To cul-de-sac or not to cul-de-sac. I think if you have young children the only choice can be a cul-de-sac. We live in a bit of a curtain twitching zone but the lovely green and tree in the middle doesnt make it feel too Claustrophobic, no problems with noisey kids either, as a large park is at the end of the road for footy etc. I think its more of a question of what type of cul-de-sac or road and where as we did live on a road that wasnt that busy but was used as a rat run often by baseball cap wearing chavs doing there best to beat there last lap, that was no fun at all! to quote the much maligned kirsty and Phil Location Locatio Location not type of road.
Originally posted by TrevGo: Cul-De-Sac (or "banjo" as they call them in Dagenham) inhabited entirely by gay men.
No kids, no yobs, and certainly no football - just the occasional techno party and odd pair of bedraggled Calvins having blown from the line into the drive.
Sounds like heaven? Where exactly is this cul-de-sac? I wonder how it became all-gay?!
Originally posted by vbland: It's not a given that cul de sacs have kids though.
Since I lived here, there's only been one under 10 and she was regarded as everyone's little girl .
Cultural factors also impact. The teens we do have are all girls (as we only have a girls school). And they are from ethnic backgrounds that encourage reserve and modesty in their kids.
Heh heh heh - you're lucky you live close to the parents. If you live in an area slightly away from their parents like near a park, you'll see just how reserved and modest some of them can be when mum and dad aren't looking! And no this isn't a racist comment before anyone complains, it's an observation from somebody who lives in a genuinely multi-racial area and has observed the behaviour of a minority of these girls and boys when they are away from parents eyes. By no means all.
I must say on-topic a cul-de-sac would be nice if you liked all your neighbours, but I find them a bit oppressive - just walking up them you feel watched, and yes peoples kids tend to treat the whole road as one big playground. It's great for security and if you like your neighbours it could be heavenly, but I prefer busy streets because they're a bit more anonymous - that has its downsides but it feels that bit more private.
I feel a sense of community having lived here 10 years: my children have grown up here from toddlers to teens, we saw in the Millennieum, I lost my Mum and a few neighbours and I've seen many small changes. I know almost everyone the end of the road I live in and quite a few the other.
Now my friendships are polarized into those who opppose our planning application for a new house and those who either don't care or support it.
My Dad had the tiniest of extensions to put in a walk in shower and lost a friendship with his immediate neighbour he had known for 25 years!
I am today, a lot,lot wiser about local politics, cronyism, boundaries,trees,highways,parochialism and the planning system in general!
Originally posted by Karen1: Our new neighbours have two boys who are both bmx / skateboard nuts and are out in the street practicing until 9pm. They are both in local teams and compete at county level (wtf?) So I don't think they will go out of fashion here. The parents don't supervise them in anyway and they leave boards and ramps lying all over the place and the hassle from them just because you want to drive past to your house is unbelievable. The cul-de-sac is also on the top of a hill so they go skateboarding down the middle of the road and at the bottom of the hill is a blind corner - accident waiting to happen. As some indication as to the steepness of the hill, I've got upto 25mph in neutral - and its not a long road (seven 'executive' detached).
As our house is at the top of the hill, the little bar stools have started skateboarding down the hill from the top of our drive. I have asked them to stop several times - our drive is very very steep (Snapped OH handbreak cable - always leave car in gear with blocks behind the rear wheels). Spoke to the parents, who said it would stop but we went out today and no sooner had we turned the corner than they were back on our drive on skateboards steaming down the hill.
We can't fit a gate as its one of the conditions of the estate than no one can put up a gate/fence as the front has to be left open plan.
Any ideas about how to stop them (preferably legal!).
Forgot to say all the kids here, including mine, play in the street. Its not them playing / skateboarding I object to but them using our drive. Other neighbours have asked me to get them to stop as well. Apart from that, its a lovely street with good community feel to it.
Karen, the only thing I can think of at this moment in time is to get a chain and a couple of sturdy hooks, fasten them to your gate posts and put the chain between them, padlocked on somehow so it can't be removed. That would do the job I reckon. What do you think?
I know we are not allowed to put fences or gates up but I think(?) we could put up a couple of posts and a chain. The front is all open plan, which is why they can do it in the first place. The garage door has got chunks of paint missing where they have banged the garage door with their skateboards.
I live on a cul de sac during the week. And it's a bloody nightmare- mainly because the kids are encouraged to play out in the road. Several of them have those little motorbikes. And last football tournament, our scary chav neighbours had a street party that ended up in a mass brawl. I am going away for the World Cup
Originally posted by decca: I live on a cul de sac during the week. And it's a bloody nightmare- mainly because the kids are encouraged to play out in the road. Several of them have those little motorbikes. And last football tournament, our scary chav neighbours had a street party that ended up in a mass brawl. I am going away for the World Cup
The skateboarding swine are 10/11 so I guess they'll be getting the motorbikes for Xmas. Thanks for giving me something to look forward to.
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