Share the Streets

You do not own the sidewalk.  You also don’t own the street outside the sidewalk.  No, seriously.  It’s public property.  Anyone can use it.  That’s what “public” means.  Sometimes, it snows.  That sucks.  It means that you have to dig your car out.  Well, wear loose clothing - snow shoveling is excellent cardio.  What it isn’t is the right to own the street because you happened to be parked in a specific spot before it snowed.  Everyone was parked somewhere before the snow came.  Everyone needs a place to park.  You don’t get to claim the street in front of your house for six months (unless, of course, you would be interested in purchasing a home with a lovely driveway right out front.  That’s what people who need personal parking spaces do.).

I can hear you thinking, “How does leaving random crap in the street to hold my space make me an asshole?  I dug it out.”  Well, for one - see my first point.  Everyone had to dig a space out somewhere, and everyone needs a place to park within 15 miles of their destination.  But, also, there are people out there who will actually vandalize vehicles if they come home and find a car parked in “their” spot.  (It’s not yours - that’s why I used quotes.  You don’t own it, remember?)  

This behavior is completely unacceptable.  There’s no legal right to claim the street.  There’s no legal right to damage someone else’s property - and there is no possible way to know, when you have been gone for 9 hours at work all day, that the person parked in that space is the same person who moved your random garbage that you left in the street.  Unless you actually saw them, it could have been everyone.  And, again, if you did actually see them - tough noogies.  You don’t own the street.  That other person has as much right to park there as you do.  If you can’t handle that, work on your legal options:

1. Live a car-free live-style (in most places where I see people staking out parking spaces, this is very easy).
2. Buy or rent a property with your own personal parking space or driveway.
3. Park somewhere else.
4. Choose not to be an asshole.

                                                     

P.S.  The intentional destruction of someone else's property is a crime.  You could be charged with a criminal offense, ordered to pay fines, and you could get sued for the cost of fixing it - plus punitive damages. That's right.  A judge can impose a penalty on you for acting like an asshole.  So, there's another reason not to do it.