Passive aggressive or just aggressive? With a side order of privilege? Photo: Supplied.
Year in Review: Region is revisiting some of the best Opinion articles of 2023. Here’s what got you talking, got you angry and got you thinking this year. Today, Zoya Patel shares her thoughts on parking in the suburbs.
Based on the comments, I clearly hit a nerve with my column a few weeks ago bemoaning the lack of residential parking in Canberra’s developments.
I cited my own street and townhouse complex as an example of everything that isn’t working – not enough space in garages to actually meet the realistic needs of residents, not enough unallocated spots to accommodate overflow, and spaces too small for larger vehicles resulting in our street being so crowded with parked cars that two cars can’t pass each other without someone pulling over.
Given my development has been built on previously undeveloped land where technically anything could have been possible in their design, it’s pretty frustrating to see the lack of planning and attention given to realistic transport needs.
Well, since then, things have escalated.
Last week, a fellow resident took to our Facebook group to, understandably, complain about a nasty note left on her windshield. She had parked her car overnight in a visitor’s spot (which was surrounded by other empty spots, for the record) and returned to it the next day to find a narky note reading: “Dear renter, this is not your personal parking spot. Park in your garage or on the street. Regards, residents at [complex name]”.
This is the second time she’s had one of these notes left.
As one of the ‘residents’ the zealous note-writer was claiming to represent, I was incensed. There is so much wrong with this kind of behaviour in a complex housing hundreds of people who have to share common spaces. Let’s start from the top. The addressing of the note to ‘renter’ smacks of homeowner elitism and a devaluing of renters’ rights to live comfortably in their homes.
We own our house in the complex, and I don’t think that makes our use of the parking or other amenities any more important or legitimate than the renters who live here also – obviously. I assume the note writer, who had no way of knowing if the car did belong to a renter, would have no issue making a pile of money off renting out their place if they had the opportunity, but the snobbery of the note suggests they place renters low on the hierarchy of residents.
Second, as I’ve already covered previously, there simply aren’t enough spaces for people to park their cars in the allocated spots.
If we rented our three-bedroom place out as a sharehouse, there could be three or more cars owned and used by up to six tenants who could ostensibly live here. Our garage only just fits our two cars, and that’s only possible because my partner is slim enough to squeeze into his driver’s seat every morning, navigating the narrow gap between our vehicles.
More to the point, the visitors’ spot wasn’t being used. There were many available spots around the complex. What’s the big deal if someone parks their car there overnight? What kind of psycho prints these notes out, watches to see if a car is there in the morning, and then scurries out to place it anonymously to make the person feel bad?
All this said (and I did say it in the Facebook group), others had different opinions, including that they were annoyed when their actual visitors couldn’t park in the spots when they visited. Frankly, if someone is coming for a few hours, versus someone who lives here not being able to park their car overnight, I prioritise the latter. If my mates have to park on the street and walk 50 metres to my door, so be it.
We rented in Canberra for over a decade before we got our place and we never had enough space for two cars. One of us was always parking on the street, moving their car to avoid different timed parking zones and sneaking into visitor spots where possible. It was tedious, and I don’t think that, just because we have the economic privilege to own our home, we would be justified in policing the behaviour of others in the complex who are now in that same position.
At the very least, the note writer should identify themselves. If you’re going to be rude, have the guts to own up to it, and don’t hide behind the facade of representing all homeowners in the complex.
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