Non code parking signs

[DB92]

What do you guys think about the "suggestion" parking signs some companies put up? It seems like to me parking, like driving is a privilege not a right. Driving is a privilege to those who complete the proper training and testing. Parking should be a privilege to those who arrive first. First come first serve, that seems simple. Why mess with it? I think the first come first serve policy for parking seems the most logical with exception to the disabled.

I went to a grocery chain called Fresh and easy and they have parking reserved for Hybrid cars and parking reserved for drivers with kids.

I just about fell over laughing, but I was still sitting in my car as I pulled into the driver with kids parking. I cant imagine what biased data they used to conclude that a person with a child has priority over a driver with no kids that came before them.

The hybrid car parking is ridiculous, what is the logic behind a hybrid car having priority parking over anybody else?

I would like to see the figures on gross carbon footprint of a hybrid including battery recycling compared to a 93 civic HX and then tell me who deserves priority parking based on total pollution. I shouldnt even use that extreme of an example given that there are many small cars that do better than many hybrids.

Just on daily emissions alone someone that is driving around in a hybrid SUV is going to pollute more than many small sedan and coupes. Yet the owner of Fresh and Easy cant make a yuppy statement with his signs if his logic were based of data.

Whats next? Income level parking? Interestingly enough the hybrid parking is already a form of excluding the lower income individual from parking in front of a store.

Im just ranting LOL, someone just tell me Im an a$$h0le already.

Yes I know already, I can here is coming...." dont shop there DB92"

 

[White92]

Kohls has parking spaces right up front that are reserved for employees of the month. If they are open, that's where I always park.

 

[mknmoves]

I've seen parking for expectant mothers...wth??? Don't they need exercise??:biggrin:

 

[heySkippy]

The way I see it is private property owners have the right to ask people to behave in certain ways on that property. I generally will respect that or leave.

 

[RJPKRP]

the way i see it is private property owners have the right to ask people to behave in certain ways on that property. I generally will respect that or leave.

+1.

 

[gdae]

The way I see it, I have bad luck, and if I park in a spot supposedly reserved for some honored demographic to which I do not belong, I will emerge from the store to find my car keyed, towed, or shat upon.

 

[Cairo94507]

If the owners put the sign up, respect their wishes. If some one is not what the sign indicates, and they park there and return to find their car ticketed, towed, damaged, what have you, then they have learned an important lesson that the rest of us learned a long time ago. When you own it, generally you get to make the rules.

FYI, in CA, there is a vehicle code section which allows police to cite in parking lots for posted violations, etc. Generally this is used for the handicapped stalls, but I have seen it used for the inconsiderate asses who take up two stalls in busy lots, park on the red curbs, etc.

Like anything else, we all get to make choices in our daily lives; choose wisely.

 

[DucTerry]

If it's private property, I respect the owners wishes. If I think those are absurd, I go elsewhere. Kinda like places with "No concealable weapons" signs.
I did see 'hybrid parking' signs at town hall once. I parked there and came out to a cop hanging around my truck. He questioned me about it and I told him that it ran on the souls of crushed prius', gasoline and leg power and proceeded to push my truck out of the space as a demonstration. He laughed his ass off and we bullshitted about my truck fro 15 minutes before I left.

 

[Motegi]

I did see 'hybrid parking' signs at town hall once. I parked there and came out to a cop hanging around my truck. He questioned me about it and I told him that it ran on the souls of crushed prius', gasoline and leg power and proceeded to push my truck out of the space as a demonstration. He laughed his ass off and we bullshitted about my truck fro 15 minutes before I left.

That's hilarious!

I did get ticketed once for waiting in front of a grocery store. The curb was apparently painted yellow and in the 2 minutes it took for my wife to use the ATM inside the grocery store bank a cop pulled behind me and decided to give me a ticket. No warning, no friendly reminder to "move along". Just a damned ticket...

 

[Cairo94507]

In a former career, I worked for a big city PD and along one of the main streets were several fast food restaurants with bus stop insets so the busses could stop and board passengers without blocking the street. There were signs which said No Stopping/Parking, Bus only. People would park there to run in and grab a Big Mac and if that street was on your beat, you were expected to write the parking tickets. The tickets back then were $75, this was back in 1980.. we thought that was very expensive but that is what it was. People would come out with their Big Mac in a sack and yell and scream at us for writing the ticket. I never felt bad writing those tickets because the signs were quite visible.

 

[Motegi]

In a former career, I worked for a big city PD and along one of the main streets were several fast food restaurants with bus stop insets so the busses could stop and board passengers without blocking the street. There were signs which said No Stopping/Parking, Bus only. People would park there to run in and grab a Big Mac and if that street was on your beat, you were expected to write the parking tickets. The tickets back then were $75, this was back in 1980.. we thought that was very expensive but that is what it was. People would come out with their Big Mac in a sack and yell and scream at us for writing the ticket. I never felt bad writing those tickets because the signs were quite visible.

I could see your point... only in my situation this wasn't in a big city. This was in front of a supermarket in a strip mall parking lot in suburbia. The car wasn't blocking any thru lanes and I was still sitting in the drivers seat and had the car running. The car was NEVER unattended. It's typically where you see people loading their trunk with groceries. Literally took my wife 2 minutes to use the ATM. If the officer had asked me to move along or even just honked his horn I would have happily just circled around.

Keep in mind that this wasn't during the busy daylight times but rather at 9PM after leaving the local movie theater. In addition to giving me a ticket he gave me the Nth degree about whether or not I owned the car (gimme a break, it was my '94 Acura Legend of all cars) and what I was doing there. It was a private lot owned by the grocery or whatever management company that ran the strip mall but the ticket was issued by the local city cop. Just doesn't seem right.

Needless to say we made a deliberate effort to not shop at that grocery anymore in the future.

And speaking of visible signs (or lack thereof) last year I was in Ann Arbor, MI for a day. Unbeknownst to me the Ann Arbor Street Arts Fair was going on at the same time so parking was horrendous. After circling around for some time I managed to find someone leaving a parallel parking spot on a side street that was jammed packed with cars so I snagged it. The curb was unpainted/unmarked and there were no fire hydrants/entrance drives/or any visible signage indicating anything regarding parking limitations. After finishing my business in town (2-3 hours) I returned to find that everyone else had cleared out and that my car had been ticketed for illegal parking. Being a weekend and with no officers around I took my digital camera and documented the exact spot where I had parked including the curb and absence of any signage along the block 30 yards in either direction. I sent a copy of the photos along with a description and the ticket to the Ann Arbor parking enforcement office the following week. Their response, "we agree that it's not marked but the citation stands as is". In light of my evidence they took a piddling $10 off but still insisted that I pay the rest... ABSURD! I later reviewed the Google street view of the exact street and see NO signage in either direction. Basically they acknowledge that they can ticket anyone, anywhere, for ANY reason. They graciously invited me to come back to Ann Arbor and appear in court if I wished to discuss this further. Yeah right!

 

[passline]

Kohls has parking spaces right up front that are reserved for employees of the month. If they are open, that's where I always park.

I saw that also. What about shopper of the month for my wife?

 

[Patdeisa]

As one who uses the parking with children, I like it and see it has improving safety- the less I have to walk through a parking lot with little ones (who are hard to be seen by many SUVs and tall cars), the better. They are also more visible to other drivers, being at the end of the row. There's also only a couple, and they're mixed in with 20 minute or less parking (which I also use if I'm solo and making a fast trip), and there is plenty of close normal parking, if you can walk an extra 20 feet.

Granted, I live on the edge of suburbia, so I'd be different if it was the first 10 spaces of every row versus 3 in only 2 rows.

 

[HIJACKER]

As a disabled vet, I use my Handicap placard for the NSX on a regular basis. :biggrin: The extra wide spots guarantee no door dings.

 

[Vega$ NSX]

Hybrid or zero emissions parking is a credit for LEED building certification, not a political statement or bias. Don't read into it more that just a company trying to fulfill the requisite credits for certification.

 

[TomCat]

The way I see it is private property owners have the right to ask people to behave in certain ways on that property. I generally will respect that or leave.

Agreed respect or vote/disagree with your patronage/$s...and seek another source with a philosophy/policy you agree with.

 

[DB92]

In a former career, I worked for a big city PD and along one of the main streets were several fast food restaurants with bus stop insets so the busses could stop and board passengers without blocking the street. There were signs which said No Stopping/Parking, Bus only. People would park there to run in and grab a Big Mac and if that street was on your beat, you were expected to write the parking tickets. The tickets back then were $75, this was back in 1980.. we thought that was very expensive but that is what it was. People would come out with their Big Mac in a sack and yell and scream at us for writing the ticket. I never felt bad writing those tickets because the signs were quite visible.

I wouldnt feel bad either, but your story seams unrelated to the topic.

 

[DB92]

The way I see it is private property owners have the right to ask people to behave in certain ways on that property. I generally will respect that or leave.

Well I dont think it is that simple. We are not talking about a residence. This is an establishment open for business to the public. Business owners cannot simply ask people to behave in certain ways or have unlimited control over who they want to give priority of service to.
For instance lets consider another first come first serve practice...Lines. Will it be ok if next time I am at the market standing behind you in line, the cashier asks you to step aside for me because I wear a bracelet that shows I donated to a particular charity?

Or lets say I have children with me, do I get to cut in front of you in line then?

When does it become discriminatory?

I revert back to the parking, it is clearly economic discrimination as most low income people cannot afford a hybrid. Low income people, PARK IN THE BACK. When is that sign going up?

With your argument, I can open a business and simply because it is on private property I can choose a creative way to discriminate against who ever I like, enforce my rule without it being sanctioned by city or state and that would be morally acceptable to you.

I do respect your opinion and appreciate your comment on this. I am hear to discuss and learn, share and perhaps learn the flaws in my logic as well. I am trying to tread lightly here.

 

[DB92]

Hybrid or zero emissions parking is a credit for LEED building certification, not a political statement or bias. Don't read into it more that just a company trying to fulfill the requisite credits for certification.

Interesting, I will look into that. I dont see how the family parking has anything to do with being green. If rewarding "green" was the motivation they would ask families to park in the back for being a gross polluting group of people. More trash and more consumption from those family types. That is an assumed veiw from a radical "green" perspective.

 

[Daedalus]

With your argument, I can open a business and simply because it is on private property I can choose a creative way to discriminate against who ever I like, enforce my rule without it being sanctioned by city or state and that would be morally acceptable to you.

Is this about morals or is this about legality? "No shirt, no shoes, no service"--legal.

 

[jonas1jp]

Interesting, I will look into that. I dont see how the family parking has anything to do with being green. If rewarding "green" was the motivation they would ask families to park in the back for being a gross polluting group of people. More trash and more consumption from those family types. That is an assumed veiw from a radical "green" perspective.

Well, the hybrid would burn less gas if it parked at the entrance of the parking lot instead of driving all the way to the front door of said establishment. :tongue:

 

[warrenw]

I like the parking with children designated areas.
Tells me where not to park.
Perfect.

 

[DB92]

Is this about morals or is this about legality? "No shirt, no shoes, no service"--legal.

I was commenting on a individual decision by that member that felt the sign was ok and would respect said sign or leave. He did not really comment what he actually thinks about the sign but would ultimately respect the wishes of the property owner. Is it safe to say he has a moral respect for the property owner? I think so. He is certainly not legally bound to mindlessly obey the sign. So he is bound by his morals.

 

[DB92]

As one who uses the parking with children, I like it and see it has improving safety- the less I have to walk through a parking lot with little ones (who are hard to be seen by many SUVs and tall cars), the better. They are also more visible to other drivers, being at the end of the row. There's also only a couple, and they're mixed in with 20 minute or less parking (which I also use if I'm solo and making a fast trip), and there is plenty of close normal parking, if you can walk an extra 20 feet.

Granted, I live on the edge of suburbia, so I'd be different if it was the first 10 spaces of every row versus 3 in only 2 rows.

It always baffles me when I see parents lets their kids wander on there own in parking lots. I think parents rounding up the kids and keeping them near safe is the best thing to do. You know what is 3 feet from the front parking spot? A throughway for cars, trucks and SUVs. A child unattended hopping out of the car ( in the "safe" parking spot) and running around the rear of the vehicle could easily be hit by another car driving by. This front parking can obviously give people a false sense of security. No matter where you park, open the door for your kids and keep them close. Seriously, its interesting that you brought that up because I have seen a couple of scary examples of near disasters.

So is this a good safety measure? I dont think so.

 

[DB92]

Is this about morals or is this about legality? "No shirt, no shoes, no service"--legal.

I believe store owners can make policies. Just not ones the defy the logic of first come first serve and to use social or economical status of an individual to disrupt that order. The requirement to wear shoes does not disrupt this order.

In engineering terms.. KISS.. Keep It Simple Stupid. NOT calling you stupid Daedalus. Its how the saying goes.

Its just parking, you make one sign and ten will follow. How is that superior to the simple first come first serve logic. I have not heard anyone make a good argument against that.