Readers who’ve only lived in warm climates or areas with ample parking don’t understand the special hell that is going through the effort of digging your car out of a plowed-in curbside parking spot, knowing all the while that said spot will soon be occupied by someone else’s car. That’s where some people employ the controversial practice of using chairs, traffic cones, handmade signs, trash cans, and apparently ironing boards, to “save” their shoveled-out spots for later. [More]
parking
Stay At This Supermarket 61 Minutes, Pay $65 To Park
By 7.3.13
Sure, you could just put up a “no parking sign” if you don’t want anyone to park at your store. But a Woolworths store in suburban Sydney, Australia did want their customers to park there…just not commuters. Their strange-looking but sensible solution was to make parking free for the first hour, but cost $65 ($58.92) for more than an hour and $125 ($113.30) for overnight parking. [More]
Parking Is So Bad In Boston, Woman Is Willing To Pay $560,000 For Two Spots
By 6.14.13
Although I may not have my very own set of wheels to tool around town in, I know that finding a parking spot is a golden moment, a second of bliss often accompanied by tiny parking fairies raining down happy dust. But apparently the parking situation is so bad in Boston, one woman was willing to plunk down $560,000 for two parking spots. [More]
Hero Or Fool: Man Pays $200 To Appeal $26 Parking Ticket
By 2.25.13
Here in Philadelphia, parking tickets tend to appear out of nowhere, the Parking Authority’s army of ninja ticket-writers leaving their citations in silence. Many people just fork over the cash, even when the violation is bogus. But not one man, who was willing to spend money to prove his point. [More]
Get Handicapped Parking With A Fake Doctor’s Note, Maybe Go To Prison
By 9.27.12
Let’s say that you commute from a relatively rural area, and work in a dense urban environment where there’s little parking to be found. Driving is the best way to get to your office, but taking a shuttle from a distant off-site garage or fighting for street parking is such a hassle. What do you do? If you’re a certain information technology worker for the state of New York, you forge a note from your doctor granting you a handicapped parking space, then assume that you’ll never be caught. Now, instead of a luxurious parking space right near his office, he’s in jail, and could face up to four years in prison. [More]
New Parking Meter Sensors Put An End To Parking On Previous Driver's Dime
By 5.25.12
Have you ever pulled up to a metered parking spot and found that the driver who just left the space still had time left on the meter? It’s like getting free money, especially if that leftover time is enough for you to run your errand without having to feed the meter. But the folks in Denver are testing out new sensors that would delete any remaining time when you drive away from the meter. [More]
Woman Saves Prime Black Friday Parking Space By Sitting In It
By 12.7.10
Last week one woman took staking out an early Black Friday claim even further by sitting down in a prime parking space right at the front sidewalk. [More]
Cleveland Looking Into $5 Pedestrian Fee At Browns Tailgating Lot
By 10.6.10
Yesterday, we brought you the story of Cleveland Browns fans being charged a $5 pedestrian fee just for walking into a parking lot used for pre-game tailgating. Unfortunately for the company that owns and operates that lot, one of the pedestrians they hit up for the fee also happens to be a city council member. [More]
Parking Garage Math: Where Two Minutes Equals One Hour
By 9.17.10
Where do two minutes equal an hour? A parking garage, of course. Everyone knows this, but what about when another customer delays you and pushes you past the one-hour mark? Nathan tells Consumerist that while the customer ahead of him in line argued with the garage attendant, his own time in the garage passed one hour, and the attendant insisted that Nathan pay for the full two hours. [More]
Florida City Fines People For Parking Car In Driveway Without Plate
By 9.13.10
If you own a junk car without plates, it’s a good idea to keep it hidden away, especially if you live in North Port, Fla., which tends to stick violators for thousands of dollars in fees. [More]
How To Always Remember Where You Parked
By 9.9.10
In the anxiety-inducing Seinfeld episode “The Parking Garage,” the gang wanders hopelessly through a parking structure, unable to remember where they left their car. Too bad they lived in the days before keyless entry panic buttons and digital cameras were ubiquitous. [More]
Macy's Cheerfully Helps Customers Get Parking Tickets
By 11.27.09
The employees at the Macy’s in Washington, DC, sure were helpful earlier today! They showed customers where they could park for up to two hours while they shopped. Unfortunately, it turns out Macy’s employees are not well-versed on parking rules in DC, and the manager there doesn’t really think it’s Macy’s problem. [More]
Hyundai Replaces Car Destroyed In BMW Parking Lot Attack
By 11.3.09
About a week ago, a woman tried to park her BMW X5 in a gym parking lot in Thornhill, Ontario. For some mysterious reason, she instead drove over two other cars and sat on top of them for a few seconds, like a big game cat savoring her kill. Then she drove off.
Chicago Is Sorry They Towed 20 People So Secret Could Film A Deodorant Commercial
By 10.15.09
Know what’s more important than you not having your car towed and having to pay a $160 tow fee? Secret deodorant commercials! At least that’s the message Chicago sent back in September when they put up signs about a film shoot tow zone only 3 hours before the towing was to begin.
Verizon, NYPD Don't Care About Fires
By 10.8.09
Once again, Verizon has been caught leaving its vans parked in front of fire hydrants.
Hidden Cameras Catch LA Valets Breaking All Kinds Of Laws
By 10.1.09
An excellent piece of investigative journalism by NBC Los Angeles catches valets all over the city putting up fake no parking signs, jamming meters, and using customers’ cars to shuttle valets around.
Lawsuit Attempts Declare Chicago's Privatized Parking Meters "Illegal and Void"
By 8.21.09
Know what people don’t like? Chicago privatized parking meters. Now a public interest group is suing the city, claiming that Daley didn’t have the right to lease the meters to a private company for an “excessive period,” that that tax payer dollars shouldn’t go towards police to enforce meters owned by a private company. They also say that the city can’t force the Illinois Secretary of State to suspend licenses for failure to pay tickets issued at private meters.
8800 Penny Prank Takes Paying In Cash To Extremes
By 8.4.09
What do you do with your pennies? Consumer Reports suggests saving them and depositing them in your bank, or exchanging them for a full-value gift certificate in a Coinstar machine. But Jordan had a much better idea. He tried to use them to pay the impound fee after his car was towed. Video inside. Remember: it’s not a real prank until the cops show up.
