[macroy]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...-parking_x.htm

Hope it becomes a trend all over. While the reasoning is more to accomodate SUV's - I'm all for it as one of my biggest peeves is the door ding. Although I guess this will do little to help those that happen to be next to a skill-less parker/driver.

[wdlove]

I guess that the old saying would apply, if you can't fight them you might as well join them.

[IFLY2HIGH]

Look at these Ford, Dodge, Chevy Mamoth 4 Door, Dullie Trucks, they can't fit in any space, and are forced to take up two or park way at the end. I myself park my Dakota far away just cause spaces are small, and people dont nessarly park right in the center. All it takes is one person to park too close to the line and it throws everything else off down the line or a space no one can park into, and then you have people that just don't care how they park or what they do to the car next to them.

I liked the old K-Mart parking lots, they had the space, then like a 2 foot buffer painted then another space and so on. Those are nice spaces cause about no matter what you have enough space, but in the eyes of parking lot designers, that takes up too much space and they can fit in an extra 5 spaces per row if they make them such and such a size smaller.

// End Rant

[xi_hyperon]

This would be nice. I'm normally careful where I park, but the other day someone put a huge dent in my front fender. I'd like just once to be there when someone does that.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

For bigger cars or bigger asses trying to get out of the cars?

[screamingFit]

Great! Tear up more green space to put in bigger parking lots for envoronmental/physical destruction vehicles to park at environmental/social destroying businesses. The logic baffles me...

Perhaps it's not the parking lots but the gross consumption of Americans that should be fixed.

[powerbook867]

Both!

Originally posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker:
For bigger cars or bigger asses trying to get out of the cars?

[mitchell_pgh]

Bad idea IMHO.

Let the truckzilla buying people park far far away to avoid dings. Small car owning people should be rewarded... not penalized by less spaces because of larger SUVs

[SimeyTheLimey]

Originally posted by mitchell_pgh:
Bad idea IMHO.

Let the truckzilla buying people park far far away to avoid dings. Small car owning people should be rewarded... not penalized by less spaces because of larger SUVs

On the contrary, smaller car owners are punished by the combination of small parking spaces and large trucks. Whose vehicles do you think get dinged? It's not the big truck, it's the unfortunate small car it parks next to it that gets hurt.

[BasketofPuppies]

Originally posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker:
For bigger cars or bigger asses trying to get out of the cars?

Are you so shallow the only enjoyment you get out of life is trolling on Internet message boards?

[olePigeon]

Great. Less parking spots. This'll make holiday shopping even better.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally posted by BasketofPuppies:
Are you so shallow the only enjoyment you get out of life is trolling on Internet message boards?

Are you so shallow the only enjoyment you get is out of calling people trolls and shallow on message boards?

[Mastrap]

Originally posted by SimeyTheLimey:
On the contrary, smaller car owners are punished by the combination of small parking spaces and large trucks. Whose vehicles do you think get dinged? It's not the big truck, it's the unfortunate small car it parks next to it that gets hurt.

In Europe you'll get smaller parking spaces at half the cost. These are especially for people driving Smart, or similar, cars.
The obsession many people have with SUVs and large trucks is nothing short of obscene. I can understand the farmer or the person living in a remote home needing one of these but the vast majority of SUVs I've ever seen have never been near a muddy road.

[alphasubzero949]

Originally posted by olePigeon:
Great. Less parking spots. This'll make holiday shopping even better.

[Millennium]

Why should a person be rewarded or punished for the kind of car they choose to drive? It's a car, for crying out loud; there are more important things to worry about rewarding or punishing.

[SimeyTheLimey]

Originally posted by Mastrap:
In Europe you'll get smaller parking spaces at half the cost. These are especially for people driving Smart, or similar, cars.
The obsession many people have with SUVs and large trucks is nothing short of obscene. I can understand the farmer or the person living in a remote home needing one of these but the vast majority of SUVs I've ever seen have never been near a muddy road.

I don't particularly like SUVs in urban areas either, but I also don't want the government regulating the matter. If a private parking garage wants to charge less for smaller spaces, and can leverage that as a selling point, then great. I have no problem with that. I'd certainly be happy because one of the reasons I pay what I pay for my downtown parking space (currently, $240 a month) is because I chose one with larger spaces so my smallish car wouldn't get dinged by SUV doors.

However, mostly what we are talking about here are free parking spaces in places like shopping malls. That's where most people do their public parking, and there, there isn't really an economic lever to use. It is unrealistic to think that truck owners won't go to the stores if the spaces are small. They will just continue to do what they do now -- squeeze into the small space, and ding some poor SOB's car.

It is also unrealistic to expect private businesses to make their businesses less friendly to change car buying habits. They are in the business of attracting customers, not turning them away. If their customers want bigger parking spaces, that is what the business will have the incentive to give them. If car fashions change, then the businesses that cater to drivers will change to follow.

[Sherwin]

Originally posted by Mastrap:
In Europe you'll get smaller parking spaces at half the cost. These are especially for people driving Smart, or similar, cars.
The obsession many people have with SUVs and large trucks is nothing short of obscene. I can understand the farmer or the person living in a remote home needing one of these but the vast majority of SUVs I've ever seen have never been near a muddy road.

Mas, Mas, Mas.... Didn't you used to own a Land Rover while living in London? Just 'coz it was a Series II doesn't make it any different from, say, a Grand Cherokee in terms of "sensible for location" car ownership.

Originally posted by Simey:
On the contrary, smaller car owners are punished by the combination of small parking spaces and large trucks.

Narh. Small car owners are punished by having to drive around in small cars. I've been tooling around in a new Ford Focus for the last few weeks and it's horrendous - a proper girls' car.

(wisdom: the more arm-rest width a car has between the driver and passenger, the less of a girls' car it is. Girls like to rub shoulders with their passenger. Heterosexual men do not.)

[Cadaver]

In America, everything gets wider. Cars... asses...

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally posted by Millennium:
Why should a person be rewarded or punished for the kind of car they choose to drive? It's a car, for crying out loud; there are more important things to worry about rewarding or punishing.

Ford just canceled one of its SUV's because it was such an environmental disaster. HUGE and chugging tons of gas.

[RAILhead]

I just with they'd make them all at angles, rather than nose to nose.

[mitchell_pgh]

Originally posted by SimeyTheLimey:
On the contrary, smaller car owners are punished by the combination of small parking spaces and large trucks. Whose vehicles do you think get dinged? It's not the big truck, it's the unfortunate small car it parks next to it that gets hurt.

Very interesting... I guess I'm so used to the rat race in DC that I can't consider the thought of there being less spots to park. I see enough single driver monster SUVs being driven then ever before.

And I wonder why it takes me 50 minutes to drive home or 25 minutes on the Metro from downtown.

[Goldfinger]

Originally posted by Sherwin:
Mas, Mas, Mas.... Didn't you used to own a Land Rover while living in London? Just 'coz it was a Series II doesn't make it any different from, say, a Grand Cherokee in terms of "sensible for location" car ownership.

The fact that it was a Series 2 DID make it different

[BasketofPuppies]

Originally posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker:
Are you so shallow the only enjoyment you get is out of calling people trolls and shallow on message boards?

Seeing as how you're already admitted it, I'm not accusing you.

[mitchell_pgh]

Originally posted by Millennium:
Why should a person be rewarded or punished for the kind of car they choose to drive? It's a car, for crying out loud; there are more important things to worry about rewarding or punishing.

For me, it reminds me of "horizontally challenged" people having to pay more for airplane tickets. It makes sense.

[SimeyTheLimey]

Originally posted by mitchell_pgh:
Very interesting... I guess I'm so used to the rat race in DC that I can't consider the thought of there being less spots to park. I see enough single driver monster SUVs being driven then ever before.

And I wonder why it takes me 50 minutes to drive home or 25 minutes on the Metro from downtown.

I'm pretty used to the rat race in DC too. FYI, it takes me about the same time door to door to drive 22 miles home to suburban Virginia as it did to take Metro home when I lived near Trinity College. And frankly, I'm happier (though quite a bit poorer) driving.

I don't think the existance of SUV's makes really any difference to congestion. A single driver in the average car doesn't take up significantly less space than a single driver in the average SUV. In both cases, there are usually good reasons to be driving alone. FOr example, although my partner and I commute to locations only blocks apart, our schedules are vastly different. So we each drive. And of course, there is also no Metro where we live.

D.C.'s parking woes are mostly caused by the city government's short niggardly attitude to street parking and parking lots, and greedy attitude to parking fines. Compare the number of car spaces there are on a street in D.C. with the number in Manhattan to see what I mean. D.C. seems to think that fire engines require 20 feet around every intersection. What a waste of space. But what a revenue flow from illegally parked cars!

But don't get me started.

Back on topic, I do make decisions about where to take my car based on whether or not I am going to get my car smacked in the parking lot. I don't think I am the only driver to consider it. I have a little row of dents in the side of my car -- most of which happened when my old apartment made the spaces narrower. Have you ever priced bodywork? Teuer!

So without really meaning to, and without myself driving an SUV, I, and drivers like me send a message to businesses that want my money: Don't expect me to get my car damaged just so you can squeeze in a handful of extra spaces.

[Zimphire]

Originally posted by BasketofPuppies:
Are you so shallow the only enjoyment you get out of life is trolling on Internet message boards?

He is homosexual. Homosexuals are allowed to be shallow and it's ok.

[Zimphire]

Originally posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker:
Ford just canceled one of its SUV's because it was such an environmental disaster. HUGE and chugging tons of gas.

I wonder what the Canadian car makers have done.

Oh wait...

[Sherwin]

Originally posted by SimeyTheLimey:
I don't think the existance of SUV's makes really any difference to congestion.

This is true. There's been a lot of anti-SUV feeling increasing here lately, on the grounds that they take up too much space...

However, if one takes a look at the stats, one will find that a Ford Mondeo uses more ground space than a Grand Cherokee.

I'm convinced that SUV-hate is actually SUV-jealousy.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally posted by BasketofPuppies:
Seeing as how you're already admitted it, I'm not accusing you.

Pfff, admitted?

[Skip Breakfast]

I've never been envious of any SUV. Period. My needs for something that large or so infrequent that I'll rent one if necessary.

[SimeyTheLimey]

Originally posted by Sherwin:
I'm convinced that SUV-hate is actually SUV-jealousy.

Not in my case, the only reason I really dislike them is because I like to be able to see through the vehicle to the front of me. Driving in my car I sometimes feel like I (at 5'9") am at a movie theater behind some 6'4" overgrown giant like Mr. Mastrap.

Other than that, I don't really care if people want to drive them. I prefer the handling of a car. Other people like the flexibility of an SUV. It's a free country (though it would be a lot more costly if social engineering liberals had more of their way).

[Sherwin]

Originally posted by SimeyTheLimey:
Not in my case, the only reason I really dislike them is because I like to be able to see through the vehicle to the front of me. Driving in my car I sometimes feel like I (at 5'9") am at a movie theater behind some 6'4" overgrown giant like Mr. Mastrap.

So this isn't a case of SUV-hate then, as your reason for disliking them can be also applied to box-vans, trucks, horse-trailers, etc., etc..

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally posted by Sherwin:
So this isn't a case of SUV-hate then, as your reason for disliking them can be also applied to box-vans, trucks, horse-trailers, etc., etc..

More people don't take horse-trailers and box vans to the mall for lunch.

[BasketofPuppies]

Originally posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker:
Pfff, admitted?

Originally posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker:
Plus trying to piss off either is like shooting fish in a barrel

[Mastrap]

Point taken on the Landy
In my defence, it was a classic car and it did see plenty of mud. But it did guzzle gas as if it was going out of fashion. The resulting feelings of guilt are part of the reason why I am now Landy-less and just about to purchase a tree hugging Saab.

Personally I am not all that bothered about the size of the average SUV, the thing that pisses me off the most is how bad they are for the environment.

And Simey, I am 6'6"

[Sherwin]

Originally posted by Mastrap:
Point taken on the Landy ;D
In my defence, it was a classic car and it did see plenty of mud. But it did guzzle gas as if it was going out of fashion. The resulting feelings of guilt are part of the reason why I am now Landy-less and just about to purchase a tree hugging Saab.

You know you'll want another Landy soon - can't escape from them that easy! Give me a PM if you need to know any contact details for UK to Canada Landy exporters - I've got some floating around somewhere.

Originally posted by Mastrap:
Personally I am not all that bothered about the size of the average SUV, the thing that pisses me off the most is how bad they are for the environment.

Point taken with regard to huge US SUV's. However, here I've had environmental whackos moaning about my Jeep guzzling gas. Funny thing is, the 1.6 Focus I've been tooling around in does exactly the same mileage (and it's a new car - not an oldie with a shot engine). I think I need to get a larger engine in the Jeep in order to justify their moaning.

[xi_hyperon]

Originally posted by mitchell_pgh:
Bad idea IMHO.

Let the truckzilla buying people park far far away to avoid dings. Small car owning people should be rewarded... not penalized by less spaces because of larger SUVs

It was probably a large car or SUV that dinged the crap out of my compact car.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally posted by BasketofPuppies:
Plus trying to piss off either is like shooting fish in a barrel

Translation: Getting Americans pissed off is easy as can be.

Not "I am a troll"

Duh

[BasketofPuppies]

Apparently trying means something different in Canada.

[Mastrap]

Originally posted by Sherwin:
You know you'll want another Landy soon - can't escape from them that easy! Give me a PM if you need to know any contact details for UK to Canada Landy exporters - I've got some floating around somewhere.

I am already a card carrying member of the Ottawa valley Land Rover club. You can take the boy out of the Landy, but you can't take the Landy out of the boy.

Having said that, I am not sure if I'm going to get another Series II. They're not really build for long distance travelling and if Canada is about one thing, it's about long distances. I've gotta make me some money, get me a cottage somewhere up north and then keep a Landy up there, in the wilderness where it belongs.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Originally posted by BasketofPuppies:
Apparently trying means something different in Canada.

In this case it means "always succeeding"

[OldManMac]

Leave the parking spaces alone. In the not too distant future, when gas doubles or triples in price, the monster SUV craze will be seriously diminished, when people realize that their wallets are more important than their necessity to outdo their neighbor. The used car lots will be overflowing with large SUVs, and the truly wealthy will be able to pick one up dirt cheap, at around $1 each.

[macroy]

Originally posted by SimeyTheLimey:


Back on topic, I do make decisions about where to take my car based on whether or not I am going to get my car smacked in the parking lot. I don't think I am the only driver to consider it. I have a little row of dents in the side of my car -- most of which happened when my old apartment made the spaces narrower. Have you ever priced bodywork? Teuer!

So without really meaning to, and without myself driving an SUV, I, and drivers like me send a message to businesses that want my money: Don't expect me to get my car damaged just so you can squeeze in a handful of extra spaces.

I've actually arrived at restaurants, malls, etc... and left for another 'cause I couldn't find a space I liked. Although this isn't as much about the small spaces as knowing that some F&*!ing lowlife with no regard for other people's possession may ding up my car.

And I would never drive to DC (or I guess any major downtown area)... just not worth the hassle. Luckly, most destinations there are Metro accessible.

[Zimphire]

Originally posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker:
In this case it means "always succeeding"

You have us making fun of you mixed up with something else I think.

[AKcrab]

Here in Alaska the parking spaces are already bigger. I couldn't believe how small they were in Hawaii.

And for eight months of the year, the lines are covered by snow and muck, so parking is basically a free-for-all. You should see some of the crazy "lines" that people form. No spatial sense at all.

There is often a separate place for large vehicles. Large as in Class A motor homes, fifth wheels, vehicles towing boats, that sort of thing.

[Kilbey]

I am satisfied with parking spaces the way they are.

I usually park near the back of the lot anyway. It makes it easy to find my car later and I find it safer from break-ins because there usually aren't any other cars to shield a thief from view.

[TailsToo]

No matter how careful I am, I can never escape door dings... my 2nd to last car had a huge one 2 days after I got it, and the current car got one within a month, then got stuck by a hail storm. After getting it fixed, I had two more dings in the next two months. F*** it, I have many other things to worry about.