October 7, 2008
Park It: Spot or Not?
The Front Steps came home the other day, during that Bluegrass music thingy that happened in Golden Gate Park, and found the image at right parked near their apartment.
Uh oh.
It looks like the car is about two to three feet over the imaginary lines where the curb dips into no-no parking territory. Anyway, the neighbors, it seems, had the car towed for this (shoddy?) parking job. The Front Steps, much too kind to have a car towed, wonders if, in fact, this is a spot or not. We say no. But, yeah, we wouldn't have called to have it removed either.
Find out more about what went down here.
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Let's see...
* In two driveways
* More than a bumper's length in each.
* Gone for hours
I'd have it ticketed in a heartbeat, and possibly towed depending on how much it impacted getting in and out of the driveway.
P.S. The BS comment system managed to log me out in between typing my comment and hitting submit. Of course, instead of keeping my text for me so I can re-login and go from there, I had to start over. The baby Jesus is crying.
People still care about that shit?
No, it's not a spot. Yes, I'd have called for a tow as soon as I saw it.
so not a parking spot. I have no qualms about calling to ticket poorly parked cars. if it doesn't look like my big ass volvo will fit, I won't park there. if you're not willing to take on the burden of looking for a spot that will fit your car, you don't deserve to be able to drive your car.
on the other end of the spectrum, check out some awesome parking skills I found in my 'hood:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amandica/2921149978/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amandica/2920306847/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/amandica/2921150652/
Definitely not a spot, but it's not really in anyone's way either...if it were left there overnight I might call it in, but not just for a couple of hours. I don't see the point of calling unless it's truly impacting someone else.
It looks like the ticket-calling household's car (black job on right edge of photo) is pulled up on the sidewalk. This car should be put in a trash compacter. Towing is too mild. The wrong car got punished.
not a spot.
no I wouldn't tow it unless it kept me from coming/going. If it did I would key it, shit in it, tow it and shoot it. In that order.
Tow the bitch. I've called and had cars ticketed for blocking the sidewalk while I was walking by.
So how did The Front Steps find that image parked in front of their apartment? Was it a Polaroid, a 4x6 print, or what?
It's a spot for something like a motorcycle or a SmartCar, not for the car in the photo.
Let me see. A white sedan parked in two driveways. It hasn't been towed. You can't see for certain from the picture, but I'd bet that's a city car on city business*.
*shagging
If 'the front steps' got rid of their own car, they wouldn't have to spend their time whining about other people's parking.
I'd never park that way, and would only tow if it prevented me from easily getting out of the garage, or if it was a chronic situation or parker.
towing costs upwards of 300 bucks. i wouldn't park like that, but i'd also not be able to buy groceries until the next paycheck if someone had me towed. if you can't get out of the driveway, it's justified, but try rolling out over the curb first.
also, on my block, people drive their cars up onto the sidewalk and parallel park in a strange, inside double-parking maneuver (wide sidewalk.) i find it ridiculous, but ballsy enough that i don't call them out.
I despise DPT, I despise even more people who use DPT to get other peoples cars towed. Understood if it’s blocking your driveway but if you can get out go find a better hobby. Next time get a pen write something on some paper and tell the jackass his a idiot.
If it's not my driveway, I couldn't give a crap. Even if it was my driveway, unless if have somewhere to be, I couldn't give a crap. But maybe I should be giving thanks to the universe that my life is good enough that I don't need to seek revenge over a bad parking job.
The double parking *on the sidewalk* thing I will call to get towed without hesitation.
For my money there is nothing more entertaining than watching native Asian peeps try to parallel park in the city.
I have absolutely no idea how many of these people got their licenses in the first place.
I would have towed. Also, who knows what kind of damage could befall an illegally parked car like that...
Okay, welcome to what happens everyday in the Richmond district. They were the parking space mirages that I would spot from across the street, U-turn to get to, then swear up a storm when I couldn't fit. Le sigh.
Where do I call to get them towed? I've seen the double park on the sidewalk (two BMWs, one of them an SUV -- anyone surprised?) just walking around the city and would have loved to be able to do more than just take pictures.
"towing costs upwards of 300 bucks. i wouldn't park like that, but i'd also not be able to buy groceries until the next paycheck if someone had me towed"
Then it's advisable to not park in a way that would create a likelihood of towing.
It's a spot. It's useless for anything except a Smart or a motorcycle, but dammit, it's a spot. What I wonder is why these (non)spots were designed this way in the first place. Didn't all these homes get built when cars were huge? Why all the wasted curb length?
qviri- you can report cars that are illegally parked or abandoned, but you can only tow cars that are blocking YOUR driveway. The DPT officer will ask you to come out of your house and identify the car to be towed. The DPT # is 553-1200. Call 311 to report abandoned cars. "Abandoned" = parked in the same spot for more than 72 hours.
Ah, thanks. If the same applies to ticketing, I guess I'll have to resort to posting pictures on Flickr with smart-ass commentary.
I'm like Travin...I'd only call for a tow if it actually blocked me and I needed to go somewhere. I wouldn't have someone towed if I had no plans to leave, unless maybe the improperly parked car was still there the next day or something.
I did back out of a partly blocked driveway once with the passenger side dropping off the curb. I actually damaged my old Acura a bit. I won't do that again unless its an emergency.
Since you can't see the other side of the driveway, it's hard to call. I'm definitely more inclined to tow, though.
If you wait to have a car towed that is blocking you UNTIL you have to go somewhere, well, you are not going there because it can take a long time for the DPT to come you to take care of a blocked driveway. Yes, I've had cars blocking my driveway towed. It's totally not cool to block another person's driveway and it's amazing how many people think that it is ok to do so. I live right next to GGP, and whenever there is an event in the park, people think that it's ok to block me in. If I plan ahead, I put my motorcycle next to my driveway so the the tiny not-a-spot is occupied, but otherwise people are getting towed. I've even tried putting up signs warning people that they will be towed, but it is incredibly how many ignore it.
i report these "crimes" all the time but then again i hate cars and the people who drive them
This care definitely gets towed. Is it really too much to ask that people don't block driveways and make it difficult or impossible to get in or out? Normally. I just ticket people who block our driveway, but this person defintiely needs to learn to be more considerate. I suppose one could just leave a nice note but I doubt anyone would pay attention to that.
feedthebirds, wow...you hate a lot of people. I think they make pills for that.
You'd better get me a prescription for those pills, too, because I also hate cars.
maybe they swooped in after the SmartCar left?
It's a spot, but not for that car.
No, I wouldn't have called if I could've gotten out, but yeah, I'd have left a note.
And definitely no, I wouldn't have called if I didn't live there.
Cars are an imperfect reality. Who the hell lives in such a black and white world?
So many folks drive their cars to the concerts in the park! Too bad for you if you live nearby and want to park within 30 minutes of your house.
Actually, too bad for me since I do and I do.
First of all:
Holy fuck, this is news? Is this Wyomingist?
Second of all:
Why don't people here pretend they live in a real city and take the damn bus?