Parking is the window to the soul

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Highlands John

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Lots of parking discussions before, but we've come to the conclusion you can often tell what people are going to be like before they even get out of their car, just by the way they park.
Had a lady staying recently who drove up the drive at speed and just dumped the car at an awkward angle outside our garage door even though both parking bays where empty. She turned out to be rude and arrogant.
Group in last night left the car badly parked so it was difficult for others to get in and out, turned out to be noisy with no consideration for others.
The not so bright park in daft places. The considerate park carefully and get out to check its in the right Place?
Its not what you drive that says a lot about you, but how you drive it.
 
Exactly!
Had a young couple walk in last night. He parked the car and she was getting her stuff out. He looked out and saw he was slightly across the line and next thing she was closing the door and he was starting up the car and parking it properly.
I have high hopes for them.
And yet we have a really nice couple who can never seem to park the car properly IF they are the first guests to arrive. They fall into the 'daft' category.
 
Do you also see different cultures parking differently, say Italians vs. Germans?
 
HJ I agree. and those same people...even funnier can make it across country and can't work out how to get to the front door here.
By now you have seen our inn, Victorian with front porch (not back porch), steps leading up to front door, not back door, tall a little bit ornate front door with transoms above it, and yet they come to the back door, often so that we have a note on it that says USE MAIN ENTRANCE.
Your same theory applies, I don't even utter it anymore, I already know...helpless souls, going to need hand holding, terrific! Oh and of course this means they don't read either, besides being daft, as three email corresponsdence from us says to park in rear and come to the front door and ring bell.
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Do you also see different cultures parking differently, say Italians vs. Germans?.
Arkansawyer said:
Do you also see different cultures parking differently, say Italians vs. Germans?
I would see EITHER OF THOSE being able to park on a dime. I realize you didn't mention any other cultures which may be implies, but since majority here are none of those I would say "older women" and younger guests, are the worst. Ocassionally we will have someone in a beat up pick up who parks further away, I think they do that on purpose.
Anyone in a brand new convertable (you insert the high end vehicle here) will park across three spots or sideways, or not even in a spot. We do get convertables as they love to drive this road here, so they are notorious.
 
I booked an inn at a popular tourist destination in our State for September and they have only 15 spots for 16 rooms. When I made the reservation I asked about the off-street parking and found this out. There is free street parking after 6 pm on Friday through the weekend but that probably goes quickly. Once you park your vehicle you walk most everywhere and there are free trolleys.
I know that I have to get there at the beginning of the check-in window to get a spot for our little car....
 
I booked an inn at a popular tourist destination in our State for September and they have only 15 spots for 16 rooms. When I made the reservation I asked about the off-street parking and found this out. There is free street parking after 6 pm on Friday through the weekend but that probably goes quickly. Once you park your vehicle you walk most everywhere and there are free trolleys.
I know that I have to get there at the beginning of the check-in window to get a spot for our little car.....
We have a total of 8 spots with 7 rooms. We have 2 cars. The math doesn't work.
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So, this year we randomly painted another parking spot in. It's been used many times now even when all the 'regular' parking is still available. Last week by a couple of bikers towing a huge trailer behind their huge truck.
 
We have only two protected spot and we charge for them (inner city). So we have a few that gladly pay to know their car is protected. My observations...
There are those who wait and hope I will offer it for free (I don't)
There are those who hope I will save them a free spot on the street (I don't)
There are those who can't manage to read the signs at all. (Yes, they are in French and may be difficult, but seriously, it's the North American red slashed P with the hours of 15H - 23H on it. You would think that military time is rocket science.)
There are those who won't read the signs at all. Park in front in an illegal zone and then look at me and say it's parked legally. (With a minority asking me if it is, rather than telling me.)
There are those who blame me for the street signs.
And there are those who are just happy enough to let us explain the signs and then go and find a free parking spot. (We sometimes even get into the car with them to help them find a spot. Of course, when you finally do and walk back, often someone has just moved their car and there is a spot maybe 25m from the house! Ugh!)
One thing that I have learnt, I never mention the paid parking spots to those who didn't reserve them ahead of time. I have mentioned them enough time that if they wanted it, they would have reserved it. They think that I'm just trying to be "grubby" with them. It's all fine, I have no problem with those who want to park for free, just as long as they remember it's the inner city, everyone wants to park for free :)
There are those who reserve a spot, find a free spot and then expect me to take it off the bill. Sorry, but that's not an option. I have to turn others down when you ask for it. It's yours and available, if and when you want it.
The one exception... if we sell out the spots and someone asks for it, we will try to put our car in a spot that they can then use, free. But only if they asked specifically to reserve one of the two paid spots. It's a courtesy we extend to those who do plan ahead.
Oh... and of course there are the suburbanites who want to take their car everywhere. If they are in the paid spots, no problem, it's there when they want it. (But they soon learn to regret it, at $6 an hour to park almost anywhere in town). But the ones who park on the street and move their car.... they really learn their lesson when they come back and spend more time just trying to find a spot. The next time, they figure out that there is a reason why they have legs :) We help finding a spot once, but not repeatedly... you shouldn't have moved the car in the first place!
We live in the inner city, we WALK, bike or take public transport. It's cheaper to take public transport than to pay for parking. Heck, sometimes it's cheaper to take a taxi than to pay for parking. It is the inner city after all.
Honestly, at times, I think instructions and signs are simply a discount for those who read and think.
 
We have a gravel parking spot that fits two vehicles. I have a nicely painted signs with the name of each suite (we only have two suites) in front of each spot. Then we paint a white line down the center. Works like a charm!
Before we did this people would take up both spots or park in weird ways.
This worked like a charm.
 
We have a gravel parking spot that fits two vehicles. I have a nicely painted signs with the name of each suite (we only have two suites) in front of each spot. Then we paint a white line down the center. Works like a charm!
Before we did this people would take up both spots or park in weird ways.
This worked like a charm..
vancouverislander said:
We have a gravel parking spot that fits two vehicles. I have a nicely painted signs with the name of each suite (we only have two suites) in front of each spot. Then we paint a white line down the center. Works like a charm!
Before we did this people would take up both spots or park in weird ways.
This worked like a charm.
We have a similar arrangement minus the white stripe. Our problems arise when "couples" arrive in more than one vehicle. We have to show them where to put the second and sometimes (if both cottages are rented to a group) third and fourth vehicles. Why do people assume that there will be parking for a second vehicle? Wouldn't you ask?
 
We have a gravel parking spot that fits two vehicles. I have a nicely painted signs with the name of each suite (we only have two suites) in front of each spot. Then we paint a white line down the center. Works like a charm!
Before we did this people would take up both spots or park in weird ways.
This worked like a charm..
vancouverislander said:
We have a gravel parking spot that fits two vehicles. I have a nicely painted signs with the name of each suite (we only have two suites) in front of each spot. Then we paint a white line down the center. Works like a charm!
Before we did this people would take up both spots or park in weird ways.
This worked like a charm.
People in Vancouver must be able to read better than people around here.
 
And so it goes again...3 guest cars in the parking lot. Not a single one of them IN the actual parking space. So, 3 cars taking 6 spaces and none of them in the house.
And now we have a random car parked out there that is going to end up towed.
 
And so it goes again...3 guest cars in the parking lot. Not a single one of them IN the actual parking space. So, 3 cars taking 6 spaces and none of them in the house.
And now we have a random car parked out there that is going to end up towed..
We had this yesterday was furious! was sticking out so much I didn't think they would be able to deliver the skips that we need! wrote a huge note and stuck it onto the window with duct tape!
 
And so it goes again...3 guest cars in the parking lot. Not a single one of them IN the actual parking space. So, 3 cars taking 6 spaces and none of them in the house.
And now we have a random car parked out there that is going to end up towed..
We had this yesterday was furious! was sticking out so much I didn't think they would be able to deliver the skips that we need! wrote a huge note and stuck it onto the window with duct tape!
.
I call that restraint... I would have been tempted to use glue stick.
 
And so it goes again...3 guest cars in the parking lot. Not a single one of them IN the actual parking space. So, 3 cars taking 6 spaces and none of them in the house.
And now we have a random car parked out there that is going to end up towed..
We had this yesterday was furious! was sticking out so much I didn't think they would be able to deliver the skips that we need! wrote a huge note and stuck it onto the window with duct tape!
.
I call that restraint... I would have been tempted to use glue stick.
.
would have if I could have found one in the time before I had to dash out! was absolutely ruddy steaming! I know it was one of the neighbours as has a street permit on the dash.
 
Our problem is people driving on our lawn. Sure, we're in the country, but we're not hicks. For some reason they think it's ok to pull on to the lawn to make it easier for them to turn around in our parking lot. They're not just pulling their front or back end on the lawn a little, they're pulling the entire car on our lawn! I really want to go to their house and drive on their lawn and see what they would do!
 
Our problem is people driving on our lawn. Sure, we're in the country, but we're not hicks. For some reason they think it's ok to pull on to the lawn to make it easier for them to turn around in our parking lot. They're not just pulling their front or back end on the lawn a little, they're pulling the entire car on our lawn! I really want to go to their house and drive on their lawn and see what they would do!.
Breakfast Diva said:
Our problem is people driving on our lawn. Sure, we're in the country, but we're not hicks. For some reason they think it's ok to pull on to the lawn to make it easier for them to turn around in our parking lot. They're not just pulling their front or back end on the lawn a little, they're pulling the entire car on our lawn! I really want to go to their house and drive on their lawn and see what they would do!
I'd take the dog with you too.
 
Our problem is people driving on our lawn. Sure, we're in the country, but we're not hicks. For some reason they think it's ok to pull on to the lawn to make it easier for them to turn around in our parking lot. They're not just pulling their front or back end on the lawn a little, they're pulling the entire car on our lawn! I really want to go to their house and drive on their lawn and see what they would do!.
I'm in town with a landscaped yard on both sides of the driveway and we still get people who make a big, wide swoop of a turn in the driveway and go right across the lawn. Born in the basement and never brought up.
I've had tractor trailers turn around at the end of my driveway and NEVER so much as roll across the mulch by the fence and these other yahoos can't make a 3-point turn in a parking lot!
 
At last, retrubution.
Waiting for last two sets of guests to arrive. One set arrive, park their car blocking everyone else in/out. Start getting their stuff out of the car when second set arrive, they have to stop outside the gate while they wait for the first set to park properly so then can get in. Even then the first set parked in front of our garage rather than the available parking space (not a problem but they didn't know that).
I watched the whole pantomime unfold from the kitchen with a satisfied smirk.
 
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