PT's Parking Blog

Parking in Atlanta on Memorial Day

We went to the Georgia Aquarium yesterday – To say the least this wonderful aquarium was very popular, and we got to see their parking at its most stressed.

The large structure adjacent to the aquarium and Coca Cola center is large, and what I call a "double Helix" garage. If you enter from one set of lanes, you park on levels 2 4 6 and if you enter on another, you park on 1 3 and 5…There are crossovers, most blocked with cones, which I watched some intrepid parkers move the cones so they could park in an empty space being blocked by them…

The place is fairly easy to find you way around, we had no problem. The revenue control system is a bit dicy. It's a pay on exit, but it's a single price garage. You can pay for your parking as you buy your entry tickets and we did so. However since I lost the coupon for that payment I had to pay again on exit. The line wasn't long, but was growing, and they had only one of the two exit lanes open. We didn't wait long, but I'm guessing that exit is a problem when they have an event that ends so all people leave at once.

R noticed that there were a lot of private lots all around the place doing a land office business. It's obvious they didn't build this garage for holidays, but then you don't build a church for Easter and Christmas, either.

My suggestion to the Georgia Aquarium – invest in Pay on Foot, place POF machines around the elevator entrances to the garage, and speed up the exits. On days when you are full, collect on entrance – you will save a lot of pain at the exit lanes.

All in all, a good parking experience.

By the way – this is an excellent aquarium. The attendees seemed to be having a great time, and frankly I enjoyed the Beluga Whales, the tunnel through the shark tank, the penguins (South African) and the Otters.

JVH

On Please – A $28,000 parking fee at an airport?

Here's an article about some cars abandoned in a Pretoria, South Africa parking structure. Some have been there five years. It's at the airport so naturally the government is involved. They are saying the bank can't foreclose on the vehicles until the parking fees (more than the cars are worth) are paid. And you will love this:

The other vehicles are an Isuzu double cab, which has been parked in the open for three years, a Gauteng registered Proton Gen2, a BMW 318i and a Fiat Sienna, which has been parked since last month. A tow-truck came to pick up the Proton earlier this month but security staff refused to let the vehicle leave without the owner paying the parking fee.

I'm of two minds about this – First, why the hell did the parking operator wait five years to do anything, but second – at least security was on the ball, they wanted their parking fees.

This is just classic mismanagement. There should be a note on the ticket that cars left more than a certain amount of time will be considered abandoned and will be sold. This doesn't seem so difficult to me. But the, what do I know about the laws in South Africa.

How do you handle this problem at LAX or JFK or MIA or DEN or HOU or ORD or CDG or LHR? Come on, HPR, get your act together

JVH

Leave it to the Aussies…

I have never heard of the Bikini Clad Meter Maids who roam the Australian "gold Coast" and put quarters in the meters to keep visitors from getting tickets. But according to this article, they have been around since 1968 when meters were first installed. However they are falling on hard times, with fees going up and and a few scandals (nude center spreads in the local press) they are under attack.

My goodness, is nothing sacred. I'm for the girls…

JVH

Memorial Day 2010

Its Memorial Day Weekend – We remember those that gave their lives for our country in wars. It began after the Civil War, a conflict that led to the deaths of more Americans that any other, before or since. The last Monday in May is a day we remember all those who were lost. Whether on the fields of Gettysburg, or the plains of Mexico, or the trenches of the Ardennes, or the islands in the Pacific, the paddys of Vietnam, the hell holes of Korea or the deserts of Iraq or Afganistan, it makes no difference. Millions of Americans, men and women, paid the ultimate price so we can go to Costco, pick up some beer and chips, and have a day off.

Yes it's a bit more than that. We have our problems, but we are the most free country on the planet. We can yell, complain, write letters, picket, and even riot a bit and nothing happens. We can call our leaders names, and have. We can hold opposition meetings and do. Our TV shows, the internet blogs, and our mainstream media are full of complaints and differing ideas. Many are crazy, most have little support, but they can be said, without fear. We worship as we like, whether Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddist, Wiccan, or any other. No one tells us we can't. And no one tells us we must.

More than half the people in the world live in countries where the above isn't true. Those who don't "toe" the party line live in fear. In some places worshiping a certain way can mean death. Saying certain words can lead to prison.

This weekend there will be parades, celebrations, flags everywhere, and lots of military marching, desplaying, and showing off. Go visit them, take a few minutes and tell them thanks. Who knows, next year we may be remembering them on Memorial Day.

This Monday, before you fire up that grill and start to argue about illegal immigration or gun control or the health care bill, the economy, or who is responsible for the oil in the gulf, take a second to thank those millions who made sure you were able to have that conversation.

See you in four days.

JVH

Sometimes you don’t have to issue a citation to solve the problem.

There was a fellow in our neighborhood who "stored" his commercial truck in front of my house. He moved it only so he wouldn't get a ticket on street cleaning day. I happened to see the enforcement officer (parking) for our neighborhood at the post office and told him about my problem. He immediately went over and marked the vehicle. It was the most complete marking I have ever seen. There were lines around each wheel, plus marks and dates on the tires. No way anyone could miss these chalk lines.

The next day the truck was gone and it hasn't been seen since. My guess is that the driver saw the marks and knew he also was a marked man. I know I have only moved the problem to another neighborhood but so be it. It's now someone else's issue.

Thanks LA Parking Enforcement. Good Job.

JVH

French Woman Wants Parking Meter in Front of her House

We have a fan on our facebook page whose name is Scarlett. Go here and scroll down to see her postings. She lives near Strasbourg, in France. She tells us she is reading this page to increase her English skills. I try to respond to her in high school French and get peals of laughter in return. However today she found and posted a story from New Orleans generally about the amount of money being collected. The number impressed her and she commented that maybe she could put a couple of meters in front of her house. She could use the extra money.

I thing that's a tremendous idea.

I believe that everyone who parks on a street anywhere should pay. And why shouldn't the property owner where the car is parked get the profit. They are the ones that are putting up with the traffic and the cars blocking their views.

Consider this. A neighborhood sets up a parking district and installs meters. If someone wants to park there, they can pay whatever the going rate happens to be. If you want to be politically correct (I wouldn't do this) you can give a permit to the home owner for one car, but if they park more, they pay. The money goes to pay for the enforcement and collection, and what is left over is credited to the property taxes of the homeowner. Everyone wins. Cars are taken off the street because garages will be cleaned out so the meter doesn't have to be fed. The streets are safer because enforcement is moving around the area. And life is fair. Drivers are paying for what they use. The city isn't subsidizing the parking. Some drivers may even decide to get rid of a car or two so they don't have to pay for parking. See, even I can be green.

Great idea, Scarlett – keep em coming.

JVH

PS – I responded to her in French the other day while I was on a plane. I said, in French, that I was "under" (sous) rather than "on" (sur) the plane. She responded to my staff that I was trying to commit suicide by riding under the plane. She told me I really would be more comfortable "ON" or "In" the plane. Mr. Littman, HS French teacher, is rolling in his grave.

TV Reporter gets parking ticket on camera…

This is hilarious – A TV Crew parked a number of high end cars near the beach in Santa Monica and apparently didn't pay for parking. So the enforcement officer writes tickets for all the cars, while the spot is being telecast live. You can read about it and watch it here. Heh –

I post this so you can see it – the officer just walks up the line, oblivious to camera and crew. I say go for it. My guess is that they had no permit to film from the city, paid no fee, and I'll bet they didn't have Pay on Foot receipts. And I do love the arrogance: "If you can afford the Porsche, you can afford the ticket."

Yeah, Right. Maybe parking tickets should be determined like the license tags, by the value of the car, not the seriousness of the violation.

JVH

This is a test – How do you adjudicate tickets around a hospital?

OK, all you parking pros out there =- how would you come down on this one. A man was driving his wife to the hospital and she gave birth in the car. He delivered her to the ambulance entrance and after seeing her safely inside, went out and parked his car. He didn't put enough in the meter, and was given a parking ticket. He is fighting the ticket and using his new daughter as exhibit "A". Read about it here.

First, its not as if the birth was taking place when the ticket was written. I can certainly see that if it was, the ticket might have been excessive. I can also understand if he had parked the car, ran inside and in his haste forgotten to pay, or she was in labor and he couldn't leave her side. Once again, this is a different case. I'm a wuss and would have let him off, as a congratulatory gesture on the new birth. However what should an administrative judge do? What guidelines could be set down for tickets around a hospital. Is a "Doctor's note" enough to get one out of a ticket? What if he was visiting his uncle who had just had his broken leg set? How about someone who is there for chemo, or dialysis. Suddenly it's not so cut and dried.

JVH

New pay system opens parking spots in Raleigh

The Headline says it all

The story

in the local paper says the rest. Mark says he "loves it when a plan comes together." So does Hannibal Smith, but perhaps for a different story. This is more, however, than just another "told you so" from JVH.

Raleigh removed parking meters in the 70s at the behest of local merchants. During the succeeding four decades they had nothing but parking problems downtown. There weren't any convenient spaces for customers. It was if not parking "hell" certainly parking "heck." Meters were reinstalled and $1 per hour charges instituted. Guess what – merchants are falling all over themselves lauding the new program. The quotes are for the record book. The reporter searched high and low for a complaint, and found one parker who thought that since he paid taxes, he should get "something" back. My guess is that he never went to public school, had need of a fireman or policeman, never walked under street lighting, or for that matter on a sidewalk or driven on a street. Local services are where we actually get "value" for our taxes. But, as usual, I digress

The most telling story was from a disabled woman who parked previously free all day. She now has to pay. She has worked her life around so she can afford half the charges, having her husband drop her off the rest of the time. What she also finds, is that she now actually has a disabled space to park in. Prior to the charges, over half the people using disabled permits were cheaters. She needed "Access" not free parking.

Won't governments and merchants ever learn. Charging for parking works.

JVH

Douglas Adams and Travel

APCparking in San Diego just Tweeted to remind us that today is International Towel Day in honor of Douglas Adams who in addition to telling is not to "panic" in his famous Hitchhiker's Guide he also pointed out the value of a good towel. Want more info? Go here: http://bit.ly/dqL8qS . If you don't know who Douglas Adams is, well your life just isn't complete. JVH
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