one of my friends that lives in one of those buildings that everyone parks in the residential neighborhood on the other side of Alaska. She says its gotten really crowded over there and that there’s been a few incidents of things like paint being thrown on cars and that sort of thing.
It goes without saying that that sort of behavior is NEVER okay, of course, and as everyone’s already noted street parking is all fair game… BUT… I can’t help but feel a measure of sympathy for the people that lived in that area and happily parked wherever they wanted for years, were able to have friends over, etc… and then in the last year its like they’re suddenly trying to park on the street in midtown Manhattan. Its just poor planning, IMO, and an example that this blithe assumption that just by not accommodating any more cars people will just stop driving is completely stupid and untenable and bound to result in a ton of unintended consequences.
So yes. My guess the next step is those people petitioning for city-enforced neighborhood parking permits, pushing all those cars somewhere else.
June 30, 2013 at 2:48 pm #792455
KayJayParticipant@Queenie, You know what is disturbing about that, is how people react to their neighbors, as if the choice to find parking is a deliberate act to make their life harder or to infringe on some sort of rights they gave themselves. I do understand frustration with over crowding but to take it out on an individual is really messed up. The permits will not help the situation have you seen Capital Hill or Wallingford??? The area that will receive the permits will be large enough to include the areas that need to spill over to allow everyone to park. I know a convenience that once was there is lost, but the battle over that convenience is not between neighbors – it would be better to come together and decide what kind of communities we would like to live in and then go to the city planning meetings if people are that passionate about their neighborhoods.
And one more thing @Smitty, If a kid put up a lemon aide stand on my front lawn I would buy some from the kid and if someone decided the side of the road was a good place to picnic I would ask if they were comfortable and let them know the views at Lincoln Park were far better than the hub caps of the car parked in front of them – but they would be welcome to be there all the same. I love the way people drag in hypothetical situations that that have a reality probability of none to prove a stupid point, but seriously – would it kill ya if it happened? You might meet a new neighbor *shudder*
June 30, 2013 at 6:37 pm #792456
SJoyParticipantKayJay… I think I know who you are, you must live in the yellow house :) If that is you, you walk your dogs by our house daily.. Sorry you have had such a problem with this and I’m glad you responded to his note.
I could, however, see that he might think someone is using it as a park and ride with the bus stop right there. At least now he knows that you are a neighbor. I personally would keep parking there … but that’s just my vindictive side LOL
Welcome to the neighborhood!
June 30, 2013 at 7:23 pm #792457
SmittyParticipant“And one more thing @Smitty, If a kid put up a lemon aide stand on my front lawn I would buy some from the kid…”
I would too, don’t get me wrong. I was asking a question I really did not know the answer to. If people can just camp, play badmitten or throw lawn darts on “my” (not mine, I get it) parking strip, great. It would be a little weird, but since it is city property they are entitled to use it apparently.
July 1, 2013 at 4:16 am #792458
KayJayParticipant@SJoy, Howdy neighbor! Thanks for the welcome – you are right about the bus stop – it was the tone of that note and the assumption that irked me the most, but it has been a couple of days now and I got a very nice hello from a friendly neighbor (that would be you) so – all roads lead to good things after all : )
@Smitty, Sorry if I took that the wrong way (I really am sorry). There are loitering laws and I sure if someone was destructive or a nuisance there would be something you could do about it
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.