West Hollywood residents frequently complain about the lack of parking in our compact city. There are many reasons why a parking space can be difficult to find. Unfortunately one of them is that some drivers are oblivious to certain parking basics.
For example, whatever you’re driving, you need to know that you should park between the lines, not across them.
And if you’re one of those “environmentally conscious” WeHo residents who needs to drive a Range Rover or a Mercedes G Class or a Cadillac Escalade, remember that parking spaces labeled for compact cars aren’t for your “status mobile.” More than once this driver has had to crawl across the passenger side of his small Mini Cooper to get behind the steering wheel in the parking structure at 8582 Santa Monica Blvd., where the “compact” spaces often are filled with luxury lounges on wheels.
So what can we do about this? Apparently not much. The parking attendants shrug their shoulders. And while leaving a nasty note on the windshield may make you feel better, it isn’t likely to have much of an impact on someone whose car size betrays an anxious Trumpian sense of the meaning of “big.”
We could, however, shed a little shame on those who don’t understand basic parking rules. Thus WEHOville is inviting its readers to share photos of cars that cross the line or park in spots where they’re not supposed to be. We aren’t including parking spots for the handicapped in this shame campaign because that’s a system so incredibly abused that it’s hard to figure out what permit holder really deserves one. (Remember that City Council candidate who used her disabled parking permit at the City Council Chambers parking structure while also posting on Facebook those photos of herself running on a softball field?)
Use the photos above and below as an example of what you need to catch with your smartphone — the date, the rear of the car and its license plate, and how it is straddling the parking space line or crowding out the compact car properly parked next to it. Email it to me at henry@wehoville.com and I’ll publish it. And include the location. Maybe that will inspire parking lot owners to start enforcing the rules. Don’t worry, we won’t share you name. It’s the People Who Can’t Park we want to call out.
I doubt these people would care if you put their pictures up on a website. It’s usually better to just shake your head and have a laugh and move on. The only people that would be shamed by having their car pictured on a site are the terminally online.
Don’t let these inconsiderate folks ruin your day or cause you to leave a nasty note… it only empowers them. Shaming them doesn’t help either. Try leaving a nicer note pointing out they might not realize that their bad parking inconveniences others and find another space out of the line of fire and runaway shopping carts.
Hank, I’d ask that you include any photos of vehicles that are parked in spaces for the disabled, without placards. I’ve confronted people before and they say “I’m just going to park here for a minute” and my response is that no one is disabled ‘just for a minute”. I don’t judge anyone with a placard on how they appear, how their mobility is (although when I see someone park in a handicapped space, get out of their car & literally run to the gym to take back to back dance classes…). I have one due to nerve damage in… Read more »
Stop shaming people for the car they want to drive. Not everyone wants to drive a Prius and it has nothing to do with “status” as you claim. All of the compact car spots are closer to the entrances. Where do you actually see a parking spot that ISN’T a compact spot? There are none and if there is, they are several floors away in an area with safety concerns due to poor lighting and walking alone. Creating compact spots is shaming people who don’t drive little cars. Also, your claim about people who drive big cars being “trumpian” is… Read more »
If you think that is bullying then I would bet dollars to doughnuts that you never went to public school. If I break the law and the sheriffs give me a citation, are they bullying me? I think not, and the same applies here. Shaming is the better keyword and if One can’t read the clearly displayed “compact” sign then one deserves to be shamed. I remember once I parked my scooter in a spot that a supersized SUV was attempting to park. She yelled that the words that a corporation went out of their way to paint on the… Read more »
Seriously? Your comment made me laugh. You are a victim for driving an SUV? Regardless of one’s political affiliation, if you drive an over-sized vehicle, then, boo-hoo, you have to look for a spot that fits it. I grew up in rural Oregon, where some people actually have the need for these things. I can’t believe people who drive these things here in our urban environment, when most have no need, or use for an SUV. Yes, some do, but most don’t. So, sorry, if you feel “bullied,” by your need for an SUV. The garage in question, as I… Read more »
Stupid parking is my pet-peeve. However, it seems that parking spaces ARE getting smaller and smaller. Also, some of the above might not be as guilty as assumed becasue maybe when they parked like sh-theads it was because when they areived, there was already another person in the space next to them parked like a sh-thead. Just playing a bit of Devil’s advocate to be fair here.
I’ve been there, before, where someone is bleeding into a space I want to park in. I didn’t return the rudeness by doing the same. I move on to another space.
Now, if their driver’s side door is right next to the line of the space I’m parking in (on my passenger’s side), I have zero problem parking within 2 inches of their door, and making them crawl through the passenger side to get into their vehicle. If your vehicle doesn’t fit in between the lines, don’t park in the space. It is a simple as that.
Wow! The choice to feature a car with a disabled plate as your thumbnail & cover for this article paints your entire argument in an extremely hypocritical and disgustingly ableist light. Before you (the author) accuse others of being oblivious to your needs you should realize just how oblivious you are towards those who’s needs exceed yours. For a limited subset of the disabled community parking in a standard sized parking space is impossible, unsafe, and / or could damage adjacent vehicles. This is why there are “Van accessible” parking spaces. Unfortunately these spaces are often occupied by other disabled… Read more »
I am so glad I gave my car away……….
The most annoying parkers are those who park parallel to the curb and leave “almost” enough space behind or in front of their car for another car, but not quite. If they would consider that there may be plenty of room for another car if they pull up or back up to an existing car, the red curb line, or a driveway, far more people could find spaces for themselves. I watched a girl just today pull into a space by a driveway where if she had pulled up closer to the car ahead there would have been enough space… Read more »
Oh goodness, this is going to be fun, but for a full book one need only spend a half hour or so at the Trader Joe’s across from the 19 Hour Fitness on SMB. Would you like me to send you my photo directory of just such photos I’ve been collecting over the years? I fully agree with Manny’s litany of issues of bad public behavior. None of those underlying activities are inherently bad, it’s how people use them. The worst of the cellphone sounds in public are the people who play their music without headphones–I can’t count the number… Read more »
Sorry, but the parking spaces are just too small some places, so that is what is going to happen. Also, if you park, and the other cars are all askew, you sometimes have no choice but to park bad. But I will not squeeze my car into a teeny, tiny space, not going to do it. I will take two if I have to.
KAB1200, autos, pickups, and SUVs are a ‘standard’ size. So are parking spaces.
If you can’t fit, then you’re trying to stuff a standard-size car into a compact parking space.
Don’t be rude, dear…
A permissive society is a wonderful thing, but the downside is this crap! Some people have decided they’re not bound by rules, laws, or even courtesy. “I was in a rush” means “Tough sh-t, I was here first.” “This car is hard to park” means “I don’t know how to drive.” And my favorite: “What’s the big deal?” means “I don’t give a sh-t.” Manny is right- it’s the same with “service” dogs. There’s a real LA County Health Dept. law barring dogs from grocery stores and farmers markets, but there they are, everywhere, every day! Tell any owner about… Read more »
There’s been a web site for this for many years (it apparently went down). But still, a FB page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/YouParkLikeAnAsshole/ Not to defend these people in any way, but, specifically, the garage at 24 Hour Fitness is so outdated, that most of the spaces are marked “compact,” and anyone who drives one of those monster vehicles might have a difficult time parking in that particular garage. Not excusing them parking over the line, like that, but that place just sucks, as you said in your editorial. Didn’t you write an editorial about how you are only still a member of… Read more »
If the parking structure is full at that time of day, construction workers or not, imagine what it’ll be like once Sprouts opens.
Do you know if they are adding parking as part of that project? I’d never go there to go to Sprouts, which I’m mixed on, and which we just got, 3 or 4 years ago, on La Brea.
Parking is included in that development, by the way.
I have a feeling that the 24 Hour Fitness is destined for closure, at some point, when their lease runs out. That probably explains why they manage it so poorly and don’t put any money into that place.