Neighbours at War!

[lumi]

Perhaps my title is a little dramatic but I couldn't come up with a short, sharp catchy title that was closer to the reality of the situation.

Anyway, there is a disagreement on my street about parking. As I've mentioned before, it is a 2 lane road and parking is allowed only one 1 side, effectively making it a 1 lane road (the parking area is the actual driving lane, and it is never completely free of parked cars). There is parking space outside my house, between my driveway and that of my immediate neighbour. It should only fit 1 car but 2 cars always park there, with the front of the car going right up to the start of my driveway. My driveway is only slightly wider than a car, so it is a tight fit to get out and I have to do a 3 point turn every time I exit my driveway (remember the road is narrow so without being able to swing, it becomes a 3 point turn to exit the driveway and drive off down the road).

The other day, a different car parked outside my house and did not park on top of my driveway. A neighbour then out a note on their car stating they they had parked inconsiderately and now 1 less car could fit. So obviously they don't believe they are inconsiderate being so close to my drive and making it difficult for me to get in and out! As soon as that car left the next day, the usual car/neighbour quickly moved their car to the spot, on top of my drive.

I can't seem to find any specific road rul for Singapore that states how far away from a driveway you must park as a minimum. I don't want to join a parking dispute but it is really annoying for me every day. I think what makes it worse is that most locals don't park in their own driveway/property - they park exclusively on the street as they prefer to keep their property area for outdoor furniture or storage. And they mostly have multiple cars.

[OnlyMark]

Lumi, I've just had a look at the perking regs for Singapore and there is a lot of information but nothing I also can see regarding your specific circumstances.
In any case, as far as I know there is normally no rule about how close or far you must be from a drive way like there is for fire hydrants etc. It seems as long as the vehicle doesn't encroach into the access to your drive, then there is no offence.
Secondly, I believe you live in a private estate, if so, normal public road parking rules don't apply anyway. It is up to the estate owners to decide for themselves what the rules are.

[kuskiwi]

Other than the damage to your own car it must be so tempting to have an oops sorry I got a bit too close moment.

[lumi]

Nov 28, 2022 5:18:21 GMT 2 kuskiwi said:

Other than the damage to your own car it must be so tempting to have an oops sorry I got a but too close moment.

Exactly! But I assume if I do genuinely bump their car doing a 3 point turn to get out, I would be the one legally liable as it was my car that was moving.

[kuskiwi]

Okay... I know you wouldn't do any of these but my imagination is running wild with the issues that if you analyze it, they are taking advantage of both your good nature and you are an expat in their country.
Line of tacks..
Security camera that screams as they cross the boundary.
Sorry ..corporate boss or whoever owns the complex.. I'm not a good driver so when I couldn't get into my paid for park I left my car where I could. Force the tears then and declare how sorry you are you blocked the whole a estate access.
Block their car in for a weekend, bumper to bumper and go away and don't answer the phone, but keep the security cameras running.
Bag on the boundary so they get a delightful spray all up the drivers side of entrails
They are bullying you, but as a been there expat aware that only venting helps. Hug.

[Voy]

I DO love Kuski !!

[lumi]

Nov 27, 2022 20:51:14 GMT 2 OnlyMark said:

Lumi, I've just had a look at the perking regs for Singapore and there is a lot of information but nothing I also can see regarding your specific circumstances.
In any case, as far as I know there is normally no rule about how close or far you must be from a drive way like there is for fire hydrants etc. It seems as long as the vehicle doesn't encroach into the access to your drive, then there is no offence.
Secondly, I believe you live in a private estate, if so, normal public road parking rules don't apply anyway. It is up to the estate owners to decide for themselves what the rules are.

Thanks for looking into it, Mark. I guess the grey area is what counts as encroaching on my access to my drive. Personally I think if a person must complete a 3 point turn to access their drive, the other car has encroached (I promise I am a good driver and can manipulate a car into tighter spaces that many cannot and dare not try).

I do indeed live in a private housing estate though this is nothing like the gated communities in the US. In Singapore, any housing that is not government public housing is classed as private. It looks just like regular streets in Asia and roads are maintained by the government. I did read similar to you about the estate owner making parking rules which baffles me as I believe the government parking inspectors are the ones who can hand out enforcement notices (though I could be wrong on this).

[lumi]

Nov 28, 2022 9:48:18 GMT 2 kuskiwi said:

Okay... I know you wouldn't do any of these but my imagination is running wild with the issues that if you analyze it, they are taking advantage of both your good nature and you are an expat in their country.
Line of tacks..
Security camera that screams as they cross the boundary.
Sorry ..corporate boss or whoever owns the complex.. I'm not a good driver so when I couldn't get into my paid for park I left my car where I could. Force the tears then and declare how sorry you are you blocked the whole a estate access.
Block their car in for a weekend, bumper to bumper and go away and don't answer the phone, but keep the security cameras running.
Bag on the boundary so they get a delightful spray all up the drivers side of entrails
They are bullying you, but as a been there expat aware that only venting helps. Hug.

Haha, if only I could do those things, kuskiwi! I live in a house though so parking is literally on the roadside, parallel to traffic. Perhaps I should play the long game and plant a tree on the footpath that drops lots of sticky flowers that nobody wants on their car (here people commonly block footpaths by planting what they like even though it is public land).

[lumi]

One funny thing to note is that it isn't uncommon for locals to reserve the roadside space they consider theirs by placing their rubbish bin on the road. They move it away to park their car and put it back when they go out. I haven't noticed anyone on my street do this but it is definitely a common local practice.

If I really wanted to annoy them, I could easily park my car where they keep parking instead of using my own property/carport to park in. Then they would need to move up the street elsewhere or use their own property/carport. But I'd rather not get wet when it rains.

[OnlyMark]

Lumi, Is there a pavement? If so, is there a dropped kerb on the entrance to your drive?
If so, this normally delineates the borders of the access to your drive - as per the photo -

[lumi]

Yes Mark, there is a pavement and dropped kerb. The neighbours park right up to where you have the red line. If we are lucky, they are a little further back to the bit where the kerb begins to slope for the drop.

Because the street is narrow, having a car parked that close makes it impossible to swing/turn the car enough to make it out the drive without needing to do a 3 point turn.

[OnlyMark]

I doubt there is much legally you can do Lumi. I appreciate the difficulty with manoeuvring in and out and that it takes a skilled person like yourself to do it, but the people parking will say they are leaving your access clear and it's just hard luck that you have to shift about to get in and out. It's the design of the road rather than their parking.
Where I'm living I have a similar problem in that cars park across the road from my exit and I can't swing out without stopping and reversing. Turning in forwards is also touch and go depending on if the cars are close to the kerb or not.
Technically they are not blocking my access and I just have to live with it. Or get a smaller car.

[kuskiwi]

I recommended buying a mini in a previous post that disappeared.

[lumi]

You may well be right, Mark. I already figure that they have an entitled attitude given the note they left on someone else's car suggesting they had parked inconsiderately when in fact they hadn't. The same 2 SUVs always park in this space in front of my house, one of them right up to the drop curb for my house, the other completly blocking access for my neighbour (covers about half of his actual drive but he doesn't have a car so guess they either don't care or have asked him previously if it is OK). So the one car parking there is actually the only legal way as the 2nd car definitely blocks access to the neighbours drive (law doesn't state that the person needs to be using said access). And to leave a note the one time someone else parks in that space seems very entitled to me.

[lumi]

My main gripe though is that I assume I would need to pay repairs on both cars should I accidently bump theirs trying to get out one day. I how it never happens of course, but if it does I will not be a happy camper!

[auntieannie]

I did not know what to post on this thread.

[lumi]

Neighbours have continued parking right on the verge of my drive and sometimes a little over it. I have been doing 3 and 4 point turns to get out. The last 2 days, however, I have been parked in with the neighbours completely blocking access to/from my driveway. They don't even righ my bel and ask if it's OK as there aren't other parks and to let them know if I want to drive out and they will move their car.

So today, after it happened again and I couldn't get into my drive with the 1 metre gap that remained, I used the government app to report the illegal parking. It was pouring rain and I didn't fancy walking a block back after parking where there was spaces (hubby and son were also with me) so we went and hung out at Ikea and did a bit of shopping we needed to do. Parking enforcement officers confirmed the law had been flouted (their words) and they took action (a warning or a fine they didn't say). Car was still there when we drove back home so we honked our horn and waited (hoped) someone would come out. A neighbour did indeed come out and move their car (from the same house as the car that blocked us in yesterday). There was no apology or guilty look. Just a sour face but the car was gone. I wonder if they already knew we had sent parking officers as perhaps fines get sent by text message immediately. This neighbour had no car parked in their carport, yet chose to block my driveway completely. Again. I will therefore report them, again, should they continue. Hopefully they will get the message.

[wikki]

I would be so pissed at them! I would also keep reporting them.

[Netsuke]

Jan 24, 2023 12:12:51 GMT 2 lumi said:

Neighbours have continued parking right on the verge of my drive and sometimes a little over it. I have been doing 3 and 4 point turns to get out. The last 2 days, however, I have been parked in with the neighbours completely blocking access to/from my driveway. They don't even righ my bel and ask if it's OK as there aren't other parks and to let them know if I want to drive out and they will move their car.

So today, after it happened again and I couldn't get into my drive with the 1 metre gap that remained, I used the government app to report the illegal parking. It was pouring rain and I didn't fancy walking a block back after parking where there was spaces (hubby and son were also with me) so we went and hung out at Ikea and did a bit of shopping we needed to do. Parking enforcement officers confirmed the law had been flouted (their words) and they took action (a warning or a fine they didn't say). Car was still there when we drove back home so we honked our horn and waited (hoped) someone would come out. A neighbour did indeed come out and move their car (from the same house as the car that blocked us in yesterday). There was no apology or guilty look. Just a sour face but the car was gone. I wonder if they already knew we had sent parking officers as perhaps fines get sent by text message immediately. This neighbour had no car parked in their carport, yet chose to block my driveway completely. Again. I will therefore report them, again, should they continue. Hopefully they will get the message.

Lumi, I am surprised you waited so long to take action, I doubt I would have had your patience. Are they locals or are they expats?

[lumi]

Locals, Netsuke. I live in a local neighbourhood and have never had problems in the past.

I only waited this long as I am not sure what the law is with respect to how close to my drive they can be to constitute blocking access. These last 2 days, the gap left wasn't even wide enough for a car to fit through so was clear cut illegal. I hope that receiving one fine will be deterrent enough for them to avoid blocking me.