Parking spaces for most of the houses on our block are in the rear, accessible via an alley. There is not a lot of space back there, and so some homes, ours included, do not have backyards. Even if you were able to find some place else to park your car, you couldn’t turn your parking spot into a yard, because other people have right-of-way access over your spot to access their own.

We have space for three cars, and only have two (actually, one at the moment, but mostly because we’re too lazy to buy another one after our lease ran out), so the parking/back yard situation has not bothered us too much. Our next-door neighbors weren’t aware of the regulations before they moved in, though, and it has never sat well with them. Over the past few years, they have managed, through various means (a new parking spot here, a right-of-way deeded back there) to secure their own patio for their own personal use, and recently they stated their intention to fence it in.

We were a bit nervous about the new fence. The previous owners of our house built our driveway right on the property line between the two houses, not leaving the usual strip of land that would allow you to exit your car, open your car door, etc. without going over the line. These neighbors have been somewhat particular about their property line, politely but firmly calling our attention to our incursions upon it. But what could we do — we couldn’t very well ask them to leave us a strip of their land for our convenience, especially with the current state of detente.

To our surprise, when the fence finally went up, it allowed for plenty of space on the side of the driveway. Unfortunately, the fence is huge, and it extends all the way around the front. Our street is in the center of town, and our houses sit on a rise over that street, so the fence looms about twelve feet over the sidewalk pedestrians — an effect that is far more “rural fundamentalist compound” than “Main Street Victorian.” The house is a half-house, so the fence only extends around one half. It looks as though the occupants are throwing up defenses against only their neighbors to the west. Us.

All things considered, a fence can only help neighborly relations, but every once in a while when I go out the side door and am confronted with that huge expanse, I can’t help but think, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”