# Embassy Suites Hotel I stayed at only had parking spaces for "Compact" cars **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 5, 2019, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-suites-hotel-i-stayed-at-only-had-parking-spaces-for-compact-cars/836554 "2019-07-05T05:57:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-suites-hotel-i-stayed-at-only-had-parking-spaces-for-compact-cars/836554/21 "2019-07-09T03:11:26Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Some other problem? The “problem” I have is people jumping straight to it should be/is AGAINST THE LAW whenever things don’t work out the way they think they should. Many times, said people are factually incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-suites-hotel-i-stayed-at-only-had-parking-spaces-for-compact-cars/836554/22 "2019-07-09T03:17:33Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever been to a city with minimum parking requirements. It’s possible that the cities I’m thinking of do in fact have minimum parking requirements for new buildings and there are simply not enough buildings subject to the requirements for it to be obvious- but that would itself be a reason for the concept to be unfamiliar to someone. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-suites-hotel-i-stayed-at-only-had-parking-spaces-for-compact-cars/836554/23 "2019-07-09T04:54:12Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I think how common they are depends very much on the location - I can’t think of any city I’ve been to on the East Coast where many stand-alone businesses had their own parking lot. For the most part, you either park on the street or in a private or municipal paid lot, which isn’t associated with any particular businesses. Here’s > [East Market](https://www.google.com/maps/place/E+Market+St,+Corning,+NY+14830/@42.1429815,-77.0521683,3a,75y,161.08h,107.3t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sR57wmag1wLLW8pGQ2LmM2w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x89d04833f07f7cf1:0x5561b7848784bef9!8m2!3d42.1430595!4d-77.0524518) St in Corning , NY - and [this is](https://www.google.com/maps/place/E+Market+St,+Corning,+NY+14830/@42.1426044,-77.052595,3a,75y,88.79h,91.34t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sF5M73RvrjhDfAC7Ln5ZNpQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x89d04833f07f7cf1:0x5561b7848784bef9!8m2!3d42.1430595!4d-77.0524518) the municipal lot behind those buildings. The lot is a municipal lot, with paid parking and is not associated with any of the businesses. That’s just one example- and that’s a pretty small city. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a city with minimum parking requirements. [Here’s a link to the minimum parking requirements in the City Code for Corning, NY](https://ecode360.com/30525849PVT). The OP would be happy: it includes a minimum size for parking spaces too 🙂 Your later post was correct: many cities that were built a long time ago didn’t have minimum parking requirements then, and existing buildings are grandfathered in. It’s also often various degrees of possible to get waivers from the city, so not even all new construction will have as much parking as the code says. The urban core of most cities was built well before the dominance of the automobile, so it tends to have separate municipal or commercial parking lots rather than individual lots for each business. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-suites-hotel-i-stayed-at-only-had-parking-spaces-for-compact-cars/836554/24 "2019-07-09T15:08:11Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > The “problem” I have is people jumping straight to it should be/is AGAINST THE LAW whenever things don’t work out the way they think they should. Many times, said people are factually incorrect. Who said that? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-suites-hotel-i-stayed-at-only-had-parking-spaces-for-compact-cars/836554/25 "2019-07-09T17:32:39Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > The “problem” I have is people jumping straight to it should be/is AGAINST THE LAW whenever things don’t work out the way they think they should. Many times, said people are factually incorrect. What in the bloody hell are you talking about? He didn’t say “it should be against the law” and the OP didn’t even say he had a car, so how do you jump to “things don’t work out the way they think they should”? And since you apparently had no clue that parking spaces are actually mandated in many municipalities, why in the world are you not embarrassed by your idiotic question rather than acting all righteous? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-suites-hotel-i-stayed-at-only-had-parking-spaces-for-compact-cars/836554/26 "2019-07-09T20:15:23Z")
**Moderator Note** This is getting too heated. Dial it back, and if you must vent, you know where the Pit is. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-suites-hotel-i-stayed-at-only-had-parking-spaces-for-compact-cars/836554/27 "2019-07-09T20:47:08Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Where was this? At my relatively new apartment building, we have way too much parking in the parking garage because the NIMBY and anti-gentrification activists screamed when it was being built, even though most people in this building take public transit. Sacramento actually just recently relaxed their minimum parking requirements to avoid the exact situation you described. Now new apartment/condo developments are allowed to have fewer parking spaces if they’re within a certain distance of a public transit stop. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-suites-hotel-i-stayed-at-only-had-parking-spaces-for-compact-cars/836554/28 "2019-07-10T12:41:04Z")
The Atlantic is currently carrying [an article](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/07/car-crashes-arent-always-unavoidable/592447/) that’s kind of relevant to the situation discussed; it talks about the legal framework around driving in the USA. That is, not the road codes but things such as parking space requirements, car safety requirements, etc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embassy-suites-hotel-i-stayed-at-only-had-parking-spaces-for-compact-cars/836554.md?page=1)