Parking puts the breaks on neighbourhood relationships
- July 25, 2017
- Posted by: Alan Feldberg
- Category: Industry News
Parking is becoming an increasing problem in the UK, as our roads become more and more congested and multi-car families have become the norm. This has led to an increase in neighbourly disputes, with more than half (57%) of all UK residents admitting to falling out with their neighbours over parking, and parking problems being behind three quarters (76%) of all neighbourly rifts.
According to a new survey conducted by independent car leasing and supply professionals, OSV Ltd, the main argument between neighbours isn’t loud music, hedges or fences, it’s parking, with men being almost three times more likely to begin a parking rift than women. It’s reached the point where 10% of us would actually put off going out to avoid losing a parking spot.
While we might only be driving our vehicles for an average four per cent of the time, some of us do still have places to go, which has led 67% of drivers to get creative in a bid to prevent other vehicles from parking in their spots. While the traffic cone retains its popularity and is used by 19% of people to mark their parking territory, other DIY options have also started appearing. It has been found that 20% of people surveyed put up their own private parking sign, with five per cent painting their house number in the space. Almost a tenth admitted that they had blocked the space with a bike or similar so that the space was theirs when they got home. A further one per cent had even gone so far as to install a lockable fold down post, preventing anyone else from benefitting from the space when they were not using it.
OSV co-director, Andrew Kirkley, comments, ‘From the outside, parking seems like a risible issue to get so many people hot under the collar, but with more than a quarter of those surveyed saying that the stress of neighbourhood parking wars had affected their health, it’s not really a laughing matter.’
‘We all enjoy the freedom having our own car brings, so unless local councils start investing in neighbourhood parking schemes, it looks like we’re all just going to have to learn to be a little more patient’.
