Parking Rummy

This morning I went to the store and I noticed I had to park very far from the store even though most of the close in spots were empty.  The empty spots were those designated for different groups of people who may need to be closer to the store.  You know what they are, Handicapped, of course.  Having a child who has been on crutches multiple times I am appreciative of those spots.  I don’t like those people who have a handicapped placard for their elderly grandmother and pull it out when she is not even in the car just so they can get the choice spot, but what can we do.

Another group was designated for people with small children.  Those spaces are right next to the cart coral so that you don’t have to leave a baby in a car alone a long time to return the grocery cart.  That makes a lot of sense and I am all for that.  Even though the sign was clear as day I saw a twenties something guy park in the spot and get out of his car alone.  I was dying to ask him if he was leaving a child in the car.

A new group of spots poped up recently for expectant moms.  They are slightly closer to the store and I wondered if they were needed so they could get to the bathroom faster.  The parking spaces are the same size as the regular spots so I did not think they allowed for wider door opening to enable these women to get out of the car with their enormous belly’s.  It seems like they should even designate those spaces for third trimester pregnant women.

Then there are the compact car spots.  I assume they are there because the civil engineers who laid out the parking lot did not measure correctly and the spots are too small for a big car.  The problem with those spaces is people with big cars have no respect for them and use them just the same making the small spots next to them even smaller.

I got to thinking that perhaps they could make some extra large spots, far from the store for over weight people.  They would be able to open their doors widely enough to get in and out, but would have the added advantage of getting some exercise because they had to walk further to and from the store.  I can see it now.  Thin people who have really nice cars might park in those fat people spots because they do not want people in the cars next to them to ding their doors.

Since all the spots except for handicapped are self-policing I can hear the excuse the thin people parking in the extra large spot will use, “I’m so fat right now.  I need to drop five pounds.”  I liked it better in the olden days when parking spaces were big to accommodate cars like the two door Cadillac Eldorado with giant doors that required four feet of empty space beside them just to swing open.  Those cars could hold an overdue pregnant woman with six small children sitting untethered in the back seat.

I predict we have not seen the end of special parking designations.  I am sure that some special interest group will lobby a store to give them prime spots and those of us regular people, with regular cars are going to be SOL to get any parking spots what-so-ever.