Residents use empty house's garden as public path, until its new homeowners move in and fence their entire yard to keep the neighbors out: ‘That's our private property’

If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound? If someone uses a path in an empty property, did they even leave any footsteps?

When I was a kid, there was an empty lot at the end of the street that we used as a shortcut to the park. Instead of going around the whole block, we would just cut through that big field of nothing and save ourselves a few solid minutes. 

It was great, honestly.

At least it was, until that empty lot was finally purchased by someone, and the construction of a new house began. At first, the new owners didn't notice that a group of kids was walking through their property, so we were able to get away with it, but it didn't take long for that to change. When the owners and the builders on the lot started noticing that people were using the property as a pathway, they decided to build a fence to keep people from coming through, and for a while, that was enough to stop the trespassers.

But we were kids, and we felt so entitled to something we've had for so long that we decided to rebel, even if we had no right to do so. Every time a fence was put up, we tore it down. No matter what it was that blocked our path, from metal fences to giant boulders, people found a way around it and continued on their way.

Eventually, the new homeowners and a few of the neighbors decided to turn to the city and ask it to find a solution to the problem. Surprisingly, the city actually helped and managed to ensure the homeowners got their privacy without closing off the entire path for the other residents. We still use that path to this day, and everyone's happy.

I hope the residents in the story below can also reach an agreement with their neighbors, as I hate to see their dispute escalating any further…