AITA for parking in the curb space my neighbor tried to save with trash cans?

I live on a city street where the curb parking is public and usually tight after six. Most houses have small driveways, but many families own more cars than fit in them.

My neighbor Mr. Halpern has an adult daughter who uses a wheelchair. A few times a week, a transport van picks her up near their front walkway. The curb there is not marked as reserved, but neighbors generally leave enough space for the ramp when we know the van is coming.

Last Thursday I came home carrying equipment from a work event. Rain had started, and the only open space on my block was in front of Mr. Halpern’s house. Two trash cans were sitting several feet apart in the road even though collection day was Friday morning.

I moved the cans onto the curb and parked.

About an hour later, Mr. Halpern knocked on my door. He said the van would arrive at seven and asked me to move. By then I had changed clothes, started dinner, and found a dry space for the equipment. I told him I would move before seven if another spot opened, but I was not going to circle the neighborhood in heavy rain.

He said the cans were there to communicate a need, not to claim public property for convenience. I answered that if the space was essential, he should pursue an official accommodation rather than placing obstacles in the street.

No space opened. At 6:55 he knocked again. I moved my car three blocks away and walked home soaked.

The van arrived at 7:25.

The next morning, I put the trash cans back where I had found them. Mr. Halpern accused me of making a point with his daughter’s access. I said I had moved the car, so she was never blocked. He said he should not have to bargain twice for predictable access outside his own home.

Other neighbors are divided. One says we have all respected the informal space for years and I was exploiting the absence of a sign. Another says trash cans in the road are dangerous and private residents cannot reserve curb parking indefinitely.

I agree that his daughter’s access matters more than my dry walk. I also resent that an informal courtesy has expanded into an all-day reserved space without any schedule posted. Some days the cans sit there from morning until night and no van comes.

I could have moved at the first request. Instead I argued until the second knock because I wanted the inconvenience acknowledged.

AITA for parking there and refusing to move immediately?