northeast Calgary residents pave entire front lawns

[Wormius]

What's kind of silly is those people on Martin Crossing Pl. NE (https://goo.gl/maps/rP15G) even have a back alley, and they still practically paved the entire cul de sac. Some even paved their entire back yards https://goo.gl/maps/q4IQI

[Dan02]

Geez those houses are impossibly close together.

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by Wormius

What's kind of silly is those people on Martin Crossing Pl. NE (https://goo.gl/maps/rP15G) even have a back alley, and they still practically paved the entire cul de sac. Some even paved their entire back yards https://goo.gl/maps/q4IQI

What the hell? GD the city needs to get out there and enforce those bylaws. Jeez!

[#-3]

its pretty frustrating you drive around those communities, and people are literally fighting over parking on the street, and then you look into the alley where the builder put in a two car parking pad for every house, and empty i'd be 1/20 spots it used.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by #-3

its pretty frustrating you drive around those communities, and people are literally fighting over parking on the street, and then you look into the alley where the builder put in a two car parking pad for every house, and empty i'd be 1/20 spots it used.

You know why this is? It's because the builders of these houses had 0 brain cells. The majority of these houses were designed with glass sliding doors to the back yard, which you can't enter from the outside when locked. So if you park in the back you still have to walk all the way to the front to the door with deadbolt access.

[corporatejay]

Okay, I retract my statement, what the hell is going on there where the residents need all this parking? Are people living in the garage?

[4X4]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

You know why this is? It's because the builders of these houses had 0 brain cells. The majority of these houses were designed with glass sliding doors to the back yard, which you can't enter from the outside when locked. So if you park in the back you still have to walk all the way to the front to the door with deadbolt access.

Lol. Even if the "zero brain cell builder" was too cheap to put a keyed lockset on the sliding door, the homeowner can always go to Home Depot and buy one for ~$20. You are aware of that big orange store, aren't you? It sells things like that.

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

Okay, I retract my statement, what the hell is going on there where the residents need all this parking? Are people living in the garage?

I have a co-worker who has 10 people living in her 1600 sqft house. A lot of East Indian families live together under the same roof. My coworker lives with her husband and two kids, her brother, his wife, and their 2 kids, and her two parents. There could easily be 4 to 5 cars in one household, so a lot of times, it's not necessarily a rental suite we're talking about.

[V]

Ugh, I shouldn't have looked, but my first house that I moved out of 11 years ago used to have a beautiful russian olive tree in the front yard, and now the tree and yard is gone, replaced by concrete. I put a lot of love into that place, and now the outside looks like crap. I can only imagine what the inside looks like now.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

I have a co-worker who has 10 people living in her 1600 sqft house. A lot of East Indian families live together under the same roof. My coworker lives with her husband and two kids, her brother, his wife, and their 2 kids, and her two parents. There could easily be 4 to 5 cars in one household, so a lot of times, it's not necessarily a rental suite we're talking about.

But that aside, how can you still not have enough space for 4 or 5 cars? 2 in the garage, 2 on the driveway, 1 in front of the driveway, and if there is enough room, then 1 in front of the house along the street. If they can't fit two cars in the garage, maybe these guys need to consider decluttering before considering the paving over their front lawns option.

[burn_this_city]

The garage is probably piled high with hoarder crap like 40% of garages in this city.

[Fuzz]

With that many people the garage is probably extended living space.

[rotten42]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

You know why this is? It's because the builders of these houses had 0 brain cells. The majority of these houses were designed with glass sliding doors to the back yard, which you can't enter from the outside when locked. So if you park in the back you still have to walk all the way to the front to the door with deadbolt access.

Most builders give you the option to change those into double doors...all be it an upgrade.

[username]

This disgusts me and I honestly feel terrible for the people living in those communities that actually care about their homes.

On the topic of 10 people living in one home, why would you want to live with 10 people in such a small home?

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by username

On the topic of 10 people living in one home, why would you want to live with 10 people in such a small home?

Different culture. It's not uncommon in some parts of the world to have multiple generations of the same family to live together. Even if they don't necessarily need to financially.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Wormius

But that aside, how can you still not have enough space for 4 or 5 cars? 2 in the garage, 2 on the driveway, 1 in front of the driveway, and if there is enough room, then 1 in front of the house along the street. If they can't fit two cars in the garage, maybe these guys need to consider decluttering before considering the paving over their front lawns option.

I don't think you're thinking that through very well. So if I'm the guy in the garage and need to get out, but there's a car behind me and a car behind him, it's going to be a three-man job and a logistical fata around jockeying vehicles about just so I can go get a Slurpee. Doesn't make sense.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by Wormius

What's kind of silly is those people on Martin Crossing Pl. NE (https://goo.gl/maps/rP15G) even have a back alley, and they still practically paved the entire cul de sac. Some even paved their entire back yards https://goo.gl/maps/q4IQI

I used to live close to there, and knew about this street before this issue ever got into the news.

I just looked around on Google Street View, it appears that well over 50% of the houses on that street have widened their driveways after the fact.

Just terrible looking.

As others have said, these are often families that have many people living in the same house, not necessarily suited, and not necessarily rental.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I don't think you're thinking that through very well. So if I'm the guy in the garage and need to get out, but there's a car behind me and a car behind him, it's going to be a three-man job and a logistical fata around jockeying vehicles about just so I can go get a Slurpee. Doesn't make sense.

No, I had considered the logistics. I made the assumption that if 10 people are living contentedly in a 1600 square foot house then they would also be willing to share the vehicles. So then, whoever is the first to leave the house will take the first vehicle available and so on and so forth.

[Slava]

I have to say that I've been debating widening my driveway a bit, mainly because this one particular corner will not grow grass and someone () continues to drive over it apparently. After reading this thread though I won't be doing that because I don't want to be a pariah or anything in the neighbourhood.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Wormius

No, I had considered the logistics. I made the assumption that if 10 people are living contentedly in a 1600 square foot house then they would also be willing to share the vehicles. So then, whoever is the first to leave the house will take the first vehicle available and so on and so forth.

I've never heard of a group of 10 people sharing each other's cars interchangeably. I don't even think you could insure them that way.