Althouse: "You Silver Spring transients are ruining our neighborhood."

July 19, 2014

"You Silver Spring transients are ruining our neighborhood."

Is it a breach of etiquette to park a car on the street in front of someone's house?

49 comments:

Gahrie said...: If this is a case of a company directing it's customers to park on a certain street (especially if it is residential) then, yes it is a dick move.

They should buy a plot of land and build a parking lot. if they build it big enough, they can open it up to the public and sell any extra places.; 7/19/14, 10:30 AM
David said...: It is not a breach of etiquette to park in front of a stranger's house if on-street parking is allowed.

On a two lane road, it is a breach of etiquette to park on the street across from a driveway,; 7/19/14, 10:51 AM
Anonymous said...: The Passive-Agressive Neighborhood Avenger says:

When you let your dog poop on my lawn I dress in nefarious black and, in the cover of night's inky darkness, I stealthily deposit the poop upon your doorstep. I am the Neighborhood Avenger!; 7/19/14, 10:52 AM
Wince said...: I'll follow you down til' the sound of my voice will haunt you...

You could be my Silver Spring
My blue green colors flashin'; 7/19/14, 10:54 AM
Anonymous said...: The Passive-Agressive Neighborhood Avenger says:

When you play your loud bass-thumping music after 10 PM I dress in mysterious black and, in the cover of night's inky darkness, I let the air out of your left front tire. Have a great morning, neighbor! I am the Neighborhood Avenger!; 7/19/14, 11:01 AM
Anonymous said...: The Passive-Agressive Neighborhood Avenger says:

When you mow your lawn before 8 AM I dress in devious black and, in the cover of night's inky darkness, I empty a five-gallon jug of gasoline on your freshly-cut grass. Have a great morning, neighbor! I am the Neighborhood Avenger!; 7/19/14, 11:04 AM
Anonymous said...: The Passive-Agressive Neighborhood Avenger says:

When you park your car in front of my house I dress in righteous black and, in the cover of night's inky darkness, I affix offensive bumper stickers to the rear of your vehicle. Have a great morning, neighbor! I am the Neighborhood Avenger!; 7/19/14, 11:05 AM
The Godfather said...: The situation described really doesn't involve neighborhood etiquette, it involves a commercial intrusion into a residential neighborhood. If it is causing a real problem, the neighborhood may be able to do something about it.

I lived in Chevy Chase, MD for almost 20 years. There was a bus stop a couple of blocks from my house, and we started getting commuters parking in our neighborhood and taking the bus downtown. The number of cars got to be a real annoyance, so we asked the County to impose 2-hour parking in the neighborhood. Some of our neighbors, who didn't have off-street parking, were concerned that they would be ticketed, but the Police said not to worry; we'll only come by and write tickets if we get a complaint from a resident. This worked like a charm.; 7/19/14, 11:06 AM
pm317 said...: OMG, I can relate to this completely. Our house at its peak was valued over 1 million. It is on a cul de sac and though it is a new construction, it is in a mixed, reasonably nice old neighborhood. It sits across from a senior living center which was county run when we bought our house -- I made friends with a lot of nice people there. After 2008 and the big stimulus, the center was bought by Jarrett's Habitat outfit. They relaxed the age of the seniors who rent there. Soon after without enough parking at the center, there were all kinds of cars parked (forever) willy-nilly in front of our houses and on our narrow streets. Not all residents seemed like senior citizens and the cars were so beat up that they looked like they belonged in the junk yard and they were also huge, old 70s type cars. We had to fight tooth and nail with the management to get rid of those cars from our neighborhood. Right now, though there are more cars from before Habitat took over, it is a bit stable and we see normal cars on our street.; 7/19/14, 11:07 AM
Jim Howard said...: Its very wrong for a company or government agency to routinely park in front of private homes.

Cars2Go here in Austin has some kind of sweetheart deal with the city, I bet that's the case in most places.; 7/19/14, 11:08 AM
Anonymous said...: The Passive-Agressive Neighborhood Avenger says:

When the neighborhood is affronted by the careless deeds of others and the rest of the neighbors cower, I, in the cover of night's inky darkness, take it upon myself to right these wrongs and make sure Justice is served and that Righteousness prevails throughout my street. Have a great morning, neighbors! I am the Neighborhood Avenger!; 7/19/14, 11:12 AM
Michael K said...: This becomes a problem when a residential, single family home neighborhood abuts a condo or apartment complex with inadequate parking. I spent years on a planning commission and this was a significant problem in some areas. Developers will build parking to code which requires two spaces per 1000 square feet or some such figure. What happens is that a two bedroom apartment has four drivers with four cars. Two of those cars end up parked in front of neighbors homes to the point that some homeowners cannot have guests for dinner.

Our solution, and it was a weak one, was to make residential areas limited to no over night parking without a permit. This will help and the problem then moves to the next residential zone. Eventually it becomes an enforcement problem. My daughter's car was towed once because the parents of a girlfriend did not warn her to put her car in their driveway when she spent a night there. I blamed them, not the city.

This is usually a problem with zoning. Mixing multi-family with single family. Also codes need to be realistic but that is very difficult as developers buy city councils.; 7/19/14, 11:14 AM
Ambrose said...: I grew up on a relatively quiet urban street. Everyone who lived on the street parked in front of their own house. Now if guest came and there was no room in front of the house being visited, the guest could park anywhere - no problem. But a resident would not park (other than very short term)in front of someone else's house. Then, some new people moved in across the street took to parking in front of our house constantly. While certainly legal, we viewed it as rude and inconsiderate -as did other neighbors. We had to speak to them about it. It is easy to be considerate of others.; 7/19/14, 11:16 AM
Anonymous said...: The Passive-Agressive Neighborhood Avenger says:

When you let your children boisterously race up and down the block on their skateboards I, in the cover of night's inky darkness, spray paint a giant red 'A' upon your garage door. It is my mark, and it lets my fellow citizens know that Justice has been righteously served. Have a great morning, neighbors! I am the Neighborhood Avenger!; 7/19/14, 11:20 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Seems to me, if you don't like outsiders parking on your street, you should get the parking regulations changed. In our neighborhood, a resident can buy a parking sticker that exempts us from the 2 hour parking limit that applies to everyone else during the daytime. Problem solved. No need to push ideas about rudeness. It's a public street.; 7/19/14, 12:02 PM
Thorley Winston said...: Seems like the solution would be for everyone in the neighborhood to park their own cars in front of their homes and not leave any spaces for Car2Go to use.; 7/19/14, 12:03 PM
Heartless Aztec said...: In our very urban neighborhood there is enough room for two cars in front of each large home on the east side of the street. Street parking is one side only. The neighbors across the street are given by neighborhood consensus one of those spots in front of each house. It's worked out well. We also have an agreement that if you're out of town we use your driveway to park. It helps with the congestion and it leads strangers passing through to believe someone is home. It all depends on communication. The homes are much the same as chez Althouse - 1920-ish two story prairie style with the wide overhanging eaves. The lots are much smaller as the city is much bigger.; 7/19/14, 12:07 PM
Anonymous said...: The Passive-Agressive Neighborhood Avenger says:

I bask in the Silent Approval I no doubt receive from the Citizens of my street: it is almost a shame that I have to keep my identity hidden, but anonymity works best for enacting my righteous deeds. A new family of a certain minority has moved into the rental house down the block: I am keeping a particularly wary eye on the situation. I am the Neighborhood Avenger!; 7/19/14, 12:16 PM
Anonymous said...: The Passive-Agressive Neighborhood Avenger says:

I believe that diversity in a neighborhood can be a good thing, within reason. As long as they all follow the same unwritten laws of neighborhood etiquette we can all coexist. But if they stray my mission will become clear. I am the Neighborhood Avenger!; 7/19/14, 12:20 PM
YoungHegelian said...: I live about 2 miles north of this area. The address "14th and Roxanna St. NW, near Eastern Ave." is technically in the District of Columbia, Eastern Ave being the dividing line between the District & Maryland.

ZipCars already has worked out some parking arrangement with Metro, parking the cars on the lots at the metro stations. What's the problem with Cars2Go, I don't know. There's a shopping mall nearby at East West Highway & Colesville Rd that's adjacent to Silver Spring Metro & could easily spare 5 to 8 reserved parking spaces for Cars2Go. Why that hasn't happened is a good question.

What's probably at the root of all this is I bet that Cars2Go arranged a parking deal with Metro for the new Silver Spring Station. The only problem is that the new Silver Spring station is years behind schedule & tens of millions over budget, leaving Cars2gO in the lurch. Suburban liberals can "chaaaa-aaange the world", but they seem to be unable to hire someone who can reliably pour concrete. And, to add insult to injury, my brain-dead county comrades re-elected the same incompetent county executive who oversaw this debacle. Never underestimate the power of white guilt in liberal politics.; 7/19/14, 12:25 PM
Anonymous said...: The Passive-Agressive Neighborhood Avenger says:

I once graciously invited the black family from around the corner to a summer barbeque I hosted, but they chose not to show up; I do not let it inform my opinion on all black people. I am the Neighborhood Avenger!; 7/19/14, 12:29 PM
Richard Dolan said...: "A resident can buy a parking sticker" and "it's a public street" are two ideas that fit uncomfortably together. Many cities (Boston comes to mind) have residential parking zones where it is illegal to park on a street at certain times if you don't have one. The Madison scheme, allowing residents who buy a sticker, to be exempt from parking limits is a variation on the theme. But they all have in common the idea that some Parker's are tarted differently than others. That may make sense (here in Brooklyn Heights many have been pressing the City to set up a residential parking permit system for years without success), but it embodies a very different notion of "public streets" than commonly understood.

It's odd, at least so it seems to me, to prefer formal state regulation (the Althouse preference) for these minor annoyances of urban living, rather that the informal "civic society" solution of community pressure and neighborly suasion.; 7/19/14, 12:33 PM
Chance said...: Paint your curb red.; 7/19/14, 12:38 PM
acm said...: I was about to say "no" but this isn't an ordinary private use situation. I guess people are parking these weird little cars on the street when they are done, having no idea when someone else will come along and move them? That's not cool.; 7/19/14, 12:41 PM
Anonymous said...: The Passive-Agressive Neighborhood Avenger says:

The Asian family that lives two doors down are generally good neighbors: they keep to themselves, and have new cars. Sometimes they stand in their backyard and talk loudly into their cellphone in their native language. The sound of their voices is harsh but this only a minor breach of etiquette, and not worthy of righteous punishment: I prefer to live and let live, within reasonable boundaries. I am the Neighborhood Avenger!; 7/19/14, 12:44 PM
Anonymous said...: The Passive-Agressive Neighborhood Avenger says:

The husband from across the street moved out two months ago, and now a new man is staying at the house with his wife. Brazen adultery can undermine the civility of a neighborhood like termites in wood. I refuse to acknowledge his existence. I am the Neighborhood Avenger!; 7/19/14, 12:58 PM
Anonymous said...: The Passive-Agressive Neighborhood Avenger says:

The adulterous wife across the street has a teenage daughter who dresses in inappropriate provocative clothing. I have taken pictures of her as evidence. I have a lot of evidence. I am the Neighborhood Avenger!; 7/19/14, 1:00 PM
Anonymous said...: The Passive-Agressive Neighborhood Avenger says:

The teenage daughter of the adulterous wife across the street sometimes has boys over in the afternoon when the adults are away. She will no doubt become pregnant and the neighborhood will suffer as a result. I can feel the rot setting in. I am the Neighborhood Avenger!; 7/19/14, 1:05 PM
Anonymous said...: The Passive-Agressive Neighborhood Avenger says:

Perhaps I should have a talk with the teenage daughter about the dangers of promiscuous sex: it is obvious that the adulterous adults have no care in the matter. Perhaps she is only giving blow jobs, I have no way of knowing without asking. I am the Neighborhood Avenger!; 7/19/14, 1:09 PM
David Aitken said...: A better solution would be to cede control of the parking to the owner of the adjacent property who could then determine who is allowed to park there. She could put up a sign that says "Private Parking", "Public Parking 10am-4pm only", or whatever fits her needs.; 7/19/14, 1:16 PM
Scott said...: In Boston, during the winter, if you shovel out a parking space, you mark it with a folding chair. Woe be unto him who moves your chair and takes "your" space.; 7/19/14, 1:24 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Around here it would be considered extremely rude to do that habitually. (Fine to do it on occasion to attend an event at a nearby resident's house.)

I like the two hour parking solution.; 7/19/14, 1:49 PM
John Christopher said...: This is classic old DC vs the gentrifiers. I'm a gentrifier who has lived here long enough (since 1998) to be sort of on the old school side.

After schools, Maryland license plates double parking around churches on Sunday mornings is probably the biggest DC city political issues.

This is another version of that.; 7/19/14, 2:31 PM
Anonymous said...: The Passive-Agressive Neighborhood Avenger says:

I would tell the the teenage daughter that I am no sanctimonious prude. Indeed, I am comfortable with nudity, and if she would be more comfortable having this discussion nude I would not have a problem with that. I am the Neighborhood Avenger!; 7/19/14, 2:42 PM
Rusty said...: I wish i had the kind of life that this is my biggest concern.; 7/19/14, 2:45 PM
Rusty said...: on second thought. I'm glad I have the kind of life where this isn't even a concern.; 7/19/14, 2:46 PM
furious_a said...: Why should Cars2Go get to store their cars on public property free-of-charge?; 7/19/14, 2:59 PM
Paul said...: Those cars are an abomination regardless of where they are parked; 7/19/14, 3:13 PM
SteveR said...: I think the Neighborhood Avenger is doing a fine job for his neighbors. His concern is impressive.; 7/19/14, 3:26 PM
Anonymous said...: The Passive-Agressive Neighborhood Avenger says:

I would tell the the teenage daughter that young boys, sadly, have little concern or knowledge in sexually pleasing a woman. Indeed, sometimes it takes the experience of an older man to truly show what magic is possible in tender, caring, responsive sexual behavior. Especially anal. I am the Neighborhood Avenger!; 7/19/14, 3:33 PM
Scott said...: Silver Spring Maryland. Hah! Progressive bourgeois Obama voters all. If there were any karmic justice, the US Federales would dump a half dozen busloads of homeless Mexican children on their manicured front lawns.; 7/19/14, 4:22 PM
Scott said...: My partner, a DJ and hip-hop artist, likes to make music in the early evening. The police kept knocking on our door with noise complaints prompted by our Catholic pillhead next door neighbor, until I hung a 4x6 rainbow flag on the porch next to the front door. Since then, no more harassment -- the police in New Jersey don't like to be used that way.; 7/19/14, 4:28 PM
Anonymous said...: The Passive-Agressive Neighborhood Avenger says:

I was on my nightly midnight patrol when I came across a black youth -- not from the neighborhood -- wearing a hoodie and carrying items in a 7/11 bag. I asked him what he was doing on this street and he menacingly answered "I don't have to tell you nothing. You wanna do something about it?"
For a moment I thought of telling him that I was The Neighborhood Avener and surely this would strike fear into his heart. However, any altercation would probably wake the neighbors and I am supremely conscientious of sleep-time etiquette so I told him there really was no need to do anything about it, and to have a good night, no hard feelings, sorry. I am the Neighborhood Avenger!; 7/19/14, 5:01 PM
gadfly said...: So Car2Go and the insulted neighbor are subject to the whims of the decision made by the last person to rent one of these ugly cars. Seems to me that that renter would live in the neighborhood.

"So won't you be, won't you be ... MY NEIGHBOR?"; 7/19/14, 5:51 PM
Anonymous said...: Since then, no more harassment -- the police in New Jersey don't like to be used that way.

Yes. They could never be subject to your capricious whims, my liege.; 7/19/14, 7:06 PM
Levi Starks said...: If a car I don't know is parked in front of my house overnight, I assume it's abandoned. Both of my cars stay in the garage, and there is usually nothing in the driveway,or street. That's the way I like it. Of course it helps that the lot across from my house was left undeveloped, and is an untended woods.
My neighbor just to the south sometimes parks as many as 3 cars on the street, but never in front of my property.
It is I think an unwritten rule. City ordinance says a car cannot remain unmoved for more than 24 hours, but that would only be enforced if someone complained.; 7/19/14, 9:38 PM
Levi Starks said...: Not to change the subject, but people have been known to park on my street, get out and take their dog for a walk/poop, and not pick up after the dog.
That WILL get the police called.; 7/19/14, 9:41 PM
Whitey Sepulchre said...: I let the air out of the tires.; 7/19/14, 10:04 PM
Gary Rosen said...: Are we talking "Smart Cars" here? Just tip them over for crying out loud.; 7/20/14, 3:40 PM