Recently, Emily and I have noticed that some of our neighbors have interesting interpretations of how one should park in a cul-de-sac.

Things to note: a) everyone on our street has a two-car garage; b) everyone on our street has enough room to park at least two cars in the driveway (as many folks do); c) we have ridiculously steep driveways, which makes some uncomfortable with parking in the drive); d) the biggest offender of lousy cul-de-sac parking does not have a very steep driveway.

Sometimes folks park parallel to the curb. This allows for an easy flow of traffic…as there aren’t back-ends of cars sticking out into the middle of the cul-de-sac.

Sometimes folks park perpendicular to the curb. This interrupts the flow of traffic…and it just looks silly.

In doing a bit of research this morning, it seems there are numerous people who are interested in exactly how one should park in a cul-de-sac. John Kelly had an interesting article in the Washington Post concerning this issue.

So, it appears that there really isn’t an answer. Do you parallel park? Do you park in a perpendicular manner? Or do you just utilize your garage and driveway?

Oh, the things that boggle the mind!