It's not too late for another 2019 New Year's wish, so here goes. To me the idea of a "Compact" parking space being any different, i.e. smaller, than any other parking space is a sad little joke. Nobody pays any attention to the Compact markings, if they can even read them after a few months. Their existence is a ploy to meet a parking requirement while making the parking lot more inconvenient (and occasionally expensive due to ding and paint repair) for people using the lot. These Compact spaces fill up with SUVs and large sedans like any other space and I have never seen any enforcement. Nor am I suggesting that the BPD or private security like Safeway has in place enforce it. It's hopeless. So dear city planners, let's just dump the idea and make anyone, especially the forthcoming "high-density" developers, put in real parking spaces all around. As evidence, here is a row of "Compact" spaces at Safeway on a recent day.
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I’m no longer surprised at what passes for “design” that city y’all approves.
In that same Safeway parking lot, under the awning, are laughably poorly placed bike parking racks. They’re too close to the wall and the railing and impossible to get to. Check it out:
https://goo.gl/maps/CPjUCjq1ZLy
Focus is on following minimums and checking a box. Never mind that it doesn’t make sense. It looks good on a 2D piece of paper so it must be on. It’s design by paper, but not common sense or from a user perspective. How many car spaces? Oh we have 200, don’t worry that half of it is not accessible or usable by regular vehicles. Bike parking? We have 8 (but only 4 are really usable, but hey 8)
Posted by: BMW | January 25, 2019 at 08:48 AM
If a SUV parks in a compact space then they accept by their action, all dings, dents, and nasty notes which will undoubtedly follow!
Posted by: It Don't Come Easy | January 25, 2019 at 01:39 PM
Wonder if they draw lines towards the back of the space designating compact car length and if your car extends beyond this line you get ticketed or towed. Cool idea? Easy to implement?
Posted by: CarIdea | March 16, 2019 at 01:41 PM
Sheer brilliance, Caridea. We should get out there with some spray paint tomorrow. I love it.
Posted by: Sign me up | March 16, 2019 at 09:26 PM
Here is an entry in the Stupid Judges file regarding parking enforcement:
The next time parking enforcement officers use chalk to mark your tires, they might be acting unconstitutionally.
A federal appeals court ruled Monday that "chalking" is a violation of the Fourth Amendment.
"Trespassing upon a privately-owned vehicle parked on a public street to place a chalk mark to begin gathering information to ultimately impose a government sanction is unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment," Taylor's lawyer, Philip Ellison, wrote in a court filing.
Law professor Orin Kerr, noting that he had never seen a chalking case before, said parking enforcement officers could sidestep the constitutional issue altogether by simply taking a photo of the car rather than using chalk.
_____________
That last bit might be an entry for the Stupid Law Professor file. Who is going to pay for 100s of photos to be filed and retrievable and how is that not a much more invasive "search"?? Just plain stupid all around. We spent a lot of effort to get 2 hour parking on our street since it is so close to the Ave. How is the city supposed to enforce it cost effectively?
Posted by: Joe | April 23, 2019 at 05:04 PM